Value Rating: ****
You wouldn’t expect a budget hostel in Bamako, Mali, to be equipped with working WiFi, air-conditioning, airport shuttle, wake-up calls, laundry services, and a flat bigscreen TV in a nice outdoor restaurant and bar. Sleeping Camel Hotel not only boasts all these things, but is very affordable (beds as cheap as $9USD a night for a dorm or private doubles with bathroom for $30USD), and the owners Bill and Claire, are extremely helpful and friendly. During eight nights we stayed at the hotel, we didn’t eat at a single restaurant — the hotel offers both European and traditional Mali food (ave plate about 4USD) with a emphasis on having vegetarian options. We can’t tell you how exciting it was to see a vegetarian burger on the menu! The rooms are also meticulously clean, with hot water, and lots of space.
The atmosphere is largely backpackers from as nearby as Senegal and as far away as Australia and the United States. The restaurant and bar fosters interaction with both other travelers and hotel staff alike. In addition to Bill and Claire, all the staff from the kitchen to housecleaning, go above and beyond to make your stay enjoyable and hospitable. We choose Sleeping Camel because it had perfect reviews on TripAdvisor and once again our fellow “citizen critics” did us right. We want to add our voice to the chorus and enthusiastically recommend this terrific hotel. Usually we like to balance our reviews with criticism but in this case — we have none.
Book your stay, you won’t be disappointed.
visit us at www.borderjumpers.org
Bernard Pollack, an expert on local labor movements and communications, is currently traveling across the continent of Africa with his partner Danielle Nierenberg BorderJumpers.org, meeting with farmers, community organizers, labor activists/leaders, non-governmental organization (NGOs), the funding and donor communities, and others.
His travel writing from Africa has recently been featured in the Montreal Gazette, the NC News Observer, the Omaha World-Herald, and the Des Moines Register.
He holds an M.A. in Political Management from The George Washington University School of Political Management and a B.A. from the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University.
