Sweet Guest House

Our experience was quite mixed. The service was very slow, and unfortunately, our reservation was not properly managed. When we arrived, we were told that the rooms we had reserved had already been given to other guests. The staff tried to help, but this created a lot of unnecessary stress and inconvenience after traveling. Overall, the stay was okay, but the service and reservation management definitely need significant improvement. I hope the will improve on that in the future but I don’t think they will.

This is an exposé of the “not-Sweet Guest House” TLDR: The hotel overcharges you if you book directly with them, overcharges for breakfast as well, and if you point this out and ask for a refund, they threaten to report you to Immigration and Borders Services for a booking you did not make claiming their cancellation policy and putting as proof their own reception's booking. One of the most horrifying customer service replies I have gotten in my life after travelling to 190+ countries and interaction with a copious number of companies. It was fine (or should I say "sweet"), until it was horrifying! I chose this hotel specifically because I wanted to support a local business by booking directly instead of through a big international platform. I ended up regretting that decision. The hotel advertises a 15% discount for direct bookings. I attempted to use the promotional code provided on their website, but it did not work. I thought they would clear this up upon my arrival. Hey, they didn't. As a result, I paid more than expected. Ironically, had I booked through Booking.com, I would have paid less and breakfast would have been included. Oh yes, there was also confusion over breakfast. I was told it wasn't included. Then when I said it must be, they said “OK, no worries” and gave me the breakfast. However, wanting to be cautious before having a third breakfast at a price I did not agree to prior, I asked the reception and I was told it was 6 Euros. At check-out, however, I was asked for 10 Euros instead. Which I refused, and only paid 12 for two breakfasts. Afterwards, I contacted the hotel to request reimbursement for the overcharges. Both the unprovided discount and the breakfast which should have been included in the price. I thought an email to the management would clear issues up at the top level as the receptionists did not speak any English. Let's say I got a reply that I never would have expected from São Tomé, a country with welcoming people. They were telling me that they "verified internally" and that I had never been told the lower price! I find that very insulting and offensive to be effectively told that I was lying, that I had invented such a conversation over a few euros. However, they topped that with something I could not have ever imagined in my life. What came next in their mail was the most shocking part. They were claiming that I owed them €150 for a reservation I never made or used. During my stay, nobody mentioned any outstanding balance. Nobody requested payment when I checked out. The alleged debt only appeared after I asked them to refund the money I believed I had been overcharged. Even more astonishing, they were threatening to report me to Immigration and Borders Services if I did not pay this alleged debt! Receiving such an immigration-related threat simply because I questioned my bill is something I have never experienced anywhere in the world. Not that they could have ever held me responsible for a charge based only on their own reception's paper without any acknowledgement of such a booking or signature on my part, still... It felt menacing/intimidating as you never know how things work in these countries and I sure did not want to risk any hassle arguing with people in uniform before my flight. So, I just backed out of my legitimate claim. What makes it worse is that the person who wrote this threatening answer to me did not even have the guts to sign in their name and hid behind "Sweet guest house customer team" When making accusations of unpaid debts and threatening escalation to public authorities, basic professionalism would suggest that the individual responsible identifies themselves by name. I don't mind the 42 Euros itself, I would write that as contributing money to the economy of São Tomé; I just regret giving money to a business who overcharges, then resorts to threats instead of investigating the issues raised in the complaint of a customer, a business who accuses, intimidates and treats customers with complete disregard.

Very nice place I liked the wooden Fassade.

An excellent hotel, considering its location, value for money, and the friendliness of its staff.

I loved Sweet Guest House. It's super comfortable, tidy, clean, and beautiful. It's very close to the city center. It has parking, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, an amazing balcony, a shared kitchen, and even a chocolate factory that you can visit to understand the process. Plus, the staff is super friendly and they offer airport pickup. I arrived very late (4 am) and they were there waiting for me! I highly recommend it as an EXCELLENT option for spending a few days in São Tomé. 👌 For those interested in this detail, in my room (211) the internet speed I tested with my smartphone was 2.84/1.74. It's not great, it's true, but I could watch YouTube videos without any problems, so I have no complaints. 👍