Hamdala Hotel Kaduna: Northern governors can do better

Sir: I was at the famous Hamdala Hotel in Kaduna State from Monday July 9 to July 10, 2018, and earlier in June 2018 for some hours. This five-star hotel was built by the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the Premier of the Northern Region. He was a dreamer indeed. In my boyhood days I appreciated the hotel (near Durbar Hotel) and the furthest was around it and to a bookshop with my friend, Muheez Olayinka Bello, now deceased.

This time I had the chance to make inquiries inside and to dine in the restaurant. The waiters were hospitable and were very sociable. The food I ordered was reasonably priced, served on time, with smiles on the faces of the waiters and very rich compared to other places I have been to. Those places charged cut-throat prices with poor service.

But, the Hotel didn’t leave me wheezing as it did as a youngster. I had hoped to see the environment neat, but the walls, especially from outside, need painting to give the hotel that aesthetic, welcoming view. The air conditioners in the restaurant could not function optimally for one second, and that is putting it mildly: they were out of order. The standing fan made a loud noise related to that of a storm.  I had hoped to see other diners in the restaurant but on all three occasions when I visited that hotel, and in the restaurant I was there with only my associates. The hotel isn’t as busy as I had hoped it would be.

On one occasion, the public power supply was cut off from the hotel by the electricity distribution company and we were there for more than one hour waiting for power to be restored. Whatever happened to the hotel’s generating set? The staff members were diplomatic indeed with their answers but you could tell there was something wrong. Is this not Hamdala Hotel? Why are the northern governors so laid-back in maintaining and managing this very important structure?

The lighting in the reception was poor indeed, not very bright as you would expect from a big business. The receptionist didn’t look motivated enough when I submitted inquiries to see someone.

What was sad for me was to use the rest room and had to flush the toilet manually sometimes with waste coming out of leaking pipes.Access for disable people into the restaurant wasn’t provided and neither were seats for people with disability. I had to use some tea mugs with care lest the handles give way leading to spills of tea over on the table.

All told, I was happy to be in Hamdala Hotel for history sake but will be happier if the governors of the northern region become nimble-footed to put the hotel in shape to match with the best in the world. The welfare of the staff members has to be given priority as well.
Simon Abah.