Loubatanleh: A Modern Coastal Escape in Tadjoura
Located just 40 minutes from the center of Tadjoura, Loubatanleh is a beautiful coastal retreat and one of the few high-end escapes in Djibouti. The hotel has a crisp, seaside feel that blends perfectly into the rugged environment. We checked in for two nights following several days of camping, making it the perfect place to refresh as part of our overall Djibouti itinerary.
How to book Loubatanleh
- Book via WhatsApp at +253 77 29 29 94.
- Nightly rate 44000 DJF for 2 people with breakfast and dinner included.
- Payment in cash upon arrival. Bank transfer is an option, but we didn’t have a local account to facilitate that.
- Lunch is an extra 2500 DJF pp.
How to get to and from Loubatanleh
If you’re following my overall Djibouti itinerary, you’ll likely be coming here at the end of your organized tour, and your guide can drop you off at the hotel.
Otherwise, to get to Tadjoura from Djibouti City, you should take a ferry for 1,100 DJF pp (check which days it’s running) and then organize transportation from Tadjoura with the hotel.
Unless you’ve been there before, I really have no clue how people would find the hotel. There are no real roads; however, this is the turnoff from the main road to get to the hotel. On the way back, the owner was incredibly kind and gave us a free ride back into Tadjoura since he was heading that way.
Afternoon tea
The Experience
The hotel is located right on the coastline and we found out about the hotel just by looking at places on Google Maps. The design throughout the hotel is lovely, and our room was very comfortable. It came with a mosquito net and AC, which the staff turned on for us at night. We definitely had the best room because it offered a gorgeous view of the bay. At 5:00 p.m. each evening, we were served tea with little donuts on the patio, which was absolutely adorable.
The staff were really nice and even helped us with our laundry, which was a lifesaver after so many days in the camps. Having a proper shower and a normal toilet was a very welcome change of pace, too.
The hotel also had two resident cats that were so sweet to have around.
I loved that we could spot sea turtles from the property. We stood on the roof and observed quite a few of them, though they were a bit shy and whenever we got into the water, they swam away! We also attempted to snorkel but the water wasn’t clear enough to see anything.
There isn’t that much to do around the area and we took this as a day to recover from travelling nonstop. We took a walk along the beach in the evening and saw some cute camels!
A note on trash: While the vibe of the hotel is wonderful, you will notice that trash collected outside the front of the property (they are clearly doing their best). Unfortunately, waste management isn’t really institutionalized in the country yet, so beyond the hotel you’ll see a lot of plastic if you go on a walk. That’s not unique to this area. It’s all over the country.
Food at Loubatanleh
The dining space at Loubatanleh is really beautiful as it’s open air with a view of the water. On our first evening, we had lentil soup, a fish dish, potatoes, and rice.
The next morning, and one of the coolest parts of the stay, fisherman showed up at the hotel and got to pick out which fish we wanted for our dinner.
Picking our fish and the fishermen heading back out
That second dinner was fantastic. We had two different fish options along with pasta, potatoes, and a salad.
I will be honest: I was a bit disappointed with breakfast. By this point in our Djibouti trip, I was tired of having so many carbs for breakfast. Djibouti love to serve foreigners friend bread and tea. The Djibouti themselves are eating bread and beans. We were served a stack of pancakes and crepes with just two pieces of apple. I was ready to cry because I was so sick of fried dough every morning! I asked for yogurt, but they didn’t have any, and we weren’t offered eggs. However, our second morning we were offered fried eggs so just be sure to speak up if you want them.
For lunch on our second day, we had pasta, fries, and salad.
Final thoughts
I highly recommend this hotel, especially if you want to freshen up and relax. It’s very popular with the expat community in Djibouti who come up from the city for the weekend. A one-night stay is sufficient to get your laundry done and chill, but two nights would be lovely if you really want to take it easy.
They don’t have a website (yet?) so check out the hotel on Instagram.