Most if not all hotels in Kampala offer residents special staycation rates from mid December until early January.
The Four Points by Sheraton Kampala had an offer of US Dollars 135 per night, inclusive of all taxes, charges AND breakfast, the latter needing special mention later on.
Once in a while I take advantage of such offers and I managed to get booked for the first weekend in January.
From check in to check out it was a true pleasure, given how smooth the processes were.
It started from the front gate where the security guard guided me to the underground parking when he heard I was staying at the hotel.
Once out of the elevator with my carry on bag, another guard came to me to take the bags for scanning and showed me towards the main entrance.
At the reception was my check in card already printed and I only had to fill my phone number and sign before being given the key card.
My bags had been brought to the reception and a staff showed me to the elevators and up we went to the 7th floor – top floor for accommodation.
He opened to room door, placed my bag on the rack and then offered information on various items in the room, such as the air conditioner, the contents of the wardrobe and the use of the TV set.
Then, and without the often ‘customary’ break to await a tip, he exited the room with a cheerful ‘have a good stay’, impressive that was!
The room turned out to be equipped with everything one comes to expect from a four star hotel, bath robes and slippers in the wardrobe, an ironing board and flat iron, shoe shine while in the bathroom several amenities awaited my inspection.
There was the customary tea and coffee making set up and notably two complimentary bottles of mineral water with one more in the bathroom.
WiFi kicked in the moment I had entered the password and was super fast, extending then during my stay across the entire hotel.
The TV was of course a state of the art smart TV, offering not just the usual global and local news channels, sports and entertainment / film channels, but also allowed for internet based TV programmes such as YouTube and others.
A basket of fruits awaited me in the room as did a small fruit pie and following a ring of the bell at the door a small chocolate cake was delivered too with compliments of the management.
The barn door style door of the bathroom was quite ingenious, as it saves a ton of space in the bathroom. The walk in shower had both a rain shower head and a hand held shower handle and, sustainability practiced, were large wall mounted containers places in the bathroom for shower gel, hair shampoo and hair conditioner.
The only leftover plastic container from the days when sustainability was not a maiin issue yet, in the bathhroom was the body lotion / hand cream but I am sure a solution for that will be found too in the near future.
The view from the window was across a section of Kololo, Kampala’s uppety suburb, and I sat in the easy chair for a while to take in the scenery.
When going for a quick look downstairs, I found a BBQ in progress on the outside terrace, something the hotel does every Friday and Saturday night and the smell of grilled meat no doubt resulted in many food orders, as I could witness.
Before heading for El Jefe for my dinner, I returned to the room, found the curtains closed and the dishes of the pie removed. I noticed when exiting the elevator that the corridor appeared dark but once stepping outside did motion sensors kick in and lit my way to the room, though not beyond.
I found the same system at the sister hotels in Nairobi, and recall being told that it saves a lot of electricity besides nowadays using LED lighting.
I reviewed my dinner experience at El Jefe already and again can only give both thumbs up for service, quality of food and ambience.
Overnight did the bed prove its value, with a very good mattress and pillows with just the right level of density.
Refreshed from a good night sleep did I venture downstairs at 06.30 hrs to enjoy a long breakfast, which would allow me to sample many different dishes.
I was not disappointed. The array of warm dishes was very large, the selection of fruits extensive, cheese and sausage cuts available to one’s taste and the pastries were definitely above hotel average, compared to other hotels i had visited recently.
The Executive Chef, a Mr. Nitish Kumar Singh, was happy to engage with me when I asked him a few questions and he was proud to tell me that his kitchens, stores and cold rooms were state of the art and in his opinion the best and most energy efficient in the city.
When I shared my dinner experience at El Jefe with him I asked why a Caribbean style set up and menu, quite unusual for Uganda and he told me: ‘Trust me, it was very well thought out with months of research, creativity, graphics, menu design and more.
We came up with notion of introducing something very different to Kampala and something completely new to the city. We developed dishes and eating culture of Caribbean food to our kitchen keeping local ingredients and essence in our mind.
Also, we at El JEFE have the largest variety of Rum at Bar Top in Africa, which have been imported from every corner of the world.’
I also asked him what accomplishment he was most proud of since he arrived in Uganda last year and he said: ‘Believe me, there has been many accomplishments to cheer upon. We have successfully set this hotel in motion and have been competing inch and inch with hotels around us which have been on the ground over the years.
We have stood tall as best employer in the town looking at our hotel attrition and well being of the staff and others.
The greatest challenge was of course to find the culinary talents, we almost interviewed about a 1000 chefs to get our super 40’s.’
That does of course amply explain the quality of the dinner I enjoyed the previous night and of the breakfast at the Marketplace, which is the name of the all day dining restaurant.
When leaving the Chef told me to try his signature dishes when next around. He said: ‘At Marketplace, our Pizzas has got a real urging along with Kiklayi Pork Chops which has been overwhelmed and sells rocket.
At EL JEFE, the dishes are quite unique and still making places pertaining to customer experiences. Our Tacos has been phenomenal; however, Turks Island Chicken is top selling food.
Then, my personal signature starter is Malakoff (Swiss Cheese Fritters) and mains is of course a well-prepared Rib eye steak with truffle mash and young veggies.
Lastly my signature dessert is Tres Leches.’

Well, I did not rue my visit to and stay at the Four Points and the chance meeting with the chef further opened my eyes to what is going on behind the scenes and how hard they must have trained their kitchen and service teams before the official opening last year.
The new Four Points is no doubt the top address for Marriott International in Kampala as the other brands simply pale in comparison. Smart travelers will no doubt make a smart decision and opt for this hotel, which while outside the CBD is still just the proverbial stone throw from the city centre.