Reviews of Southern Sun

"Only stayed at the hotel for about 9 hours to while away some time before we had to catch the plane back to Nairobi.

Hotel comfortable and the meal we had was both delicious and very inexpensive." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"This was just a stop over on our way to the Selous. When we arrived they had no record of our booking, but they were extremely professional and found us a room. A quick call to Expert Africa and all was resolved. As they say: It's not the mistakes you make, it's how you get out of them...

We appreciated the chance to relax after a long flight.

The only downside is the drive from the airport, which introduces you to Dar-es-Salaam traffic (and roadworks). Be prepared to be patient..." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"See our earlier review. [Ed: see below]" See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"Nice quiet, comfortable room overlooking the gardens. Front desk were very efficient and helpful; assisting when my luggage had been left in Jo’burg.

I enjoyed dinner in the restaurant, where service was also extremely good. An extensive breakfast buffet is served from 4am; wide choice of bread, rolls, pastries, jams, meats, cheese, and eggs cooked to order.

Would definitely stay again." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 7n in Zambia; 5n in Tanzania; 1n in South Africa

"We were met by Kearsleys as arranged and the transfer time was reasonable as it was late at night. It seemed to take a while to confirm our room number on arrival but when we were shown there it was adequate. Breakfast was reasonable.

On return from Ruaha we spent a few hours again at the hotel. The food in the restaurant was excellent, along with the service. It made much more of an impression after being in the bush for 8 nights!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"We stayed at the Southern Sun before and after our safari.

The room was comfortable and we were particularly grateful that they allowed us to keep the room until our 8pm journey to the airport.

Breakfast was good, including bacon, sausage and eggs. We also had a couple of meals in the restaurant, which were also fine.

The hotel is next to the Botanical Gardens, which we thought would be good, but the gardens were a huge disappointment - a few interesting trees, but very little else." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"We used Southern Sun Dar more as a crash-pad to ease our 04-00 departure from Dar airport.

Facilities are as one would expect from any Western hotel.......bath, mini-bar, hairdryer, restaurant, TV etc. All were as one would expect. The staff were also helpful in letting us sort out pick-up times, print off boarding passes etc.." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"We only had a few hours here before starting our safari.

The room was comfortable, breakfast good and staff friendly and helpful. The only reason we did not rate this as excellent was because of a check-in problem: they did not have our booking reservation when we arrived from the UK.

Eventually matters were resolved satisfactorily." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"We spent one night here, arriving late in the afternoon before heading out to our first safari lodge early the next day. It is absolutely fine for this - the room was comfortable, the staff unfailingly helpful and charming, and the food excellent. We didn't have time to explore properly, beyond going out through the hotel's back gate to the Botanical Gardens. Although not extensive and now hemmed in by buildings, these at least offer the opportunity for a stroll after a long flight.

Two things might be worth mentioning if you are planning to stay here. First, the main road from the airport is supposedly being upgraded. It is unclear when work will be complete, but until then the short journey between airport and hotel (and vice versa) can take hours and demand significant levels of patience (at one intersection the traffic police allowed crossing vehicles to run for 30 minutes before giving traffic on the main road a go!). And second, for some reason construction work on the site next to the hotel went on throughout the night. In fact, we were so tired that it wasn't a huge issue and when I mentioned it in passing to the duty manager he was mortified and raced off to investigate. But if there is any doubt it would be worth trying to get a room on the opposite side of the hotel (we were in 330).

By the way, it didn't affect us, but the first floor fitness suite and restaurant were closed for renovation so we haven't commented on the facilities; the pool looked lovely!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Comfortable for an over night stay between connecting flights. Good food and drinks.

Don't expect much from Dar its self. The airport could do with re organising, having to hand your passport over for visa processing and then having to wait in an anxious crown for your name to be called out to collect it back, made me feel uneasy been away from my passport." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 5n in Rwanda; 3n in Kenya