We stayed here for three nights to relax after running a workshop at the Novotel in Dakar.
This is a much nicer hotel with character and extremely friendly staff. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
The rooms are small and in need of a lick of paint here and there. Towels are slightly threadbare but clean.
But the main feature is the enormous swimming pool - too cold for me to swim but my husband braved the cold water. Lots of sun beds - ask the friendly pool attendants for mattresses and towels. At this time of year the wind keeps you from overheating in the strong sun – we had to make sure we remembered to put on sun lotion.
There is a tiny sand beach and nice cafe overlooking the sea. Lovely view back at the centre of Dakar and the Isle of Goree across the Bay.
On Sunday the place is full of local families enjoying the facilities - every sunbed is taken - so get down there well before lunch to make yourself comfortable. The restof the week it was virtually empty.
Breakfast is OK - egg chef, fruit and croissants but they run out if you get down too late.
Restaurant overlooks the beach and is sheltered from the wind. The food is excellent at lunch and dinner. Good fish. Only poor dish was fresh crab claws... not fresh enough for my taste. Everything else we had was fantastic.
They have a half hourly shuttle bus into town in the mornings - last one at 9am. Then it comes back in the evening after 4pm - mostly caters for the business trade. The rest of the time there are taxi's waiting outside the door 24/7. (See my review of the Novotel Dakar re local taxi's and how to cope with them!)
We left the window open one night as it was cool outside and got eaten by mozzies as a result. Either use electric mozzie repellent tablets or use the aircon with the window shut.
There are lots of steps at this hotel – good for the leg muscles – as it is built up the side of a small cliff. Gardens are lovely with lots of birds singing and the black kites wheeling overhead.
Next time I go back to Dakar to work this will be my first choice as to where to stay.

We (a married couple) stayed at the Savana in mid-January for two nights. We had been to Dakar before and were in town for work. We know the city pretty well and stayed in several hotels during this trip because of availability issues as it was the time of the Dakar Rally.

The hotel is popular with tourist groups and some business travelers, and it was actually booked solid while we were there because of the arrival of the Dakar Rally, which filled nearly every hotel room in the city. The surge of people into town made hotel rates quite high, so it's fair to say that we would have paid less during another period. Our rate was nearly $300/night. After staying there, it seems like the appropriate rate would be around half that, which is still high for West Africa, but perhaps not for the top tier hotels in Dakar.

The front desk staff are nice and the lobby is pleasant. The pool is huge and great for lap swimmers. It seems well kept, though neither of us used it.

The Savana's rooms look out over the pool onto the ocean, but they are actually quiet dark due to the outdated color scheme on the carpets, bed linens and curtains, and their small size. The walls are done in a sort of cottage-cheese-ceiling stucco style. The beds are comfortable enough and the bathrooms are fine. The rooms could all use makeovers, especially in this price range. There is internet access but you must pay extra - there are different prices depending on how many hours you want to use it.

The restaurant is really quite expensive for Dakar, but the Savana is rather secluded so people who stay there tend to eat there. We didn't find the food to be so tasty, either, and there are better places one can eat in Dakar. The breakfast area is pleasant, though, in the morning.

In Dakar, all taxis have to be negotiated before getting in, and the taxis that wait outside the Savana offer rates that can be three to four times the norm because they know that visitors who don't take them will have to walk about ten minutes out of the Cap Manuel area up towards the Plateau (downtown) area to get another taxi. But they can still be negotiated if you bargain hard.

If the goal is to just spend a day or two in a quiet hotel, away from the crazy city center, and budget isn't a serious question, the Savana is fine. If you're in Dakar for work, visiting people, etc., there are likely better options that cost less.

We stayed here recently and loved it. It's quite peaceful and situated in a nice neighbourhood on the beach not far from the town centre (10 minutes by taxi). The pool is lovely and the views are superb. You can eat dinner by the beach or have sunset drinks. The rooms could be updated but are acceptable.

Of all luxury hotels in Dakar, Savana is probably the best choice. It has a relaxing athmosphere, a beautiful garden, swimming pool, private beach. The restaurant is good, and not expensive. Service is prompt and really honestly friendly. Typical little African inconveniences are kept in check, as the staff is tightly supervised. Continental breakfast is at 5000 FCFA, that is some 8 euros. Ok, you can find better and cheaper breakfast in town (try standing breakfast in La Galette), but the walk is 30 minutes, and the taxi fare is 1500 FCFA each way. It's a pity they don't have a great choice of cocktails at the poolbar. I agree that the rooms are not that great, and a bit dark. But for the holiday traveler Savana compares favorably with the other acceptable hotels: Meridien is at an immense distance of town (30 minutes in a hot taxi), and restaurant staff over there is a bit incompetent (e.g. you dont greet first time customers with 'salut!'). Hotel Teranga, in the city centre, concentrates all its efforts on its posh entrance hall, neglecting the rooms (hey guys dont bother cleaning the windows, the view is worth nothing anyway; leave the bathtub unrepaired; dont bother to show up when there is an 'unimportant' technical problem so that the tub does not empty - I'm only a tourist) and Teranga staff reserves courtesy strictly for business customers. I didn't try Lagon, which has a good reputation, but so far, I found that Savana is the best by elimination of the others.