comfortable for 1 night stay, but very basic, then again, lots of tour groups so this may be one of the few if not only large hotel in town!

It may be the best of the upmarket places in town (and I'll recommend it because you have to stay somewhere) but that ain;t saying much. Good: the location right across the river from three of the wheels; the staff in the lobby bar; cleanliness.

Not so good: everything else. The front desk staff seems to have been worn out by the unremitting flow of demands from large groups - they are also trying to answer the phones at the same time. Once checked in you get strangely shaped and tiny twin rooms (we were told there are no double beds in the place) with elderly TV's, a small fridge right there in the room with you, groaning A/C and green wallpaper. The breakfast buffet which we ate in the company of a vast and multilingual horde of bus parties was the tiredest and most limited collection of .... stuff we had in two weeks of travelling while the Jardin restaurant where we had dinner is also pretty ordinary apart from the location. This is a pity as the street food in Hama was some of the best we had.

Everyone who stays here will survive the night; anyone who travelled in Eastern Europe in the 70's will feel right at home.

As this is the best hotel in town all the tourists tend to go there. Great location. Ensure you get a river view to see the water wheels. It's restaurant Le Jardin is over the road, right by the river. Beware the box of Kleenex tissues the waiters put on the table / we used some tissues and we were promptly charged for the box!

though for european standarnds you wouldn't even consider staying there, don't forget that this is Hamah Syria, a rather poor region of the counrt y with no tourism and therefore no accomodation standards. This is way Apamee is the best you can get there. It is really old but it looks like it was a beauty back in the day (early 80's that is). Rooms small, reception and lounges small ... the view on the other hand was great ; overlooking the water mills (the hotel is located on a hill so you get full view of the city). If you ever visit Hamah this is the only place to stay so.... enjoy and stop complaining