Red Chilli Hideaway Ltd - Kampala, Uganda

While the environment (especially the pool) is quite attractive and the rooms are OK for a hostel, some major points were very disappointing.

First, the location is so far away from the city center. Each ride took at least 45 minutes (up to 90 minutes with traffic jam) to get to the city center or literally any other place in Kampala.

Second, the payment methods offered by the Red Chilli feel a bit like a rip-off. When I booked a tour, they insisted I would have to pay a 50%-deposit to confirm. They gave me some payment options, but without any information on which option has the lowest fees. As they all locked similar to me, I picked one randomly. This led to bank fees of 60 USD (more than 33% of the amount)! The management later said sorry for this, but refused to give me any form of compensation, even not a sign of good will (like a free night worth 12 USD for example, as proposed by me).

Furthermore, all cash payments in local currency at the hostel use an exchange rate that is 3,5% lower than the real one (there is also a 3,5% fee on card payments in the local currency) . Thus, you pay extra if you use the local currency! I obviously only found that out at the end of my stay.

Alltogether, it just didn't feel right. I would not recommand the Red Chilli, as there must be better options out there.