We had two short stays in Gaborone, and for our first three-day stay we chose the Gaborone Sun. The Gaborone Sun is one of the older establishments in Gaborone, but the rooms are kept in good shape. The wooden room doors can be sometimes a little squeaky, but you have to look at that as a part of the old colonial atmosphere of the place. The pool and outside bar area seems to date from more modern times, though. In the evenings, there was a nice and lively "pool scene" at the outdoor bar next to the pool, and they serve very good drinks. The rooms were clean, the food and service were good, and there was really nothing to complain about. The food selection seems mainly geared towards the standard tourist palate, with few local or "exotic" items. The hotel is located in walking distance to what one could call the "city center" of Gaborone, if there is such a thing. If you intend to explore the city on foot the Gaborone Sun is definitely a more suitable home base than, let's say, the Walmont Ambassador (which we chose for our second time around in Gaborone). All in all, the Gaborone Sun is a hotel that I can definitely recommend for shorter or longer stays in Gaborone.

I agree with most of Anniejet's (3/18/08) comments. The good service, the well maintained public amenities, the quality of food, and the friendly staff were are all there. Anniejet is also right about the hotel's location, the walk to the main mall and the government buildings is not more than 30 minutes. The walk to Riverwalk Mall seemed much longer to me, but it was good exercise. Our experience with the rooms was not so nice. Although linens were in good condition and the fridge and tea kettle worked fine that was about it. We were only staying 5 days the first week and 3 days the next, and we were not upgraded. The first floor room in the original building was very "tired." The sliding window didn't latch readily or well. The a/c was noisy and hard to control, the shower was almost impossible to obtain both pressure and temperature at the same time. The built-in hairdryer and a table lamp were not close enough to a wall socket to use and the cord on one other lamp was so worn that the lamp would flicker and go out without frequent adjustment. The second floor room we had during the second week was hardly better. The dressing table (and attached hairdryer) was close to an electrical outlet, but it was a pedestal table and swayed precariously if weight was applied to the forward edge of the writing surface. In future we will immediately ask for a better room if we are given the same again. Who knows, maybe it will make a difference -- the staff try to be accomodating, but it was a very busy place while we were there.

Upon our arrival the desk clerk upgraded our room to a deluxe room in the Mapone building. Our room was lovely, immaculate, and significantly larger than the standard rooms (also full tubs and kingsize beds). Employees came by several times asking if there were any problems and when we mentioned the few we experienced...an outlet didn't work, stronger light bulbs would be helpful, air conditioner became sluggish...it was taken care of that day! Impressive to me. We'll be returning to Gaborone and will continue to stay at the Sun for several reasons. It is small enough to feel intimate yet there are 3 restaurants there thus no need to leave the grounds at the end of a work day. Another reviewer said you couldn't walk anywhere??? We walked almost everywhere...to the main mall, the museum, River Walk Mall...numerous times and my husband walked to work almost every day...15 minutes to the Nat'l Lab, by Princess Marina Hospital. There were almost always taxis parked outside if we chose to use one. Actually we got the cards of several reliable drivers and would call them ahead of time if we were heading out in the evening and then arrange for them to pick us up later at our destination. Patrick and Jane (Jan) were excellent. The grounds and pool were lovely and well kept. There are several places where one may settle in with a book and a cup of tea or a beer. Service was excellent at the 2 indoor restaurants and spotty at the outdoor terrace grill, depending on the server. Respectful assertiveness got the job done! Two weeks into our stay a server at the Savuti Grill (buffet restaurant) asked us if we had the 1/2 price card, which we hadn't heard of. He saved us hundreds of dollars! Thank you Gagone! A 12 month package is offered (at the customer relations office) which allows 6 free nights at some (or any, depending on which pkg you buy) Sun hotels and 1/2 price off ANY meals purchased at any of the restaurants for 2 people. (food only) We used 3 of the free stay coupons while there. One free night payed for the package which was $118 US. If you're there for 3 or more weeks it's absolutely worth while. Also, when you eat at the Savuti Grill it is not one set price, as we first tho't but dependent on how many courses you have, one, two or three and you must tell your server before you get the bill how many courses each person had. This is mentioned somewhere in the hotel literature but we missed it at first. So sometimes we'd have salad bar and entrees, sometimes just entrees and skip the desserts. A hungry teenage boy could eat his fill! We went to the steak house at the Grand Palm Hotel one night. Our steaks were tough and not done to our requests. The whole place is impressive...feels like Vegas...not our taste but very nice. Now, this place IS out of town...no way one would walk anywhere! Other places we ate and enjoyed...Pritti Piatti at Riverwalk, Nandos (delicious grilled chicken) fast food at Riverwalk and Game City malls, Bull and Bush, Caravella, Moghul (just ok..but we're not Indian cuisine lovers) We had beer and snacks at the Irish Pub at Game City, Oh, ate at the News Cafe by the Mondior Summit...very nice. Mondior looks quite nice but only one restaurant, breakfast not included in price... We took a 4 day trip to Makanyane Safari Lodge in Madike (sp?) Reserve, about a 1 hour drive south in South Africa. Fabulous....but that's another review!

Fine hotel located near town, not in town. You will need a cab to get anywhere as you would if you stayed at its main rival, the Grand Palm aka Waldorf Ambassador. But unlike the Grand Palm, the Sun does have taxi cabs at the ready on the property. The Grand Palm is further out but it is a much nicer facility. I stayed at both during the same week. Other reviews of the Sun will tell you about the very good buffet, the fine restaurant and the helpful staff. All true. But the hotel, although only two stories, has no elevators. I am 6'2" tall and my feet hung over the end of the bed up to mid calf. They must custom order king size beds - extra short. I had to unplug lights in order to obtain an outlet to charge my toys. Those are the negatives that I experience, but overall I would recommend the Sun if you don't want to pay the premium that the Grand Palm charges.

The Gaborone Sun remains fresh and friendly despite being the best known hotel in town for three decades or more. The front desk and hotel staff are helpful and efficient. The breakfast buffet is great. Only complaint was that the shower was awkward to enter and it was hard to adjust the water temperature. The room was clean and spacious -- not the decor I would have picked, but credit given for an attempt to be original.