Quote: As it wasn’t mentioned in any guide books, on arrival in Bamako, I had no expectations at all about the hotel. However, after watching two of the hotel staff unsuccessfully trying to bundle nine of us, plus them, plus the taxi drivers, plus the backpacks into two five-seater taxis outside the airport, I was certainly curious. (It turns out to be a perfectly normal way to operate in Mali where transport is involved.) Fortunately the Malian abhorrence of a vacuum does not extend to hotel room occupancy. The rooms at the Relais, are irritatingly semi-circular, but still have enough room for a couple to indulge in some serious cat-swinging. The bed line is worn but clean, and gloomy but clean rooms. All rooms have air-conditioning and fans. The fans have two settings: OFF and GALE FORCE 10. Where there are TVs in the room they can only be tuned to the football channel, apparently.The hotel, which basically is made up of circular cabins, each named after cities in Africa, is situated on grounds beside the Niger River. The area is called Torokorobougou and is roughly 5km in a southwest direction from the centre of town. To reach it from town ask for the Torokorobougou Carrefour, then take one of a number of unpromising looking right hand lanes that lead to the Djoliba football ground. The hotel is next door to this.The food at the hotel is excellent, but I would only recommend eating here if you are prepared to wait for up to 2 hours for a meal (and this includes a plain salad). They just don’t keep food in stock so if you order a meal then you need to wait until someone has been to buy the ingredients. Thankfully there are loads of excellent street stalls in the area.The hotel might seem a bit out of town but actually that’s the nice thing about it. It is a really peaceful location by the river with a large lawn, and a bar terrace from which you can watch the sun go down accompanied by the occasional visiting drummers. The swimming pool is clean and well maintained, and the staff courteous and friendly. There are shaded camping facilities, and vehicle parking in the grounds. Plans are currently underway to have the whole complex refurbished, although it is not clear whether this will prompt a rise in accommodation charges in the future.
From journals Bamako - Never Judge a Book by the Cover