This is my experience of a one night stay in Kribi, South Region, Republic of Cameroon. Overall, I was excited to travel to experience Kribi. My travelling companion (Madam) was more excited than I was. Overall, I am very pleased, but somewhat slightly disappointed.
It is worth knowing that I am a seasoned traveller. I was born and raised in Momo Division, NW region of Cameroon. I have lived in London for over 20 years. I have been on vacations and working visits to the South of Spain, Tallin Estonia, St. Petersburg Russia, Marakech Morocco, Halifax Canada, Virginia USA, Florida USA, New York USA, Hamburg Germany, Cape Town South Africa (Multiple times), Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bahrain 🇧🇭 Mindelo Cape Verde, Hong Kong, Lisbon Portugal, and over 6 different Islands in the Caribbean.. (To name but a few)..
I have lived in some of the best hotels and enjoyed some of the best cuisine the world has to offer. I especially love seafood, from Lobsters, Crabs 🦀 Prawns 🦐 Octopus, T-bone Steaks 🥩 etc..
Travelling from Douala to Kribi is another whole story.. We arrived Kribi using public transport, and to our greatest surprise, Kribi does not have “yellow Taxis”, like Bamenda, Yaounde and Douala.
Someone approached us, and offered to be our taxi 🤷🏾♂️ we reluctantly accepted.. He charged us 5,000 Frs CFA ($10 US) just to take us from the TransCam bus park to the hotel.
The “Taxi” driver took us to Hotel Jully in Kribi, I took one look at it and it was not up to standard. I was not pleased. Hotel Jully was charging 50,000 Frs ($100 US) a night.. I decided to check the rooms. The rooms were dark, ancient looking, with zero attempt at comfort and luxury. They had no electricity when I arrived. The bathroom was not clean for my standards. I said HELL NO!
The next stop was Adrien Hotel – The building itself, from the outside, was a disqualifier. I said NO. So I asked the driver to take me to THE BEST hotel in town. And he took me to Copacabana Beach hotel. I fell in love with the exterior instantly from the outside.
When we walked into the reception, I was impressed by the Open space and elegance and luxury finishing. Then we asked at the reception.. How much for the rooms, and we were told, from 95,000 Frs ($190 US). We paid. The concierge took our luggage to the lift, and then to our room on the first floor. At first glance, I liked it. But then I started noticing the details and became increasingly disappointed.
Copacabana Beach Hotel – The Good
The Copacabana Hotel has a good Location, the restaurant across the road is good, and the prices are affordable, for a tourist like myself.
The hotel has good security, a good working lift, the reception is very nice and elegant. The customer service was good, but then again, for 95,000 Frs, I expect the customer service to be THE BEST.
The hotel room was air conditioned, clean, spacious, the Bed was comfortable, The lighting is good. The internal décor, high ceiling and colours nice and appealing.
The Bad
Some edges of the wall Finishing, especially the back of the Bathroom door is poor. Cheap plywood used to finish the area around the AC unit. Generally, the areas around the Door finishing around the room was poor.
My biggest problem was the imported furniture made out of Faux Wood finishing, which looks cheap, Fake, and disgusting. This is a missed opportunity to use REAL Cameroonian Hard wood that would have also used local labour and provided employment for the local population. These imported faux furniture are already showing signs of wear and tear, even though the hotel is new.
The Ugly
Price, at 95,000 Frs CFA ($190 US) is the second highest I have ever paid for a hotel in the WORLD. The highest I have paid was the Guangdong Hotel in Hong Kong. For 95,000Frs, I expected a lot more for my money.
Can you imagine, after paying 95,000Frs for one night, I was told there is no WiFi in my room? Let me remind you, this is the 21st century, November 05, 2021. How is this possible? This is unforgiveable.
The Best – Copacabana Beach Kribi
My dinner Gambas (for 14,500Frs = $29 US) was the best thing about the hotel. The food was delicious, the view was great at the restaurant. My travelling companion loved the experience, and that is what matters.
Overall, I am happy I travelled to Kribi, it was mostly for my travelling companion who wanted the experience. However, I will not be visiting Copacabana again, unless they either improved on attention to detail, or reduce their prices. This hotel is not worth the price I paid.
