Hotel Hippo Buck

First off, the advertised rate of $24 is misleading. That is without taxes. True cost is closer to $40. They advertise air conditioning and an airport shuttle. Not true, they have neither. The lower priced room they offer is in the older part of the property, down a dimly lit narrow hallway. The room is dark, though adequate, and has a definite “dungeon” feel to it. We opted for a more “American” style room with a balcony, costing 7,200 Kes (about $55 and included breakfast). We stayed 2 nights (Fri/Sat). First night power went out / no power, No water. We had the windows open and thank goodness they had screens in the windows. We did ask for a fan and an electric kettle. They brought us an upright pedestal fan which worked well when power was restored. Our 2nd night (Sat) was quite a different story. I started hearing music about 5 pm, thinking it was coming from a gazebo near the restaurant. I asked the staff and they said it came from a disco across the road from the hotel. At first, it was just noticeable annoyance. A very loud driving disco bass beat. But it seemed to get worse as the night went on. We had the windows open since the room would be stifling hot if we didn’t. I picked up the phone to complain to the front desk. The room phone was dead / not even a dial tone. The next morning we complained to the front desk clerk and asked to speak with the manager. He was off property, but they would call him. He called back and explained it wasn’t their fault since the noise occurred “off/property”. I asked for a full refund for that nights rate. He offered a 10% discount on a future stay and a late check out. There won’t be a future stay. Overall, the property is nice, though older. The staff is nice as well. There are better choices in the area. Also, the rate they gave us was for “pool view”. There was no pool - just an excavated pit where a proposed pool was supposed to be. Strike 3..,