"Sooper Guesthouse Kisumu. 2010" Kisumu by ricro

I have never stayed here before and was pleasantly surprised to find it.

Initially I thought it was good value in a good location with TV, hot water, roof balcony and appearing secure!

I locked my own and my friends' money/passports/ cameras and mp3 players in a drawer in room 33. I kept the drawer key in my pocket at all times. The room front door was locked and so too was the balcony (key in inside lock).

The first morning we arose to find we had been robbed after the maid had cleaned in the morning. There were no signs of a break in and both locks were relocked afterwards.

I phoned the owner/manager who was in Mombasa and arranged for his brother-in-law to come (an hour and a half later). There was no hint of an apology and no follow up after the incident despite me writing a detailed report.

The manager still hasn't been in contact 2 weeks later. Therefore he leaves me no alternative but to tell the world to be circumspect about staying here.

In future I would just call the police immediately. I thought the management could be trusted to inform us of any further developments.

As we were reporting our loss to the duty receptionist a guest from down the hall told us he too had also lost an amount of money from his locked room the evening before.

The staff claimed a Tanzanian guest had left early the night before and assumed it was he who stole from us. My suspicions lie with the staff.

In this instance we lost over 8,000 kshs and US$350 (travellers cheques) plus 2 digital cameras and mp3 players. The thief ignored passports and a large camera (needed somewhere flat to hide stolen goods?)

OVERALL:- UNSATISFACTORY FOLLOW UP, IN MY OPINION.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE UNTIL SECURITY IS SORTED OUT.

THE HOTEL IS ADEQUATE AND HAS A GOOD ROOF BALCONY BUT LOCK YOUR ROOM WITH YOUR OWN PADLOCK AND STAY IN THE ROOM WHILE IT IS BEING SERVICED.

I WON'T STAY HERE AGAIN UNLESS I GET AN APOLOGY AND REASSURANCE THAT MANAGEMENT TAKES MY SECURITY SERIOUSLY.

THAT'S A SHAME BECAUSE I WAS GENUINELY CHUFFED TO FIND A NEW PLACE TO STAY IN KISUMU.

I'D RECOMMEND THE NEW RAZBI (JUST AROUND THE CORNER) OR NEW VICTORIA HOTEL IN THIS PRICE BRACKET.