Pullman Dakar Teranga

I haven't stayed at a Pullman brand before (although have stayed at lots of Accor hotel). It's basically somewhere between a Mercure and Sofitel with more locally adapted vibe as far as I could see. Everything you'd expect from an Accor hotel except that some things were just off brand standard for an Ibis. I had towels in my room which were rags - literally with holes in. And the mats in the gym were black with dirt. But in other places the standards were very high (nice bedlinen, illy coffee machine in the room etc). Really recommend that someone does a brand audit of this place - a small number of changes could make it perfect. It's not far off needing a refurb of the rooms. They are fine, but not the highest quality fit-out.

Other thoughts:
- I was exploring Dakar, for which the location is perfect. In the heart of the walkable sights of the city, with great sea views and a beach club.
- Pool is gorgeous. 25m - perfect for laps
- Food is really good quality (I tried breakfast and the pool restaurant)

Definitely recommend. Dakar is an intense city, and it's a good balance to relax in whilst not feeling too much like a 'foreign enclave'.

The location was ideal minus the double baggage check and the taxi guys who approach you constantly as soon as you step off the property.

I was there late February. The evening staff at reception and especially Mohamed made my stay perfect. They were so helpful in many ways such as finding me a taxi for a decent and honest fare. The day time staff at reception seemed less helpful. Not as welcoming and not recommending reasonable taxi fares. Mohamed was exceptional though. Super friendly and also the evening staff who helped me connect my laptop to the WiFi and made me complimentary drinks.

My husband and I are an older gay couple with extensive travel experience. When travelling to a country that is religiously intolerant of homosexuality (such as Senegal,) we remove our wedding bands and reserve a room with two beds . . . and sleep separately in them, as we don't want to be sent to jail simply for being gay.

We decided to stay two nights in Dakar before embarking on a Ponant Cruise that began there; two nights as a way to ensure that we made the cruise on time and to visit the city a bit prior to departure. We booked and paid in advance for a two-bed room with water view at the Pullman Dakar Teranga Hotel.

We arrived at the hotel in the early evening and were met by a man at Reception. (Note - reviews of this hotel indicate that the reception process is lengthy and less than warm, so this was our expectation.)  He asked for our passports, instructed us to be seated and told us that he would be back in about 10-minutes. 

As promised, he returned about 10-minutes later, took a seat between us and sternly declared that "we have a real problem here," at which point he stared at each of us individually, paused and then stated "there are two of you, but only one room reservation."

He then asked us why we had come to Dakar. We didn't respond to that question (because we didn't want him to know that we were going on a cruise together) but I did confirm to him that yes, there is only one reservation, but that it was for a room with two beds in it. He immediately retorted that this is impossible because the hotel doesn't have any two-bed rooms. I then attempted to show him the printed-out reservation indicating a two-bedroom room with water views, but he refused to look at it, stood up, stated that he would "see what he could do" and then walked away. About 20-minutes later, he returned, said "here are your room cards" and walked away . . . He was genuinely condescending and hostile towards us. No doubt he suspected that we were a gay couple and he did not approve of it.  

Our room was No. 103, on the first floor overlooking a rear roof with a perfect view of several A/C condenser units; no water in sight, and certainly one of the worst rooms in the hotel. Once in the room, we had thought about contacting our travel agent to complain and request a better room, but then thought better of it . . . We didn't want to cause any trouble out of fear of retaliation from this man, or anyone else. Our time at the hotel (less than 48-hours, thankfully) was very uncomfortable, as we spent it in fear of being called out as a gay couple; it's one thing to be ignored by hotel employees, but another thing to be fearful of them.

One might suggest that we had no business being in Senegal at all given the fact that we are gay. However, we had to be there to meet our cruise ship and our prior visits to other religiously intolerant countries (Morrocco, Egypt and Tanzania/Zanzibar) occurred without any problems.

Let's end on a positive note (hence the two-stars) . . . The breakfast was good, the gym was very good and the pool area looked inviting, although we did not feel comfortable enough to enjoy it.

La ubicación frente al mar, el ambiente tranquilo y las zonas comunes del hotel. La habitación era cómoda y la experiencia en general fue muy agradable. Quiero destacar especialmente la atención del personal de la terraza-restaurante, siempre atentos y profesionales. Mención especial para Fatou, la jefa de sala, y su ayudante Fatoumata por su cercanía, amabilidad y excelente trato, que marcaron la diferencia durante la estancia

Security

La localisation en ville et la vue

la décoration , le personnel, les animations, la propreté, la vue

Beach club

Gentillesse du personnel

Personnel très agréable, attentionné. Accueil chaleureux.
Chambres très propres. Literie confortable et lit très Grant. Petit déjeuner copieux, varié. Espaces communs intérieurs et extérieurs agréables. Situation géographique au top au pied de la corniche Est.

La taille de l’appartement et la vue

Wonderfully located, clean, quiet, and reasonably comfortable but uneven service and maintenance. Staff is quite friendly but as amateurish as in the restaurants. There is a lot of waiting and chit chat to go through check-in and check-out. Our room had somewhat worn-out mattresses, no glasses or cups in the bathroom, no heating (understandable) but also no way to open the window to let in some temperate air, so the room temperature remained coolish.

L’ accueil et le personnel étaient vraiment à l’écoute, le personnel des services des chambres étaient particulièrement professionnels et très serviables. Bravo encore à Ali Sow très apprécié et rassurant. Un professionnel dévoué et très respectueux des clients 🙏. Le personnel de la restauration était vraiment formidable.

Personnels hyper gentils, attentifs. Cuisine très bonne, regrette que la carte n’évolue très peu. Buffet très bon et varié. La vue sur Gorée et l’anse Bernard est superbe. Salle de sport adaptée. Situation exceptionnel proche de tout !

Very impressed with the service of the personnel - they go out of their way to help…. The infrastructure and cleanliness are also exemplary. My staying at this hotel has been a wonderful experience!