Review: Ethiopian Airlines Stopover Program: Skylight Hotel, Economy Experience
Intro
Ethiopian Airlines is one of the few airlines in the world to offer a free hotel for passengers ticketed in any cabin during a layover. Following a flight on the 777-200LR from Dakar to Addis Ababa, I had the opportunity to try out this stopover program and was extremely impressed.
This will be the review of the economy experience. Eventually, I will post a review of the business class experience.
Who Gets Access?
The stopover program is pretty much open to almost all passengers, but there are a few requirements, which are as follows:
Passengers must either pay for their ticket using cash or miles. I believe standby tickets are ineligible for this perk.
The stopover must be between 8-24 hours from what is scheduled. Anything shorter, and you will not be given a hotel room.
The two tickets must be on the same booking.
Any class is eligible for the stopover program.
Utilizing this program is very efficient. Upon checking in to your first departure flight, the agent will acknowledge your stopover and provide you with a sheet of paper stating your accommodation for the night. Additionally, NO VISA IS REQUIRED.
Lastly, there are two main hotels, the Skylight in-terminal hotel and the Skylight, which is 10 minutes away outside of the airport. The in-terminal hotel is far inferior.
Transport
Thankfully, Ethiopian Airlines had arranged for me to stay at the out-of-terminal Skylight Hotel during my one-night stay in Addis Ababa.
Once clearing immigration, head downstairs through the security checkpoint outside, and there will be a number of buses waiting with an agent waiting outside. The bus can wait around from a couple of minutes to anywhere upwards of 10 minutes as Ethiopian Airlines packs it to the brim.
The drive to the Skylight Hotel takes about 10 minutes, and is relatively straightforward.
The Rooms
The bus drops you off outside of the check-in area, and you head inside to check in. It's all very straightforward: you hand your piece of paper to the agent, and they check you in and give you meal vouchers.
Pro Tip: If you like room service, make sure to place a deposit with your credit card so you can order later during your stay.
There are two sides to the Skylight Hotel. I was assigned a room on the side where the check-in desks are, and this is the nicer side. However, the free dining is across the way on the other side.
For a free hotel, I was a tad bit worried and set my expectations low. Wow, Ethiopian Airlines blew me away with how nice this hotel room was. A beautiful king-size bed, plenty of storage, and a deep soaking bathtub made for a very pleasant night (sort of).
Even my name was customized to the television screen...
Overall, it is one of the nicest hotels that I have stayed at outside of the Southern part of Africa.
Room Service
As I mentioned previously, breakfast and lunch are included in the hotel across the street, but room service is not. Seeing as I am lazy, I opted to order room service, which has all of the normal Western and local foods you could expect. It's that simple where you can order on your phone.
And a delicious burger shows up 30 minutes later in your rooms. The Skylight hotel is prompt, as I have never waited more than 35 minutes for my food before.
Around The Hotel
Ethiopian Airlines did a fantastic job with this hotel, as you could spend multiple days here and still not get bored. There are countless decorations around the hotel, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a full-scale gym, a beautiful spa, and many other amenities that you can check out here. In addition, 14 restaurants!
In addition to free wifi, Hotel staff will come and wake you up in person 3 hours before your scheduled departure to make sure you don't oversleep (and so they can turn the room over probably). You head back out to the buses, and they drop you off at check-in.
Final Thoughts
If you happen to have a stopover planned with Ethiopian Airlines soon, just know you are going to be in for a treat. The whole stopover program is a seamless experience from start to finish and a luxury one at the least. With beautiful swimming pools, 14 places to eat, and lovely rooms, the only thing you are going to wish for is that your layover was longer.
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