Swaynes Hotel

Good food, a good pool, good common areas, helpful concierge/manager, friendly service, peaceful baboons, and a fantastic view from both the residence and the common areas. What's not to like? We originally flew down from Addis for a Saturday night break. This hotel and Arba Minch generally were nice, and we extended our stay to three nights. The manager helpfully lined up 4x4s for us on each day, to go see the major sites of Arba Minch and the park. Hotels everywhere seem to be in "recovery mode" in February of 2022, hiring staff after the lost years of 2020/2021. The Emerald Resort is no exception; as they ramp up housekeeping and maintenance staff, some small adjustments to the rooms might be in order. Once when there was.a large group having dinner I wished they could add some staff in the kitchen, etc. But I expect all that will happen. Meanwhile the view from the room makes up for a lot. It's in the top 5% of hotel views, if not the top 1%. The "rooms" are actually adjacent bungalows, or at least, they seem to all have patios out back. A great place to hang out at sunrise or sunset. There seemed to be a small baboon troop outside our room most days; they aren't shy but they aren't aggressive. If you cant get a park view room, the view from the very large common areas is fabulous as well. On the whole, great. I would go back in a minute.