Hôtel de la Poste

Quite atmospheric colonial building, with some rooms having river views, although renovations currently taking place did disturb me during the day (masonry work just a couple of doors away). Staff were relatively helpful, for instance with finding English speaking tour guides. Breakfast was OK, but a bit odd with miniscule strips of ham/cheese and a challenging tea/coffee machine ... somehow they didn't think it would be a good idea to put out a jug of milk for the tea/cereal ...

We stayed here 2 nights during a tour of Senegal. The central courtyard full of flowers is beautiful and they are constantly cleaning the whole hotel. The breakfast is good. It is an old hotel with no elevators. The hotel is on a busy corner and is noisy at night. The hotel restaurant, Flamingo, is 3 blocks down the street on the river and has good food, but a limited menu selection for hotel guests whose meals are included. The wifi did not work in our room. The front desk staff was friendly, helpful and spoke English.

In a place full of history an ideal place to stay is the Hotel de la Poste, whose origins go back to 1850, although the building dates from a later time. Always a very French place it is today owned by Toubab Senegalese (thus of European, in fact French origin). Besides a hotel it is now also like a museum of the pioneering days of the Aeropostale, full of photos, old letters and posters from the 1930's. In room 219 used to stay Jean Mermoz, who did the first crossing of the Southern Atlantic by plane. Our room was No 222, also with a great view of the Saint Louis landmark, the Pont Faidherbe, illuminated at night. Although the hotel in many ways shows its age, we enjoyed staying here for its atmosphere. Beautiful is the courtyard with its many plants and also a palm tree, from where the stairs go up to the rooms in the first and second floor. In the big dining hall with many posters is to be found a breakfast as of 6am with three juices, besides orange also 'bissap' (a bright red cold tea from Hibiscus flowers) and 'Bouye' (made from the fruit of the Baobab). Very French are the Baguette, the Croissants, the 'Vache qui rit' cheese. To be had are also yoghurt, hard boiled eggs, beef ham and pastry. The hotel's restaurant is across the coastal road by the river, called 'Flamingo'. Next to it is the swimming pool, free for hotel guests, but also visited by outsiders against a fee. No towels are provided, the shower was not working and it all didn't look very clean, especially the sun loungers, so I only went there once.