Whilst touring the Côte d’Ivoire we stayed in Man, said to be the prettiest city in the country with waterfalls, sacred forests and spectacular peaks and we spent three nights in the Hôtel Les Cascades whilst exploring.
On arrival we were greeted with a welcome juice and were grateful to have our guide to help with the formalities as little English was spoken and my school-girl French is very rusty.
Our room (424) was reached by descending two flights of steps. A metal grilled gate led to two adjoining rooms, presumably designed with families in mind. The room itself was a reasonable size, but the only light was concealed beneath the curtain pelmet, making it feel rather gloomy even during the day. The air conditioning worked well, but the furnishings were sparse, consisting of a bed, wardrobe, and desk with shelving. As there was only one bedside table and a single power socket we used the chair as a makeshift table on the other side. There was no fridge, bottled water or hairdryer.
The bathroom was much brighter than the bedroom and designed as a wet room, but the shower took an age to produce hot water. The only complimentary toiletry provided was a mini bottle of shower gel, but there was plenty of shelf space for ours. There were several towel hooks, a rail for drying clothes and one drinking glass. The toilet was in a separate cubicle.
The small balcony contained the air-conditioning unit and a single chair, but given the hotel’s hillside position overlooking Man, it did at least offer a pleasant view across the town. Credit cards were not accepted for incidentals, and WiFi was only available in the public areas which was a nuisance, although it was reliable.
Our evening meals were included in our stay, and, due to the pleasant weather, we ate on the covered terrace overlooking the swimming pool rather than inside the restaurant. Although the menu initially appeared extensive, several dishes containing mutton and rabbit and some cuts of beef were unavailable. As neither of us fancied the African soups, agouti (a local delicacy of wild rodent) or whole carp, we played it safe with a grilled fillet of fish and spaghetti Bolognese. By the third evening we were beginning to run out of alternatives, so it was back to spaghetti, this time with a carbonara sauce, and a different type of fish with stir-fried vegetables with a mountain of alloco (fried plantain).
Breakfast was available from 6.30am. There were two fruit juices, cornflakes (served without fresh milk) and a selection of items displayed behind a glass screen, with staff serving each portion. These included grated carrot, sliced tomato, cucumber and lettuce, although there was no obvious salad dressing. Papaya and pineapple were also available, but portions appeared to be carefully rationed. After I’d been given four pieces of papaya, the server seemed distinctly unimpressed when I requested pineapple as well. The only hot dish on display was spaghetti with vegetables, although we noticed another guest being served an omelette, suggesting these could be ordered if you knew the appropriate French words. The excellent French bread was accompanied, on request, by a tray containing two jars of jam and Dairylea cheese triangles.
We had a dip in the swimming pool which was relatively large and deep, with a smaller adjoining section for children. However, both the pool area and its furniture looked rather tired and instead of proper sun loungers there were a handful of heavy concrete chairs that had clearly seen better days and were virtually impossible to move.
We had lunch twice at the nearby Hôtel Beau Séjour, where the food was considerably better than the rather uninspiring ham sandwich and French fries we’d had on arrival at our hotel. It also appeared to attract several groups of European travellers, and we asked our guide why our tour company used Hôtel Les Cascades instead of what seemed a more tourist-friendly alternative. Her answer surprised us: apparently, the decision was based on customer feedback.
