Addis Ababa
The city's backpacker hotel of choice for years. The smallish grey-walled rooms at the Wutma are simple but satisfying but the bathrooms are tiny. The…
Must-see hotels in Ethiopia
Mekele
Although it's a bit out on a limb, this place has excellent rooms that punch well above their midrange weight. The look is modern and immaculate, although…
Southern Ethiopia
A well-run little number with a quiet location, the Bethlehem offers neat rooms, well-furnished and spacious bungalows, sparkling bathrooms, a good…
Southern Ethiopia
Afomiya Pension is a good, safe bet with a ramshackle charm. Though very simple, rooms are well looked after. Facilities include a small restaurant and…
Arba Minch
The Forty Springs gets good marks for its spruce, colourful rooms with tiled bathrooms. Upstairs rooms get more natural light. Ethiopian staples and…
Lalibela
Nothing to write home about, but you won't mind being here while you do so. The rooms are simple but very reasonable for the price and the setting, just…
Southern Ethiopia
One of a clutch of midrange hotels along the main avenue through town, the Pinna 2 has some of Awasa's cleanest rooms, although furnishings feel a bit…
Western Ethiopia
The lack of a restaurant here is a drawback, but the rooms are otherwise the best in this price range in town. It's close to the bus station and the leafy…
Eastern Ethiopia
This three-storey building on the main road is no architectural beauty queen, but it sports functional rooms with plump bedding and there's a good on-site…
Southern Ethiopia
One of Yabelo's most commendable pensions, with a dozen fair-sized, simply furnished rooms opening onto a flowering courtyard, a stone's throw from the…
Southern Ethiopia
Though the rooms aren't large, they are comfortable, well furnished and tidy. The affable staff help in any way they can and the on-site restaurant enjoys…
Southern Ethiopia
Dola-Mena's only dependable hotel, the Genet has plain, poorly furnished rooms that share decent bathrooms. Shamble Habti, the helpful owner, speaks good…
Southern Ethiopia
Set in a quiet garden with many birds, this long-running place has simple yet clean rooms with good mattresses. Showers are cold. Meals cost Birr25 to…
Northern Ethiopia
Dessie's best midrange hotel has well-appointed rooms (ask for one at the back to avoid the considerable street noise), a good restaurant and decent…
Southern Ethiopia
The cheeriest of several pensions near the Moyale–Shashemene road junction; rooms are on the small side but are serviceable and open onto a neat courtyard.
Arba Minch
Offering good value, the Zebib has bright and cheerful tiled rooms and a welcoming coffee shop that serves snacks, pastries and fruit juices. A safe…
Aksum
This six-storey tower at the Adwa end of town has big rooms that can seem a little cavernous. They're a touch overpriced, but they're still comfortable.
Southern Ethiopia
Don't be put off by the odd location, above the Commercial Bank; this well-priced abode shelters sunny rooms that are perfectly serviceable.
Harar
Not many places pride themselves on their view of the local garbage pile, but guests in some of the east-facing rooms might see hyenas in the early…
Addis Ababa
Traditionally one of the better backpacker hang-outs of Ethiopia; the cheaper rooms at the Baro are decidedly skanky, but opt for one of the more…
Northern Ethiopia
This simple spot on the town's top traffic circle (where the road to Bati enters town) has good rooms on the top (2nd) floor, but the rest are cramped,…
Northern Ethiopia
It takes some chutzpah to let your hotel decay over the years and still boldly raise your prices. This once-appealing hotel is overpriced, not always…
Northern Ethiopia
An old, rather than historic, hotel with a range of rooms, but all except Mengistu’s old cottage are tired and the epitome of government-hotel neglect…
Arba Minch
This place is a real heartbreaker. It boasts a wonderful clifftop location, with unbeatable lake views. Alas, most of the 77 bungalows, although they are…
Lalibela
This classic budget-traveller haunt offers older whitewashed rooms – don't be fooled by the intricately carved doorways as what lies within is far simpler…
Addis Ababa
Once upon a time the chuff-chuffing of steam trains would have soothed you to sleep here, but with the trains no longer functioning, peace, quiet and a…
Harar
Despite unattractive and faded yet spacious rooms (that don’t come anywhere near the quality they should for the price) and lots of road noise, the ‘Plaza…
Harenna Forest Hotel & Cultural Lodge
Southern Ethiopia
In the village of Rira, just north of the Harenna Forest, this family-run spot has a few rudimentary woven bamboo huts. It's grossly overpriced, the…
Bahir Dar
A reasonable place very near the bus station that offers clean rooms, fair value and offhand service. It's ideal if you've an early morning departure from…
Simien Mountains National Park
About 1km north of park headquarters, this is one of Debark's more popular hotels, but that has more to do with a lack of choice than any innate quality…
Western Ethiopia
This 26-room hotel is widely considered the town’s top choice; while that might well be true, it’s hardly a ringing endorsement. The newer rooms are…
Southern Ethiopia
Beside the busy bus station, the Lemma is a safe bet, with yawn-inspiring but clean rooms, billiards tables, a sauna (Birr160 per hour), a good restaurant…
Western Ethiopia
The semidetached concrete bungalows vaunt bright-green laminate floors, frilly bedspreads, small verandahs and clean washrooms. If you order ahead, the …
Aksum
With probably the best budget rooms in Aksum, Damat does have a few drawbacks – it's over in the new town, quite a distance from the main attractions, and…
Western Ethiopia
The large lawn, garden tables and cleanish rooms make this the best budget option in town. However, the music in the lively garden courtyard can be…
Western Ethiopia
If you can cope with the noise of all the early buses departing town in the neighbouring bus station, blurting on their horns at 6am, then this place…
Northern Ethiopia
The bungalows here, near where the road down from the village ends at the lake, are actually rather nice. But the restaurant is a fair walk away along the…
Gonder
Rooms here are in better shape than the hallways would lead you to believe and they're a reasonable in-town choice, especially if you score a room with a…
Aksum
Perched atop a bluff overlooking the stelae and the Mary of Zion churches, this hotel has the most enviable location. Sadly the rooms – carpeted, tired…
Eastern Ethiopia
This unsigned establishment is a dependable budget choice with three types of clean and generally decent rooms. The rooms in the green section have air…
