Reviews of Southern Sun Dar
(81%) From 88 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Southern Sun (formerly the Holiday Inn) review
An excellent choice for our ovenight in Dar. The service and food were excellent and very good value for money.
Read more about the whole tripGood hotel . Clean, safe and comfortable
Good place to stay in Dar Es Salaam .
The room was clean and comfortable. I have asked for wake-up calls and it has been done. You can have breakfast early in the morning which is good especially when you have to catch an early flight in the morning.
Because of luggage restrictions on internal flights I had to leave a piece of luggage in the luggage room at the hotel.
When I came back from the bush I got my luggage back and everything was ok.
a genuine 'welcome back'
# on return we further explored Dar and bumped into a couple of ex Mdonya guests staying at the 'new' Holiday Inn - clearly they were not impressed and likekened it to a souless UK Travel Lodge.
# Accepting that some clients will want very large 5* hotels, we suggest that for most Experts clients the Southern Sun would be an deal base for a pre and / or post safari stay in Dar, with the Kearsley office as a bonus.
# we enthused about the mutton curry when the house manager asked how was our meal. Shortly after the chef joined us at our table for a pleasant general chat during which he explained it was a new recipe and warmed to us as 'foodies'. He was clearly delighted at the feedback and we were certainly impressed by the contact and the clear committment to quality and value for money.
very good base for a southern Tanzania safari
# Having seen internal photos of the old Holiday Inn, Southern Sun have done a superb renovation job. The ambiance, staff, food and facilities were all very good. In short, this is an ideal hotel for a short stay before and/or after a safari.
# Surprised but pleased to see the Kearsley office on the mezzanine next to the breakfast restaurant
#' breakfast - particularly good selection, with eggs cooked to order. If daylight when taking breakfast, strongly recommend the outside balcony overlooking the pool and Botanical Gardens.
# hot water - on our inbound / first night (14 July) we wasted loads of water before the shower ran luke warm (room 212). On our return (22 July - room 208) we wasted even more water before the shower eventually delivered very hot water.....concerned at the waste of water?
Southern Sun (formerly the Holiday Inn) review
I often stay at Hiltons, Holiday Inns, etc and so the 3 paws is in comparision to these. We also stayed 1 night at the Holiday Inn in Dar and the later was a better hotel. Though the Southern Sun does have an outside pool.
The aircon was not very powerful and possible as a consequence we had a couple of mosquito's in our room. We had evening dinner at the hotel and the food and price were fine.
The hotel does have a buiness centre with Internet machines (at small cost), which we were able to checkin for our return flights
Southern Sun (formerly the Holiday Inn) review
We had a small problem with the service at our evening meal but we sorted it out so they are aware of it.
Read more about the whole tripSouthern Sun Review
We only stayed at the hotel overnight before our early morning flight home so did not really use any of the facilities.
The food was very good and the hotel was close to the airport which was ideal for what we wanted.
Good hotel
One can not require more just for one night.
At reception, we asked for a Dar city Map , and unfortunately they could not find any.
Southern Sun (formerly the Holiday Inn) review
Only arrived late at night and left early next day so can not comment fully but the breakfast was very good.
Read more about the whole trip
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
