By the time the manager knocked on my door and asked me to spend Christmas with him, I wondered if it wasn't just Ethiopian hospitality I was dealing with...especially considering that Ethiopians don't even think of December 25th as Christmas. I simply told him I had other plans and quickly closed the door.

Basic but enough.

I chose Alief Paradise based mainly on price, but the extra features like the juice bar and internet listed in Bradt also appealed. Unfortunately, while the price was still low (albeit 80 birr instead of the listed 60), the place was under construction so none of this was available. It was hard even finding staff members as there was no reception area until the construction finished.

A couple ladies in the garden watched me enter my room; unsure if they were even the right people to be asking, I inquired about laundry. They were happy to help and charged a mere 20 birr for my dust-covered trekking clothes; I was so relieved to get them off my hands.

Shower slippers provided by the hotel.

The room was fine, if quite basic. It was a double room, with two passable twin beds and a single pair of rubber flip-flops. The small bathroom only had cold water. The entrance made me a little nervous, as there were no lights above the rooms and the key was tricky to turn. However, I might not have worried if it weren't for the manager repeatedly dropping by to ask when we were going to get together.

Lalibela has a surprisingly inconvenient layout, with the rock-hewn churches located halfway up a steep hill. Alief Paradise is on the bottom of the hill (along with other popular hotels like the Jerusalem/Lasta), while some of the recommended bars and restaurants—and unfortunately, the Ethiopian Airlines office and the only bank in town—are all the way on the top. Seriously, it's a much steeper hill than I expected considering no note was made of it in Bradt; so the hotel's location is about as convenient as it could possibly be given the geography of the town.

Apart from the slightly creepy manager, the staff was quite polite. The women took care of getting my laundry back and collecting payment for the room without the benefit of a central reception. The owner of the hotel, who gave Mulay and me a cheery hello on the way up the hill, seemed very sweet. For the low price, it's a worthwhile place to crash for a few days.

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