Welcome to LAICO UMUBANO hotel for the worst in everything!

Relaxing by the pool in one of the top 3 hotels (Mille Collines, Serena and LAICO UMUBANO) in Kigali after a long and sometimes stressful week is a custom that my family and I do not intend to halt anytime soon. At some of these hotels, the service is okay; the food is fine and in general we are happy to return. But have you ever had one of those repeat experiences that you would love to forget? Like a waitress spilling hot coffee on your new dress? Or repeatedly waiting for the waiter to attend your table for more than 30 minutes? Or the food taking an hour, only for the order to come out wrong? Or maybe you wanted a drink refill, ketchup or some other condiment and you ask the waiter three times but he/she never brought it? Well, then, if you haven’t, then you obviously haven’t been going to the Laico Umubano (former Novotel) hotel. I am extremely irritated when I spend a lot of money on a service and the entire experience stinks to high heaven. I know mistakes happen, but it is usually how they handle it that makes or breaks the experience. I often confront managers at LAICO UMUBANO about experiences such as those mentioned above, only to return next time and find the situation even worse. The service is probably the worst in the country-the staff are friendly but often have no clue as to what they are supposed to do- food is at best horrible, and the prices are skyrocketing. I was recently outraged by this so-called high-end hotel’s decision to increase prices at the fitness center by approximately 60% despite the fact that the outdated equipment was falling apart…and the management has no apparent plan to replace it. Gym-goers can count on at least one machine being broken at any given time, with people lining up for unreasonable amounts of time to use whatever is actually working. One can assume, from their maintenance record, that the equipment is not safe, and in addition, the locker rooms lack actual locks, and the general state of the gym is disheveled. What, we all ask ourselves, have the increased revenues been put toward? Similarly, the room rates have increased by at least double digits in the last few months but visitors still have to pay an additional amount if they want wireless internet access in their rooms. This increase is despite the fact that the building is falling apart. It probably was last painted many years back, the elevator is an antique and should probably be taken to the museum and the rooms can as serve as makeshift saunas due to their poor ventilation. Aside from the new lounge chairs and tables around the pool, we have not seen any improvements resulting from the hotel’s increased prices and again, we ask ourselves, what have the increased revenues been put towards? I was thrilled when the former owners of UMUBANO hotel left, hoping that this was going to pave the way for an exemplary hotel. Unfortunately, however, LAICO UMUBANO seems to be even worse than its predecessor. It is time that Laico Umubano chooses between providing Rwandans, and its other international guests, value for their money, or simply packs its bags and return wherever they came from. Logically, as a new entrant in a foreign country, you should have the decency of being a role model, especially to an industry which is at least decades behind compared to what is being offered in the region. I find this another form of arrogance by foreign companies that are not adding any value to what Rwanda is tirelessly fighting to achieve – a solid reputation, which needs to be translated into economic benefits at the end of the day. I would appreciate if the management of LAICO UMUBANO could respond to this piece by outlining their refurbishment and restructuring plans – paving way for a new era to a hotel that by all standards deserves not to be operational. liban.mugabo@gmail.com