What are your room rates? Can I be sure
that the prices displayed on your website are always up-to-date?
All our
rates and discounts are posted on our home page (www.zguesthouse.com) and they are always our latest and
most up-to-date prices. If there is
a change to our rates, we will announce it on our website well ahead of
time and change the rates we display on the home page as soon as the rates
become effective. So you can be
confident that the prices you see on our site are the most current
ones. In addition, if you make your booking at a certain price, you will not be charged
more than that price even if our rates go up before your arrival date. However, if our rates go down, your
payment will be recalculated at the lower rate. So the sooner you book your reservation,
the better to make sure there will be space available for you, even if your
trip is months away.
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How do your
discounts work? What do you mean by daily, weekly and monthly rates?
We have
three different levels of pricing for each of our Suites, all based on how
long you stay with us. We have a standard
daily rate (e.g., US $29.95 per night), which applies to any stay that is
less than a week (6 nights or fewer).
If you stay for 7 or more nights (but fewer than 30), you will
receive a discount on every one of the nights you stay by paying the weekly
discounted rate (e.g., US $27.95 per night). For example if you stay for 8 nights, we
will use the weekly rate multiplied by 8 nights to arrive at your total
cost (in this example, the total would be 8 x US $27.95 per night = US
$223.60). Lastly, we have a monthly
rate with a substantial discount (e.g., US $22.45 per night), which applies
if you stay for 30 days or longer.
The math works the same way as with the weekly rate above (number of
nights x per night monthly rate).
However, if you stay for less than a month but your total comes out
to more than what the monthly total would be (for a full 30 days), we will
charge you the lesser amount of the two.
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Are there any additional charges that I
should expect to see on my bill that are not included in the room price?
If you
are traveling by yourself or with children 2 years of age or under, there
are absolutely no other charges you will see on your bill. However, if you are traveling with other
people (2 or more guests over the age of 2), there is an extra charge of US
$4.95 per night for each additional person in each suite you reserve. This charge covers our extra expenses
associated with accommodating more guests, such as utility and supply
costs, extra servings of breakfast in the morning, housekeeping and other
additional service-related costs. Of
course if you use our other services such as laundry, beverages, phone,
Internet, extra beds, etc., you will see charges associated with those
services on your bill. You will find
a beverage and laundry service price list in your suite. For any other services, please ask us
what the current rate is before using the service. A Value-Added Tax (VAT)
of 15% is already included in the price of your room and the prices for all
of our other services, so there will be no additional taxes or service
charges whatsoever added to your bill.
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Do I need to pay
a deposit for you to hold my room for me?
No. Once you make
your reservation, we will hold your room for you without a deposit. The only exceptions to this rule are if
your reservation is for a very large group of people (more than 10) or if
it is for a very extended period (more than a
year). In these cases, a
non-refundable 10% deposit may be required.
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What will happen once I submit my
reservation on your website?
Once
you submit your reservation online, we will contact you by email within 24
hours. If there is space available,
we will confirm availability and the details of your reservation. We will also ask you to confirm back to
us (within 72 hours) that all the details of your reservation are
correct. If there is no space
available, we will also let you know within 24 hours and may offer you an
alternative option to consider, such as staying with one of our affiliate
guest houses that share our philosophy of providing clean, comfortable and
affordable alternatives to the expensive hotels in Addis Ababa. If you are interested in the option we
offer you and do accept our offer, we will confirm your reservation, send
the details to our affiliate and ask you to confirm that the details in our
records are correct. We will also
send you a reminder a few days before your trip to make sure that your
plans have not changed at the last minute.
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Will I be charged anything if I cancel my
reservation for any reason and without giving you any advance notice?
If you
make a reservation with us, you can be confident that we will honor your
reservation and will not, under any circumstances, give your reservation to
someone else. We do not engage in
the practice of overbooking expecting that some guests will cancel their
reservation. This means that our
business may suffer if you book a stay with us (especially a long one) but
decide to cancel (especially at the last minute). At the same time, we realize that
unexpected things come up that might force you to change your travel
plans. Therefore, if you need to
cancel your reservation before your arrival, we will not charge you
anything but we do ask that you please notify us as soon as you are
aware of the changes in your travel plans. We will honor your reservation and we
only ask that you show some consideration to us in return. If you would like to cancel your
reservation after you have checked in, we once again ask that you give us
as much advance notice as possible.
If you have less than a week remaining on your reservation when you
decide to check out early, we ask that you give us at least 24 hours’
notice or accept a 1 night charge (if you decide to check out right
away). If you have a week or more
remaining, we ask that you give us at least 48 hours’ notice or accept a 2
night charge. If you have a month or
more remaining, we ask that you give us at least 72 hours’ notice or accept
a 3 night charge.
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What currencies and payment methods
can I use to pay for my room? When
do I get my bill?
We only
accept payments in US dollars, Euros or Ethiopian birr. At this time, we do not accept credit
cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc), personal checks or bank transfers. If you will be carrying any other
currency other than those listed above, you can exchange those into birr at
any of the local banks in Addis Ababa.
There are several banks that are within a short walking distance from
our guest house. If your stay is a
week or shorter, all payments will be billed on the day that you check
out. If you stay for longer than a
week, payments will be billed weekly.
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How do I use your free airport pick-up
service? What do I need to do to
make sure I am picked up when I arrive?
If you
are interested in taking advantage of our free airport pick-up service (we
recommend that you do!), let us know your flight arrival details when you
fill out your reservation form (you can also let us know by email or
phone). In our confirmation email to
you, we will ask you to check the flight arrival details to make sure they
are correct. When you arrive at Bole
International Airport, your driver will be waiting for you in the arrival
hall (right as you exit the baggage claim area) holding a sign with your
name on it. Please keep an eye out
for this sign when you reach the arrival hall.
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Can I get an entry visa at the airport or do
I need to get one before I leave for Addis Ababa?
The
Ethiopian government allows travelers who hold passports from the following
“tourist-generating” countries to obtain an entry visa once they arrive at
Bole International Airport: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States. If you are traveling on a passport from
any country other than those listed above, you will need to obtain an entry
visa at an Ethiopian embassy or consulate before you depart for Addis
Ababa. IMPORTANT NOTE: We recommend
that you visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website
or contact them directly to find
out the latest rules and regulations as they change from time to time.
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What time can I check in to my suite? What time do I have to check out?
Check-in
time is at 12:30 PM local time, while check-out time is at 11:30 AM local time. However, if you arrive before the
check-in time and your room is not occupied, you may check-in at the time
of your arrival.
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If my flight arrives after midnight or in
the early hours of the morning, will I be charged for the first night?
Yes. Since our check-in time is not until
12:30 PM local time, you will need to book the previous night so you can
arrive from the airport and be able to check-in to your suite right away if
your flight arrives after midnight or early in the morning (as a number of
flights do), even though your first night may only be 8 to 12 hours
long. If you prefer not to be
charged for the first night, we can come pick you up (from the airport or
somewhere else in the city) at around noon, so that you can check-in at
12:30 PM.
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Can I store my
luggage with you if my flight leaves late in the day or if I’m traveling outside
Addis Ababa?
Yes, no
problem. We will store your luggage
in a secure place until you return to pick it up.
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Can I have extra
beds added to my suite if I have my family or friends traveling with me?
How many of us can fit in each suite?
For the
Apartment Suite, yes, you may have up to 2 additional single beds added to
your suite for a charge of US $5.00 per night for each bed (this is in
addition to the extra US$4.95 per night per person, for a total of US $9.95
per night extra). However, the
Single Suites cannot accommodate any additional beds as there is not enough
room given that there is already a queen size bed in the Suite.
Complimentary baby cribs are also available upon request and can be
put in either type of Suite (Apartment or Single). There can be a maximum of 4 people in
each Apartment Suite and a maximum of 2 people in each Single Suite. This is assuming that 2 people share a
queen size bed. If each person needs
his or her own bed, then there can only be a maximum of 3 people in each
Apartment Suite and a maximum of 1 person in each Single Suite.
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Do you have air conditioning or heating in
your suites? What is the weather like in Addis in general?
No, we
do not have air conditioning and heating systems installed in our suites as
they are not required to live comfortably in Addis Ababa. Many first-time visitors to Addis Ababa
are pleasantly surprised to learn that the climate here is very mild and
temperate (unlike a lot of other parts of Africa). Even though the city is located in a
tropical latitude (about 9 degrees north of the equator), its high altitude
of about 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) above sea level makes the climate a lot
cooler than what it could otherwise be.
It is sunny for most of the year (October to June), while the rainy
season lasts for about three months (July to September). Generally speaking, the temperature stays
at the “room temperature” point (around 20 – 25 OC or 65 – 75 OF)
for practically the entire year.
During the rainy July to September months, it may be a little colder
(especially at night) as it rains just about every day, therefore some
heating may be required to maintain your comfort. If you are visiting during these months,
we will be happy to supply you with an electric space heater upon request.
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Are there any good restaurants in the
area? Are there any bars or night
clubs nearby?
There
are several good restaurants within walking distance of the guest
house. The closest one is the
Armenian Club restaurant, which serves dinner after about 5pm. They have a good selection of meat and
vegetarian dishes at reasonable prices.
The next closest restaurant is Serenade, which is a gourmet
restaurant that is highly recommended by many visitors. Serenade is also only open for dinner. A third restaurant is Blue Tops, which
serves both lunch and dinner but is closed on Mondays. Here you will find a wide variety of
items on the menu from sandwiches to entrees. (The banana split ice cream is a
specialty and is highly recommended for desert! J)
There is also a Pizzeria nearby that serves delicious pizza pies and
is open all day. Please refer to the
map of our neighborhood to
see where each of these restaurants is located. For nightlife aficionados, there are
unfortunately no bars or night clubs located in our immediate neighborhood
as we are located in a quiet, residential area of Addis Ababa. Most of the popular bars and night clubs
are located near the city center and Bole areas (near the airport). If enjoying good nightlife on your trip
to Addis is important to you, we have some affiliate guest houses that are
located in central Addis Ababa and Bole areas that share our philosophy of
providing clean, comfortable and affordable accommodation that we would be
very happy to recommend to you.
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Where is the nearest convenience store or grocery store (supermarket)?
There
are two convenience stores (kiosks) located right across the street, about
50 meters from Z Guest House. These
stores carry basic supplies like bottled water, soft drinks, dry groceries
and many other packaged products. If
you want a more extensive assortment of products to choose from, there is a
grocery store within a 10 – 15 minute walk from the guest house, in the Arat Kilo area. In addition to the basic supplies
described above, this store carries fresh produce (fruits and vegetables)
and a better selection of packaged products as well as health and beauty
products. Just ask us what the best
place to go is depending on what you are looking for and we would be more
than happy to point you in the right direction.
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How far is your guest house from the city
center? How far is it from the
Hilton and Sheraton hotels?
We are
located about a 10-15 minute drive from Meskel Square, which is considered
the geographic center of the Addis Ababa.
We are about a 5 -7 minute drive from the Sheraton and a 7-10 minute
drive from the Hilton.
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Is your guest house in a safe area? Should I be concerned about my safety in
general while in Addis Ababa?
Z Guest
House is located in a quiet, residential and (most importantly) safe neighborhood. Addis Ababa in general is considered to
be one of the safest cities in Africa.
Violent crimes are almost unheard of and just about the only thing
you have to be careful of are the pick-pockets in certain busy parts of
Addis Ababa. It is recommended that
you visit busy areas of the city such as markets without carrying a lot of
cash, jewelry, personal effects or large bags. We can also provide you with a
complimentary safe to store your valuables if you are interested.
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What kind of transportation do you recommend I use to get around in
Addis Ababa?
The
most convenient way for guests who are unfamiliar with Addis Ababa to
travel around the city is to hire a private taxi (these are blue and white
sedans, sometimes yellow). Depending
on where you need to go, you agree on the price with the taxi driver before
you begin your trip. The charge can
range anywhere from 20 birr to 100 birr or more (US $2 to US $10 or more)
and is usually negotiable. If you
are interested, we have several blue and white private taxi cabs that serve
our guest house, so just ask us to call one for you and what a reasonable
fare is for where you are going. It
usually takes anywhere from 5 – 15 minutes for one to arrive at the guest
house once you call. Another way to
travel for the more experienced person is by taking the blue and white
mini-bus taxis. These operate more
like city buses in that they have a fixed fare and travel a fixed
distance. So this will involve some
walking to a place where you can flag one down going where you are
headed. The typical fare costs
anywhere from 1 birr to 3 birr (10 to 30 US cents) and you may be sharing
the minibus with up to 12 other people.
If you are traveling a fairly long distance, you also need to know
where to get off and switch to another minibus, etc. This is not recommended if you are new to
the city and are not sure where exactly you are going and how to get
there. If you are going somewhere
close (within walking distance), a third way to travel is of course on
foot, which is absolutely safe and can be enjoyable as you observe
firsthand what life is like in Addis Ababa. There are also a lot of points
of interest within walking distance that you can explore. See the maps on our location page for more detail.
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How can I rent a car in Addis? How much does it typically cost?
If you
would like to rent a car during your stay in Addis, just let us know when
you make your reservation and we can make the arrangements for you ahead of
your arrival and let you know the costs.
If you do not need the rental car right away, you can feel free to
let us know after you arrive and we can make the arrangements for you or
put you directly in touch with several rental car agencies so you can make
the arrangements yourself, whichever you prefer. Costs for a small city sedan can range
from anywhere around 300 to 600 birr per day (US $30 to $60 per day)
without a driver, depending on availability and the season. If you require a driver, the cost may be
up to 50% higher. You will need an
international or local driver’s license to drive the car yourself. If you need a 4x4 (Land Cruiser, Land
Rover, etc) or van for trips outside the city, the rates will be in the 700
to 1000 birr per day range (US $70 to $100 per day) depending on
availability. These types of
vehicles usually come with a driver, which is included in the price. IMPORTANT NOTE: All prices and exchange
rates are subject to change and are only provided as a general guide, not
as specific quotes.
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Where can I find a good swimming pool if I want to go for a quick
splash?
There
are several options if you would like to go for a swim. The swimming pools at the Hilton and
Sheraton are probably your best bet, but the cost is anywhere between US
$10 – US $30 per person. There is
also the thermal swimming pool at the Ghion Hotel
(with an Olympic sized cold water pool and a 10m diving platform). The entry price is much lower (around 30
to 50 birr or US $3 - $5 per person).
Another option is the Filwoha Hotel’s
pool, which is fed by hot springs and is more appropriate for a sauna or
massage. The entrance fee is priced
around 25 birr (US $2.50) per person.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All prices and exchange rates are subject to change
and are only provided as a general guide, not as specific quotes.
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If I have a whole day with nothing to do,
what would you recommend that I go do or see?
There
are many attractions within walking distance of the guest house that you
can easily explore. Of course what
you will want to go see will depend on what type of things interest you. If you like museums, there are two very
good museums within walking distance.
The first one is the National Museum which houses the remains of the
famous “Lucy” human ancestor who is about 4 million years old and was
discovered in Ethiopia in the 1970s.
There is also a Natural History Museum on the campus of Addis Ababa
University. The nearby Lion’s Zoo
may also be of interest to you.
Another point of interest for a lot of our guests is the campus of
Addis Ababa University, which is one of the oldest university systems in
Africa. If you are interested in
visiting historical churches, there are several that may be of interest to
you, like Kidist Maryam
and Selassie Churches, which are part of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Mercato, the largest open market in all of Africa, is
also a popular destination for many of our visitors. We also recommend going up the Entoto mountains to enjoy a breathtaking view of Addis
Ababa from about 3,000 meters above sea level.
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