Grand Hotel Urban

Where do I even begin? Due to a business trip, we checked into the Grand Urban and chose the room with a balcony on floor -1. That’s also where the “public bathrooms” are located, and they had a very strong smell of urine. During meal times it became loud because the room was directly underneath the dining area. The windows let in a lot of noise, and there is a school right below the hotel, quite close. Because of that, it’s incredibly loud in the mornings. The rooms didn’t have any hand soap, small hand towels, or a door sign to indicate whether you want housekeeping or not. Since the sign didn’t exist, we informed reception and told them that we did not want cleaning service in the morning. (We were at a meeting and had documents in the room that didn’t fit into the safe.) When we returned, we immediately saw that someone had of course been inside anyway. But even then, it somehow still wasn’t clean. The food was also really not worth the price. And now to our biggest “shock”: the shower. I have rarely felt so disgusted by a shower in my life. There were strangers’ hairs stuck to the walls, and the tiles and corners were so filthy that you truly didn’t want to shower at all. Very disappointing for the amount of money we paid.

Central located, big comfortable rooms, excellent beds, good shower, really well laid out and best of all the restaurant is excellent. I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there and it was all very good and very reasonable. I’d stay here again in a heartbeat.

Stayed here for the last night of a long Madagascar trip, and it was a major disappointment. - Check-in was quite disorganized, in a cramped and crowded mini-lobby jammed in between the entrance door and the restaurant. Not pleasant. - My room was clean but very small, there was a mini-desk, but no chair. - There was major painting work being done (some of it right in front of my balcony), i.e. some odour and some noise. That kind of thing is sometimes unavoidable, but it would have been professional (and polite) to tell me about this when I received my booking confirmation. - Breakfast proceedings were very chaotic. I had booked B&B, and coffee, eggs and yoghurt were served quickly. After waiting for the rest (bread, jam, cheese, fruit etc.) for ca. an hour, I gave up and skipped the rest. - WiFi was hit-and-miss, and when it did work, it was excruciatingly slow. - They offer transport to the airport for a staggering 120,000 Ar. When I pointed out that a regular taxi is 80,000 and that the city centre hotel I stayed at a few weeks ago does airport transfers for 65,000, the lady at reception shrugged and said "it's the hotel's policy." This is just a blatant rip-off. - Not only transfers, but everything in the hotel (not least the rooms) is very overpriced for what you get. This is still worth two stars - one for the smiling staff, and one for the magnificent views. However, if you want to stay in the area, there's another hotel 50 meters up the road, and it's three times as good as this one for a third of the price.

Colonial feeling hotel that’s well priced and well located. Views from roof bar are stunning. Indian influenced restaurant is a step above most hotel restaurants in Madagascar.

Located in a place where you can see the busy day to day life of the Malagasy People. The famous market is in walking distance. & Also the Irish Pub. Plenty of small bars & eating joints. |Be careful of your wallet and of course the beggars target you. |Very Busy Place. Fantastic views from the Bar on the 6th floor. Unfortunately no Draught Beer

Excellent location, very nice staff, good breakfast! The rooms are not that well insulated, so you will unfortunately hear a lot your neighbours and everything in the hallways

Good value-for-money hotel in central location. Pretty decent restaurant. Friendly staff. A couple of minor downsides: the curtains in my bedroom window weren't sun-blocking, which means that, unless you're wearing a sleep mask, you'll wake up pretty early, if you're sensitive to light; the music in the common area is generally made of lame and syrupy love songs - I wish it was mainly music by Madagasy musicians. Other than this, totally recommend!

My stay was truly delightful. The Superior Queen room was not only chic and stylish but also offered breathtaking views of both Tana East and West. The room was well-appointed and comfortable, providing a perfect retreat after a day of exploring the city. The staff at the hotel were incredibly polite and professional, always going the extra mile to ensure a pleasant stay. A particular highlight was the consistently excellent hot water supply for showers, a luxury often overlooked but greatly appreciated. There are several excellent dining options within easy walking distance.