Guest Houses in Addis Ababa

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Guest Houses in Addis Ababa

Since early 2005, Addis Ababa has seen the introduction of the innovative guest house concept. Because the concept is fairly new to the city, a guest house can mean different things to different people here.

The Furnished Apartment or Extended Stay Hotel Guest House

Some guest houses are closer to what many would call furnished apartments or extended stay hotels that offer up to about three times more space than a standard hotel room. These furnished apartments can be rented out by the day, week or even month—no leases, security deposits or utility payments to worry about.

This picture will load in just a moment... And unlike regular hotels, they typically offer significant discounts for extended stays—monthly rates are lower than weekly rates, which are in turn lower than nightly rates. These types of guest houses also offer something that most hotel rooms typically don’t have — fully-equipped kitchens.

This makes them ideal accommodation options for families, especially those who enjoy having home cooked meals. Plus they offer plenty of space which frees guests from the confines of the average hotel room and helps them feel more at home than the typical hotel room.

The Bed and Breakfast Guest House

A guest house in Addis could also translate to more of a bed and breakfast. These are typically homeowner or family-run operations. One thing most of these types of guest houses have in common is a focus on customer service, individually decorated rooms and a home-cooked style breakfast. These types of guest houses are ideal for singles or couples.

Generally, guests are accommodated at night in private bedrooms and breakfast is served in the morning—either in the bedroom or, more commonly, in a dining room or the host's kitchen. Bathrooms tend to be completely private or even en-suite, where the bathroom is directly accessed from the guest's bedroom. Staff often consists of the homeowners, members of their family who live there and their help.

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This option is also great if you’re looking for a place that feels like home and want to experience the friendly and accommodating nature that is the hallmark of the Ethiopian people. Staying at a bed and breakfast guest house is a great way to experience certain aspects of Ethiopian culture up close—like the elaborate coffee ceremony that is a daily ritual in most homes and authentic Ethiopian cuisine—as well as enjoy some of the most affordable and comfortable accommodations the city has to offer.

Why not eat in?

This picture will load in just a moment... To be sure, Addis Ababa offers a great deal of dining options. But as exciting as it sounds to dine out constantly, it gets tiresome. Sometimes when you’re away from home, you just want to cook for yourself. If you’re on an extended trip—especially if you’re traveling with your family—you may get tired of dragging yourself or your kids to restaurants for every meal. If you’re a road warrior business person, you eventually get tired of room service, don't want the breakfast buffet, or just want to eat a quick and easy meal in your room without any hassles or waiters, tipping, salty and greasy food and sitting alone at a table. You may also want to have the option of bringing back leftovers to heat and eat later. You may do it to save on your travel budget or you may do it because you just like to cook for yourself.

Regardless, if any of this applies to you, the ideal solution for you may be to stay in guest houses with a kitchen or kitchenette. Typically these are equipped with a stove, refrigerator, cooking utensils, dinnerware and eating utensils. The only thing you need to bring is groceries, as everything else is there for you to be able to cook and also to clean up after. Most guest houses also have maid service that can help you cook or wash your dishes if you’re interested in these services.

Staying in a guest house may be an ideal choice if you…

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are working on an extended project
are going away on a budget vacation
are bringing your family with you and want more space
like to cook and want to have a kitchen available
are relocating to Addis without housing in place
are adopting a child
are visiting relatives and want more privacy
want the independence to be able to entertain guests
like to have the comforts of home on the road