I am rating the hotel, not the restaurant that is nice with wifi and nice garden.

The rooms are quite expensive (266 Birr for a single with private bathroom) and the quality is terrible. There are problems that you frequently find in Addis: plumbery not working, frequently no hot water, but in this hotel it is moreover moist, very dirty, you don't dare touching anything. I have friends who actually had rats in their room!

The worst in my experience there are frequently people that come there to "buy a night with an ethiopian woman" which creates a gloomy atmosphere and makes you hear fights you wouldn't want to hear...

But I've had a nice contact with the staff members, who were helpful and friendly despite the rest.

Dirty, no charm and poor service.
After several attempts to get cleaning staff to clean, I gave up. Staff unfriendly and unhelpful. Upstairs rooms open up to a verandah, but the shift locks actually do not lock.

The Taitu is something of a hit-and-miss, depending on what you want in a hotel and which room you end up getting.

The old building and great terrace oozes character and history, and offers an undisturbed view over Addis. Great to sit and enjoy a drink, or some Ethiopian food from the good kitchen. The place is also buzzing with people such as backpackers, tourists, students, artists, NGO types etc.

I was located in the 'new' wing, and as soon as I returned to my room my good 'vibe' about the Taitu disappeared... The new wing is a concrete structure that reminds me most of a prison. The rooms were also very basic and run down. The bathrooms worked and had hot water, but needed a good clean and redo.
I couldn't be placed in the old wing, but I would imagine that this offers a better experience.

Otherwise, The location is also quite convenient, about good 20 min walk to the National Museum. The superb Tomoca coffee shop is about 5 min away.
At night the awesome Jazzamba club is located in the main ballroom, great for nice evening discovering fabulous Ethiopian jazz. The staff were also very friendly and helpful.
Regarding value, I felt this was ok looking at the total package.

So, it's probably up to you whether you fall in love with the Taitu or run away as soon as you see your room. For me the upsides were more than compensated by the downsides, as you're hardly in your room anyway. And after a night 'in prison' walking up the stairs to the old building and ordering a coffee on the terrace the room quickly becomes a distant memory.

Character? Yes. Good location? Yes. But the shared bathrooms were absolutely disgusting. I've done a lot of budget travelling and this was one of the worst - non-flushable toilet, barely functioning and super-grimy shower (which was a hand held showed in a slippery bath), leaking taps and constantly wet floor, etc etc (check out the photo). They've got a lot of staff kicking about, but no-one seems to care to clean the place up a bit, a shame given the character of the place.

Horrible bathrooms aside, even if you don't stay there, the vegan lunch buffet in the restaurant should not be missed - just excellent.