My husband and I stayed here for 2 nights in early September as arranged by our tour company, and we had a decent experience at this hotel. The hotel itself is fairly dated, and the reception staff provides OK service - they were helpful when we asked them for help, but I wouldn't say they were particularly friendly.

When we first checked in, we were given a room where the toilet didn't work, and there were ants crawling up and down the wall by the window. Upon bringing this to the front desk's attention, they apologized and promptly helped us move into a different room. The new room was good and fairly clean, and the bathroom, while dated with slight mildew/rust on the tiles and fixtures, was also clean. Hot water was not consistent; we only had hot water for showering at night, despite the sign in the room noting that hot water was available from 4pm to 9am. There was a window screen to keep the bugs out, which wasn't a necessity during the time when we visited but probably very helpful otherwise.

The two redeeming things about the hotel is its location (by Lake Tana) and the restaurant. It was quite nice to be able to sit by the lake while dining, and there were lots of plants, flowers and birds that made sitting outside enjoyable. I will say that the hotel itself is a bit further away from the main part of town, and you will have to hitch a ride back on a bajaj (tuk tuk) after dark, as the side road that leads to the hotel has no street lights. (A ride back will cost about 30-40 birr, depending on where you are coming from.) In terms of the restaurant, we had lunch there on the first day, and the food was quite delicious. The breakfast there was also good, and I have to say the waitstaff were very friendly.

All in all, I would say this is an acceptable hotel for Bahir Dar. (We checked out Kuriftu and it is very nice but also very, very expensive in comparison, so it's hard to say that it is definitely better than Tana.)

We stayed in Goha Hotel in Gobder for two nights and loved it. So, we thought Tana should be as good. Also, we were at Summerland but they were full. So, Tana became our best option.

Reception was poor all the time when we had enquiries. Seems like they don't care what we think.

The room itself is identical to Goha. Nice and ok clean. Bathroom not so great though. We asked the hotel if it's 24hr hot water and they said yes. However, we didn't get any on the first night.

Restaurant is probably the best part of the hotel. Good food and nice staff.

Overall, not crazy for Tana Hotel even though it's right beside the lake.

If we can have a choice again, will go for Summerland. Great help, great value!!!

One of the best postions in Bahir Dar, rooms OK. But the staff all need replacing! This is the first time in all Ethiopia that we have found such bad service, with 'dont care attitude' When we complained that we had had a really bad dinner, the manager's reply was 'well you enjoyed breakfast'! It also had on the door that Visa was accepted, yet when we came to pay, this was refused. Would definitely not return.

Lesley, Cape Town

Once again, we were first offered a room with a sad bathroom. There was water on the floor from a leaking toilet, no shower curtain and many other problems. We asked to move and were given a much better room/bathroom. The decor is nice, there are screens in front of all the windows to keep mosquitoes out and we had hot water after 3 pm as promised. The staff at this hotel were not really friendly, but it didn't detract from the stay. The location right on Lake Tana is wonderful and it's an easy walk into town either along the main road or the paved footpath along the shore of the lake, which runs along the front of the hotel all the way into town. There's a gate in the hotel's perimeter fence that gives access to the pathway (3.5 km in total all along the shore of the lake - very romantic). Forget about eating at this hotel's restaurant: everything was 'with tomato sauce', be it pasta, veal, rice, beef or fish and very expensive. Try the place behind the Moonlight Tour Operations sign about midway between the hotel and the city centre for friendly service and a great location on the lake shore. Or any of the many restaurants in town. You'll still get spaghetti whether you order tagliatelle or penne, but it will be very tasty and cheap. The hotel shop has quite a nice variety of books at dirt cheap prices. Have a look at the prices through the glass when the shop is closed first. If you tell them you want to see the books later when they open the shop, the prices magically disappear! The gardens in front are fantastic and tranquil. It's a functional hotel in a beautiful location and within easy walking distance to town.