GOOD HOTEL probably one of the best actually in Libreville; rooms are nice, clean, space. service is ok; good situation in town Cash dispenser in the hall of the hotel good security RECOMMENDED

Prix : 170 euros pour une chambre "superieure" Reservation : Incorrecte . Deux lits jumeaux au lieu d'un lit King Size reservé. Chambre : Usée. Rideaux déchirées. Mobilier branlant. Salle de bains : Usée . Pas trés clean. Le linge n'est pas changé. Je me suis retrouvé avec une seule serviette . . . Mini Bar : Vide Service : Pas du tout cordial. Parfois à la limite de l'hostilité. Le personnel de chambre a la facheuse tendance de s'interpeller bruyamment dans les couloirs à partir de 08h00 du matin. Piscine : OK Restaurant de la pisicne : Les plats arrivent froids et la qualité de certains est vraiment très moyenne. Salle de gym : Usée. Mal aérée Room service : Le pain du sandwich commandé etait congelé à 14h00. Business center : Bonnes prestations mais trés cher. (1.5 euros par page imprimée) Internet : Pas inclus dans le prix de la chambre. ( env. 10 euros / Heure avec une carte) La gestion de cet hotel est vraiment calamiteuse. il n'y a que les prix qui soient aux standards internationaux. Le reste ne suit pas. Cela en fait un hotel trés cher au vu de la qualité du service. Je deconseille cet hotel de prime abord. Le problème est que les autres hotels de la ville ne sont pas vraiment mieux . . .

I spent four nights at Le Meridien in Libreville, from Friday through Tuesday. I read in advance the other reviews posted and intended to keep an open mind. I come away from the experience pretty much in agreement with the others. The room (standard class 99,000 CFA/$200 US per night) was comfortable and clean. However, I did see cockroaches in the bathroom on the first night. Our room was located on the third floor. WIFI access, television reception and room A/C all functioned well. Housecleaning staff did a good job and were understanding when asked one morning to return later even though I had not put out the "Do Not Disturb" sign. My experience with the front desk staff was mixed. On check-in the staff were very helpful, polite and patient with my adequate, but less than perfect French language skills (if the other reviewers were English only, this might partly explain some of their negative experiences). On the other hand, when my wife asked at the front desk about having some shirts ironed, the man she spoke to was not very helpful at all. I think that the desk people may be more receptive to men than to women, because later I was able to get my wife's ironing taken care of with little difficulty. We were helped by one front desk clerk who allowed us to use his personal cell phone to make long distance calls to our family. We gave him 5000 CFA ($10 US) to buy phone credits and he let us use his phone until the credits were used up. We found this to be a better option than to pay the hotel long distance phone rates. If you are travelling with any other currency than euros, pounds sterling or $US you will likely have difficulty changing your cash for CFA at the front desk. I was not able to change $Cdn, either at the front desk, the near by BGFI bank branches, or at the Western Union branch I was directed to. The hotel has an ATM at which you can get CFA cash advances from your VISA if you have a PIN. I spent a lot of time around the pool and at the pool bar/restaurant. Yes, the beach area in front of the hotel is a filthy eye sore. The pool, however, is very nice. With only one exception, all of the serving staff we met at the pool bar/restaurant were competent and friendly. I'm willing to chalk the "bad waiter's" failings up to newness, perhaps. I can also attest to the continental breakfast's outragious price!! The "Grillade" (grilled meat/fish buffet) was very good, even if a little expensive. My wife is a government worker who was in Libreville for a conference. The booking was made at Le Meridien on the recommendation of Canadian diplomats who she took to be "in the know". All in all, I would have to rate my experience at this hotel as "neutral".

This is my second stay in this hotel (it is close to work) but it will be my last. When I pay these premium rates I at least expect something other than the rude, incompetent service you get at cut - rate African establishments. Sadly this is not the case. Although their are exceptions, right from the front desk people to the restaurant and room service waiters, rudeness and mistakes are the norm, and the rudeness only increases when you point out a problem. Appearances wise, the lobby is quite nice but the rooms are run down and badly in need of refurbishment. Both stays here I rejected the first rooms they gave me due to them absolutely reeking of cigar smoke. Instead I settled for rooms with stained lampshades, noisy aircon, and doors falling off their hinges. The pool is quite nice, but it overlooks a beach completely covered in garbage and other flotsam. I realize cities generate garbage into the surrounding water, but salaries are low here and they could surely employ someone to keep things clean. Especially with the prices they charge (continental breakfast USD20).

This is one of the two hotels that can be booked in Libreville online. My French is not good enough to speak on the phone, so I couldn't reserve a room in Libreville other than online and was flying into Libreville too late to find something on my own (and first time in Africa so was a bit nervous about just showing up without a place to go). And of course I assumed at the price (US$225 per night) we would be staying at a really nice hotel so I booked two nights... oops. One of the main impressions I still have about Le Meridien was that going to the front desk was an unpleasant experience every single time. I don't think I ever saw a smile, and we certainly weren't made to feel welcome - actually judging by their facial expressions and slow actions we felt like we were making them go out of the way for us (as if we didn't just pay US$550 to stay for two nights). Le Meridien is extremely high cost for the quality. If I had to stay in another hotel in Libreville I would try something else, perhaps Hotel Bilbouqet - but not sure? I imagine comparable quality for less cost can be found elsewhere in Libreville. Once you've adjusted a bit to the culture shock and general "dinginess" of everything in Libreville, the city feels fairly safe (I wouldn't wander too far from other people at night though, or onto the beach). We walked through the streets to dinner in Quartier Louis (near Hotel Bilbouqet) at night several times and felt perfectly safe. FYI Hotel Bilbouqet has a great little pizzeria - we didn't look at the rooms or stay there so can't advise about the rooms. Speaking of other hotels, Hotel Tropicana seems to be quite popular with visitors but despite the lower cost is reportedly more like a brothel than a hotel. Beware of prostitutes knocking on your door at night asking for help - I heard they will barge in and not leave until you pay them for a service. Every restaurant where we ate (most of them were on Montee Louis in Quartier Louis) in Libreville were friendly and provided great food, and the prices were very reasonable. As memory serves it cost around 7000 CFA per plate for a very nice meal at Le Mangrove on Montee Louis - highly recommended. We ate at other nearby restaurants that were great too. Most of them had great ambiance/decoration.