Lal Hotel and Spa

Personally, I loved the simplicity and minimalism of the hotel.
The uniqueness. The noises you can hear through the walls. (I need noise to fall asleep and I was there over Timket celebration)
I call this luxury. Wifi. A bed (with shiny bedding). A shower and running water. Friendly staff. A TV that I never used. (Like who needs television when life itself is entertaining enough). Transfer currency to Birr, as that is the only currency accepted. It states Complimentary water and transportation. In 2025, you will have to pay for those. You will experience insects, although I felt there were few.
The staff is attentive and friendly-I would definitely keep good communication as the restaurant could close early.

Beautiful scenery of life and nature.

I had take a room (105) from the hotel for about a week ,from June 21-28 ,2023. I didn't know why ,But I spent a horrible night at 26th of June. I didn't slept the whole night for some thing was continuously moving inside the rooms roof , this was very horrible. I were supposed to give some training the next day, but I spent the whole night with out rest.

Staff very nice… especially the front desk!!

Our group of 17 stayed in this hotel for two (unfortunately) nights during the Timkat festival. It appears that even though we had reservations, they were possibly overbooked for the festival and must've opened up rooms that were not even fit for habitation. Our room was "ok" the first night although our shower didn't drain AT ALL and flooded the entire bathroom with several inches of water. There was absolutely NO hot water at all. The light fixture over the sink was just a light bulb on a sketchy looking socket. There is no TV, phone or clock in the room and the lighting was horrible. Wifi only worked near the reception desk. The door frame on our room was all busted as though someone had tried to break in. The door locks were incredibly difficult to operate. On our second day, housekeeping never came to our room so we were left with dirty towels and almost out of toilet paper and overflowing garbage cans. Everything in the room was worn and/or broken too. The dinner and breakfast buffets had very minimal selections and the food was just barely warm. One single woman in our group was put in a room with NO working electrical outlets, a sink whose drain emptied onto the floor and a continuously overflowing toilet. It was not fit to stay in but the hotel just shrugged their shoulders and didn't care. She somehow survived one night in the room and the next day when she talked to management again, after several minutes they agreed to find another room for her and she was told "not to tell anyone about it". Everyone else had bad rooms too with no hot water, strong sewage smell, etc. and no one like the food. I can't say anything good about this hotel or its staff and would avoid it like the plague. I just wish I would've documented more of these things in photos but I was so disgusted with the room I didn't even feel like it.

I very rarely give a terrible rating in all my posts. This hotel deserves the rating.

The tour put 18 of us at the hotel for 2 nights.
There was no hot water in any of the rooms.
4 of the rooms had a strong sewage smell.
3 of the rooms had leaking toilets and sinks.
All of the rooms had very poor water pressure. Only had a small trickle out of the shower.
Breakfast buffet was not good, everything was very oily and cold.

The maintenance of rooms conducted but many are stinky. The management of the hotel is not fit to deliver convenient service. The hotel has poor meeting facility and no green area in the compound. The stem and sauna is not separate for men and women.

I stayed one night in this hotel. It’s like a hut shape or resorts, walk between the garden to the room. Friendly staff but bad service. WiFi is average in the lobby but disaster in the room. The location is wonderful, swimming pool is dirty and seems nobody used it for a long time. Room is spacious, no TV. Bathroom is spacious as well but no hot water. I tried Fish ghoulash for lunch in the restaurant and it was horrible. Breakfast is average. Massage upon request but charge 500 birr which is considered pricey compared to other better hotel in Ethiopia. At 8 pm, I asked for coffee but receptionist said: No coffee now.. Machine off, so had to get soft drink, and again it was handed to me with no table, so I had to put it on the floor.

It is in need of a major overhaul. Drains backed up in bathroom. Mosquitoes in rooms at night due to cracks around the door. The breakfast was not very appealing and the food cold. The bar was very good.

Look it’s 45 dollars a room a night so I understand you get what you pay for and the room is comfortable and cleanish.

Rooms - clean but bathroom wasn’t, no storage space (lockable it didn’t work) beds ok.

Restaurant - we didn’t eat apart from a little breakfast, which was average.

Bar - very very very dirty behind it! Wouldn’t use a glass here!

Toilets - they weren’t good!

Staff - very accommodating and honestly I feel very sorry for them!

The management should pull up their socks and restore this place, it wouldn’t take much and would be a reasonable place to stay, it’s located well and could “could” be nice!

A lovely hotel. We stayed in the bungalow type rooms which were simple but spacious and quiet. The staff were a highlight - everyone was helpful, friendly and efficient. Chef Mareg in particular was welcoming and attentive. He planned meals that left us smiling and satisfied, especially the variety at breakfast and delicious Ethiopian dishes. Strongly recommended!

Hotel was fair. But food was the best in our trip. The chef Mareg Ayalew cooks both ethiopian and international food, great vegetable foods , minestrone with meat and pasta, and delicious carrot "beignets". He takes care of every dish and made the hotel worth for us.

Flight was cancelled and the staff at Lal Hotel graciously made accommodations for our group. The food was very good. The rooms were basic with very firm matresses. We didn't get a chance to see much of the grounds as it was after dark when we arrived. No wifi in the tukul rooms but good wifi in the main area. Excellent staff.

We were traveling with a large group of 70 people and were stranded in Lalibela after our flight was cancelled due to weather. This hotel was able to accommodate our group at the last minute. With only 2 hours notice at night, they had a delicious buffet ready to go and fed our entire group.

The rooms were pretty basic but they served the purpose and the surroundings were lovely. We found the staff to be friendly and efficient.

The rooms are nice and clean but they don't give complementary water in the room so one has to buy. The swimming pool is not maintained with dorty water and is closed. There is a different rate for tourists and locals unlike many other resorts.

I enjoyed staying in Lal Hotel & Spa in Lalibela. Clean rooms and friendly staff. The food was good. Rooms were more of bungalow style with average quality. No wifi in rooms. Hotel was strategically located in Lalibela town and is walking distance to Lalibela main churches.

Friendly and helpful staff. On time pick up at the airport and return to the airport. Everything ready at check in. Great buffet breakfast with Ethiopian and international items, omelet as well.

Friendly and helpful staff. Great buffet breakfast with Ethiopian and international foods plus fresh omelet. Great central location. On time airport pick up and return.

We stayed there for one day during our trip to Ethiopia. The staff is friendly but very difficult to communicate with as their English is very poor. The rooms where run down and more than basic. The swimming pool shown was empty and the pool bar not in operation. Overall, the hotel was badly maintained and not clean.

The breakfast and dinner (buffet) we had was the poorest during our three weeks trip through the country.

Online advertising is very misleading. Rooms are spacious and clean but that's the only positive I can think of!
WiFi and electrics not working for all my 4 night stay.
Staff are often miserable and unhelpful.
No generator for power cuts.
One broken mobile for reception.