Scheba Hotel

I made a reservation at this hotel for 4 nights through one of the third-party reservation websites for myself and a friend traveling together in Rwanda. Upon arrival at the hotel at approximately 9 pm, we had our luggage and belongings x-rayed before being able to walk up to the check-in counter. I had a full bottle of banana beer I had purchased earlier which the security guard initially refused to let me bring in, until another staff member stepped in and convinced him to allow in. We walked up to the check-in counter and mentioned we had a reservation. The woman at the desk said they had cancelled their contract with the third-party website and were not honoring reservations made through that site. The reason she gave was because the rates published on the site ($83 per night) were too low for them to make a profit. She then proceeded to mention that she had rooms available and could book us for $130 a night. To add insult to injury, she told us that we would have to contact the third-party website ourselves to get a refund for the reservation we had already paid through them. We begrudgingly paid for one night at Scheba since it was already getting close to 10 pm and we didn’t know if we could find other accommodations on such short notice. We then spent the next two hours on a call with the third-party website trying to get a refund on the original reservation. Our room was old and outdated. The windows and balcony door did not fully seal, allowing sounds and insects to come in. There was a very loud band playing on the hotel pool deck below until 11 at night, making sleep impossible. The pillows had stains on them. The included breakfast was horrible, with just a few fruit, bread, and cheese options and some unappetizing egg and meat choices. When I saw a cockroach crawl across the food plates, I had enough. I went up to the room, packed my things, and checked out for a better hotel down the street. These people are running a bait-and-switch scam by accepting reservations and then not honoring them and forcing a higher rate upon you at check-in. Do yourself a favor and run away!