La Maison Rose

“Very Senegalese”

I stayed two nights at the Maison Rose on the island in St Louis. I loved the artwork and the courtyard. The room was as others have said; this is not a brand new five star hotel. No hair dryers (you'd probably burn up the electrical system with a high powered one), typical Senegalese shower with … more

I stayed two nights at the Maison Rose on the island in St Louis. I loved the artwork and the courtyard. The room was as others have said; this is not a brand new five star hotel. No hair dryers (you'd probably burn up the electrical system with a high powered one), typical Senegalese shower with old tiles, lots of thresholds and shifts in floor levels, walls with cracks and spots. But for me, it had character and had the key things that I needed for a good night's sleep, including mosquito net (no screens on the windows). I was in a ground floor room, so just a view to the courtyard. I booked through email and reserved a specific room (Chambre Gandiol) at a specific rate, to ensure rate. When I noted a problem with lights next to the bed not working, they were fixed quickly. While I would not say it was not well cleaned, it is an old building and hard to look spick and span, even though I think that it was. Friendly at reception.

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“Great price and peaceful surroundings ”

A really reasonably priced room with a basic but delicious breakfast. Lovely location and really very peaceful. Friendly staff and somewhere that is known to all the guides and drivers. Would really recommend

“With just a very small investment, this place would be perfect”

Beautiful, clean and ideally located, with remarkably friendly and helpful staff. Horrible/ancient mattress and furniture. Without exaggerating, I am quite sure that the mattress on my bed was several decades old. A simple/cheap mattress would have changed my rating to five stars, but when a bed… more

Beautiful, clean and ideally located, with remarkably friendly and helpful staff. Horrible/ancient mattress and furniture. Without exaggerating, I am quite sure that the mattress on my bed was several decades old. A simple/cheap mattress would have changed my rating to five stars, but when a bed is so uncomfortable that it prevents sleep, that is a pretty major factor, even when everything else about the place was pretty close to perfect. There is wifi in some areas, but did not reach to my room.

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“Lots of atmosphere”

To look at, this hotel is just gorgeous - an old colonial building, the exterior wall a riot of bougainvillea, a lovely inner courtyard lush with plants around which the hotel rooms are located on the ground and first floor. On the first floor, each room has a different colour and decor - yellow wa… more

To look at, this hotel is just gorgeous - an old colonial building, the exterior wall a riot of bougainvillea, a lovely inner courtyard lush with plants around which the hotel rooms are located on the ground and first floor. On the first floor, each room has a different colour and decor - yellow walls in one, blue in another, green in a third and so on. Quite charming. But the rooms are seriously dark. Rooms on the ground floor have no windows except a small one that overlooks the courtyard. The only room that I saw on the first floor was enormous, with a separate sitting area and a palatial bedroom, with no less than three double doors leading to tiny balconies overlooking the street. But these were tightly covered with two sets of wooden doors and heavy drapes, making it impossible to let in the light. So this room, too, was very dark. The entire place feels old - which is good for atmosphere but not so good for comfort or relaxation. In this hotel, as in others in Senegal, there is regular heavy use of some sort of air freshener - or maybe it is a mosquito repellant, not sure. The smell is overpowering and in these small, closed rooms with very little air circulation it is impossible to get rid of. I've never had allergies but I coughed and coughed and could not stop - improved a bit after shifting to the first floor, where at least there was more space and air - but the room still felt stuffy and heavy with chemicals. As a consequence, we didn't spend much time in the hotel, beyond what was absolutely necessary. The (included) breakfast was a bit makeshift with juice, coffee and a few kinds of bread - that was pretty much it. We didn't have a meal here, preferring the restaurant close by at the more inviting Hotel la Residence. Next time I'd probably choose to stay at the latter.

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