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10. Where are the best places to stay?

Realistic Expectations
Bamako and Beyond
Book With Tour Operators
Bamako
Mopti
Timbuktu
Djenne
Sanga
Bandiagara
Segou

While Mali is not noted for fine accommodations, you will find tolerable places to stay in most major destinations.

But be prepared for disappointments, especially if you believe the star ratings advertised by properties. Most ratings are either meaningless or exaggerated by two stars!

REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Many of the best places to stay in Mali are very basic and worn - include air-conditioning, private bath with hot water, a television, restaurant, and a few things that may need servicing. Many of these properties are convenient for dining since they are known for having the best restaurants in town.

Be forewarned not to expect too much when looking for places to stay in Mali. Indeed, low expectations will serve you well as you journey throughout Mali!

Except for one aging five-star hotel property in Bamako (Sofitel), which primarily caters to business people, government officials, and NGO representatives, and a few quaint boutique properties, the best accommodations in most places are one- to two-star hotels.

Budget travelers and backpackers often opt to camp on roofs or pitch a tent on the grounds of various properties, including campement that have very basic rooms.

Many properties seem overpriced for the quality of accommodations, service, and amenities. The basic room rate for most places includes breakfast, which is usually a very simple breakfast - coffee, tea, bread, and jam.

Since many of the best properties have a limited number of rooms and are fully booked during high season, be sure to book early enough to be sure you'll be staying at a decent place.

BAMAKO AND BEYOND

As might be expected, the best accommodations are found in Bamako. However, even the best here are not what you might expect to encounter in a capital city.

Once outside Bamako, the very best accommodations are usually listed as three-star hotels. You may be excused for wondering how most of these properties earned even a 3-star designation.

To describe most as "basic" is often a generous euphemism. However, be aware that no matter how lacking in amenities these properties may be, venture away from these best hotels and the standards go downhill rapidly. Complainers should remember that it's probably worse at other properties in town!

BOOK WITH TOUR OPERATORS

If you are booking your journey with a Mali tour operator, we suggest you have them book your accommodations as many "up-country" hotels are not responsive to e-mails and other attempts by individuals to secure reservations.

This may be in part because the European language most widely spoken in Mali is French, and many staff speak or write little English. Consider, too, that most of the hotels outside Bamako are small properties.

If guests for 15 rooms show up on a given day and there are only 14 guestrooms to be had, whom do you think will be without a room for the night - the persons who were booked by a local tour operator who does business with them all year long or the guest who is there for one or two nights never to be seen again?

If you are picky about your accommodations and want to stay at the best available properties, make this preference clear to your tour operator and stay involved as they secure the reservations for your visit.

But start the process early, since tour groups quickly fill the rooms in the best properties and even your tour operator cannot make a room magically appear in a fully booked hotel.

Generally the tour operator will make reservations once the client has made a deposit - perhaps half the final cost of the tour.

For a trip during the high season, be prepared to make your reservations at least six months or more ahead of your intended trip. During the peak travel season, especially in December and January, Mali's limited infrastructure is stretched to capacity, and many of the "best" hotels outside Bamako will be fully booked months in advance. So our best advice is to plan ahead and book early.

We worked with Mr. Assou at Saga Tours (WWW.sagatours.com), who kept us posted every step of the way. As soon as a hotel was confirmed, an e-mail from him would be waiting for us the following morning.

Some of the best properties in various communities you are likely to visit in Mali include the following:

BAMAKO

Sofitel L'Amitie Bamako: Avenue de la Marne, BP 1720, Bamako, Mali, Tel. 223 221 43 21, Fax 223 221 43 85. E-mail: ho573@accor.com. Website: www.sofitel.com.

No question about it, the Sofitel stands out as the best property in Mali and one of two hotels at present, that claim 5-star status. Although located an equivalent of several city blocks from the river, each of the 191 guestrooms and suites has a view of the River Niger.

Guestrooms are decorated in neutral tones of beige, browns, and ivory. The bathrooms combine the tub with the shower. Two executive floors offer additional amenities, and four floors are reserved for nonsmokers.

The breakfast buffet is the best in town and served in the main restaurant, La Table du Chef. Some evenings La Table du Chef offers a buffet dinner and at other times it is by menu only. The fast-service menu at the Coffee Shop snack restaurant is available all day long. The Sixties is a 1960's-style American music bar.

There are several small shops located off the lobby. Business Center; Fitness Center and Outdoor Pool; Conference/Banquet Facilities.

Laico El Farouk Bamako: Boulevard du 22 Octobre 1946/Quartier de Fleuve, BP: E 5063, Bamako, Mali, Tel. 223 222 3030, Fax 223 222 61 61. E-mail: reservation.bamako@laicohotels.com. Website: www.laicohotels.com.

Now operated by the Laico group, a recently established joint venture subsidiary between Laico (Libya) and TTS (Tunisia), the former Kempinski Hotel El Farouk is located literally on the bank of the Niger River.

The lobby is decorated with masks and statuary from several tribal groups in Mali and is available for sale through the small shop down the hallway off to the right from the reception desk. (However, the shop is usually not open, so if you have an interest in buying tribal art, ask the management to put you in touch with the shop’s owner, Amadou Diabate. He also has pieces for sale at his shop in town.)

The 80 guestrooms and 10 suites are decorated in a minimalist contemporary style which provides the feeling of a beach resort - even though there is no beach. The bathrooms, though spacious, also have a minimalist feel, and a tub/shower combination.

Le Bélvèdere, with its panoramic bay windows, looks out over the Niger. Enjoy the buffet breakfast here and you can almost feel the mist as you watch the Bozo fisherman in the morning. Lunch and dinner are served here as well, and offer a range of international cuisine as well as Lebanese specialities, and a Sunday Brunch.

Le Dangan serves grills and light snacks by the pool, and Le Daamu serves light snacks and cocktails with live music Tuesday to Friday evenings. Outdoor pool; Conference/Banquet Facilities.

Hotel Salam: BP 104, Bamako, Mali, Tel. 223-222-1200, Fax 223-222-3637.

Considered a 4-star property, the Hotel Salam is a strong contender for 5-star status. The exterior is somewhat suggestive of the style of the desert mud Tuareg-style architecture and features art work of noted Senegalese artist Secka.

The 118 guestrooms are large and well appointed. Many rooms have a view of the Niger River. Restaurants, Gift shops, Fitness Center and Spa, Pool, Business Center, Conference/Banquet Facilities.

MOPTI

Hotel Kanaga: Mopti Fleuve Niger, BP 224 Mopti, Mali, Tel. 223-243-00-05 Fax: 223-243-00-26.

The first thing you notice as you approach the Hotel Kanaga is the lovely landscaping and mud-style architecture. It's located along the bank of the Niger River. If this is your first "upcountry hotel" (hotel outside the capital), it may spoil you for the rest.

It is one of the best hotels in Mali and certainly outside of Bamako. Formerly managed by the Sofitel group, the 80 rooms are a bit on the small side, but they are nicely decorated with Malian handicrafts. The bathroom is also small but pleasant with a shower and hot water. Air-conditioning, satellite television, swimming pool, and restaurant.

TIMBUKTU

Hendrina Khan Hotel: Timbuktu, Mali, Tel. 223-292-1681, Fax 223-292-1677.

The name of this property may seem familiar - it's owned by the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program - Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan - and named after his Dutch/South African wife, Hendrina, whose picture hangs in the restaurant.

You can Google some interesting stories (possibly prospecting for uranium in northern Mali to support Pakistan's nuclear bomb?) about why Dr. Khan would build this property in a such as remote location.

The biggest complaint people mention about the Hendrina Khan is that is out a bit from town. This is not necessarily a problem if you have a car and driver at your disposal. The architecture is uninspired with no attempt to mimic the desert style. However, it is considered to be the best in town.

The guestrooms and bathrooms are both large. Our room had a low king-sized bed with a small nightstand on each side, a round table with two chairs situated under a wall-mounted television (satellite reception), and a wardrobe with hangers. There was a lot of space that was not filled with anything.

The rooms were impeccably clean, though the decorating (furnishing) style will not make it into the pages of any magazine. Set menu meals are served in the first floor dining room. Includes a small gift shop offering many arts and crafts from the region.

DJENNE

Djenne Djeno: Djenne, Mali, Tel. 223-660-0017 or 223-933-1526, No Fax. E-mail: res@hoteldjennedjenno.com. Website: www.hoteldjennedjenno.com.

Hotel Djenne Djenno is another unexpected gem. Opened in December 2006, this small boutique hotel has 8 rooms and 3 suites - each with air conditioning and en suite bathroom with hot water. The suites have television.

The hotel is constructed in a modern interpretation of the Malian mud architecture and fits well into the surrounding landscape at the edge of the city. The owner, Swedish artist and interior designer, Sophie Sarin, has used the West African 'Bogolan' textiles to decorate the comfortable interiors of the guestrooms. She is a joy to meet and talk with as well.

To get a sense of the day-to-day challenges she faces operating a small hotel in the Sahel of West Africa, visit her blog: djennedjenno.blogspot.com.

The hotel operates a small restaurant for the resident guests. Sophie's flair is evident in the selection and presentation of the food and some evenings, depending on the clients, there may be local entertainment.

SANGA

Hotel Campement Guina: Sanga, Mali, Tel/Fax: 223-244-2028. Also known as the Hotel Campement Sanga.

Closer to the Bandiagara escarpment by far than the town of Bandiagara, you can be out of your room and in view of the escarpment within about 10 minutes by motor vehicle.

This hotel is basic, but the rooms are large and clean, there is a rack with slotted shelves and hooks for luggage and clothing. We asked for a chair - which we got.

The bathroom has an open shower at one end (plan your morning activities so that you shower last, or the floor will be wet for the remainder of your activities) with the toilet at the other end and a sink with mirror in the middle. Water was hot most of the time.

We spent New Year's Eve here and the management went to great lengths to make it special, serving a huge buffet dinner for all the hotel guests.

There are several small shops at the foot of the drive leading up to the hotel with wood carvings and forged iron items for sale. If you have shown any interest in items the night before, vendors will be waiting outside the hotel the next morning as you leave with one last attempt to make a sale. You can really bargain hard at this point!

BANDIAGARA

Hotel Kambary: Bandiagara, Mali, Tel/Fax: 223-244-2388. E-mail: chevalblancmali@yahoo.fr. Website: www.kambary.com.

Staying in Bandiagara puts you on the edge of Dogon country and nearly a two-hour drive from the escarpment. This hotel is unique, consisting of separate domed buildings meant to reflect the Dogon-style architecture. Some rooms with fans, others have air-conditioning at additional cost. Restaurant Bar Le Cheval Blanc. Small swimming pool.

SEGOU

Hotel Independence: Segou, Mali, Tel/Fax: 223-232-0462. Website: www.promali.org/aub-ind/index.htm.

This hotel's 29 rooms and 4 suites have air-conditioning, satellite television, and mini-bar - not necessarily stocked, but it will keep drinks you buy cold. The rooms are spacious and well lighted. Bathroom with shower and hot water.

There is a restaurant at the Independence, but we tried the restaurant of their sister hotel (same owners) L’'uberge. The menu had a huge selection (especially impressive after being "upcountry" for a week) and the items we ordered were very good. Swimming pool. Conference Hall.

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