Reception hall

Reviews of Imperial Royale Hotel

4 out of 5
Imperial Royale Hotel
Plot 7 Kintu Road, Kampala

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 2 out of 12 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 5 out of 12 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 3 out of 12 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 12 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 12 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

7.2/10

Staff & service

6.0/10

Amenities

6.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

10/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Sengabi

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022

6/10 Okay

Mr

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disappointing stay
Initially we requested an airport pick up the day before we arrived - we sent two emails to the hotel but got no reply and had to make our own arrangements. The check in staff on the desk said ‘sorry’, the request would have gone to another section. When we checked in the hotel was buzzing with conference delegates. The hotel advertised 3 restaurants, but we were only allowed one - the others being used by the delegates. In the evening when the delegates had left, only one of the restaurants was open, with a fairly limited a la carte menu. It became clear that there were very few other guests in the hotel as we saw hardly anyone else in the evenings. Service in the one restaurant was very slow - one lunchtime we ordered just two bowls of soup which took forty minutes to arrive. The hotel is very large and has a pool and spa/gym, which we did not use. It is quite dark, with low lighting and heavy wood features and appears to need a good refresh of decor. Our room on the 8th floor was very large with a reasonably comfortable bed and effective air con. The bathroom was again large and well appointed, but in need of some cosmetic improvements - broken tiles, sinks that barely drain etc. The only bar is in a dingy corner of the open restaurant with no atmosphere or comfortable seating - we kept well away! Most staff did their best to be helpful, especially on the desk. Overall our stay was disappointing and did not live up to the descriptions on their web site.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The room is excellent and Casino is very good. I’d recommend it to my friends
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from J.K on Mar 26, 2019
Thank you .

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hotel rooms have some funny smell. Largely because it is less used, no guests
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from James on Jan 29, 2019
Apology . Management to take immediate action .

6/10 Okay

John

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Very basic and not a 4 star hotel
I don’t think the hotel was worth the money they charged for the room. I’m need of serious updating and it smelt a little bit musty. The location was good though and pretty central. I would not class it as a four star hotel. The breakfast choice was very poor. Ended up eating breakfast out of the hotel even though it was included in the room costs. I will look to stay at a different hotel when next I’m in Kampala.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2018
Response from James on Nov 10, 2018
Thank you for your feedback. Management is investigating and quick corrective measures to be taken.

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly staff and I felt well looked after
Really liked the hotel. Room was spacious and kept clean and tidy. Staff very friendly and welcoming. All my needs were well catered for and would book again if I go back to Kampala again. The only negative comment is that I felt the lighting in the restaurant area was too dim.
Response from J.K on Mar 29, 2017
Thank you for your compliments. We shall work on the lighting in the restaurant.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Disliked: Staff & service
WARNING -- Hotel double-charged / dodged refund
When we arrived at the hotel, we were told that they could not find our Hotels.com confirmation email that proved that we had already paid for our room even though I was able to find and show them a confirmation email on my smartphone. They told us that they would need to charge my credit card for the full amount and refund it in the morning or we would not be able to stay there that night. Given how late it was when we checked in, we reluctantly agreed having no other option. We were told that we could receive a cash refund in the morning or have the balance refunded to my card. When I met the office manager the next morning, she tried to refund my card but the machine was putting the money back in the card. Contrary to what the man told us the night before, she would not allow us to receive a cash refund. We were told that the bank would issue us a refund within 1 week at the latest. We were very disappointed, but agreed. One week later, the funds had not shown up in my account so I contacted them again. They told us we needed to contact the bank directly for our refund (very unprofessional.) We contacted the bank and discovered that they had never initiated the refund. Now two weeks later, we are still fighting to get our money back and having to file a police report for the case. It has caused us a great deal of stress, ruined our vacation week and amounted in $428 in charges for one night in this terrible hotel. You have been warned!
Response from General Manager on Mar 2, 2017
Dear Guest , kindly receive our sincere apologies for the mishap at the hotel front desk at the time of check in and the delayed refund process by our bank. The Staff on duty confused Hotels.com with Booking.Com hence the request for payment , which was a gross error. . We are following up with the Bank to ensure that your refund is credited into your account . We solemnly reiterate our apologies for the above.

6/10 Okay

David

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is not clean. When you walk into the entrance there is no scent of freshness but something stale. It seems to be too big for the management to maintain it.

8/10 Good

CLIFF, JOHANNESBURG

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
quiet but somber
The hotel is very quiet not for children hotel staff are pleasant and helpful very central and easy to get to meetings within Kampala they were renovating so was a little noisy but I gather only for 3-4 days after I left
Response from JAMES on Dec 3, 2016
APOLOGIES FOR THE NOISE .THANK YOU FOR STAYING WITH US. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN. STAY WELL.

8/10 Good

Makoto, Tokyo

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
ジムのマネージャーが全くやる気がなく、しかも夜9時までなのに8時過ぎに行ったら(午後の早い時間にも使った)一日1人1回までだと嘘を言われて止めさせられた(翌日嘘と発覚)
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2020

8/10 Good

DANIEL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in May 2018
Response from JAMES on Jun 2, 2018
THANK YOU .

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2018