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About
4.5
#1 of 9 hotels in Kabul
Location
4.4
Cleanliness
4.6
Service
4.5
Value
4.3
The Kabul Serena Hotel, conveniently located in the centre of Kabul city overlooking the famous Zarnegar Park, is situated close to all the embassies and ministries, and is just 20 minutes from the airport. Built in 1945, amid landscaped gardens, the hotel has undergone a complete refurbishment, through the rehabilitation of the existing building and the addition of a completely new section. The hotel dominates a busy junction and is situated in the city’s commercial centre. The hotel has undergone a phased up-grading to incorporate 177 luxurious rooms offering various categories of rooms and suites. The hotel has two restaurants, modern banqueting and meeting facilities, wellness facilities, an up-market shopping area, a pastry shop and a laundry shop.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
A beautiful hotel with immaculate, manicured gardens as the centre point around which the separate wings of the hotel are constructed.
Security is provided by the current government military forces and as well as being friendly to visiting foreigners is highly professional. I felt completely secure while inside.
The rooms are large, comfortable and well furnished. My room overlooked the garden and I would recommend the same - in addition to the peace and quiet it gives an added level of security to be away from the street.
The swimming pool, cafe and restaurants are all open (there is a fixed price buffet dinner at 1600 Afs per person) which will provide enough for even the hungriest guest. The breakfast is also buffet style and is plentiful.
Without naming any staff I would like to commend the housekeeping, front desk and restaurant staff. They have a truly 5 star quality approach and this is deservedly the best hotel in Afghanistan.
Thank you Serena 🙏
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Date of stay: May 2023Trip type: Traveled on business
Room Tip:The security procedures are extremely tight - so plan in advance to minimise the delay.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
a very safe and peaceful hotel. the staff are friendly. service quality. the food is great. internet service quality should be improved. both deposit and monthly room fee are charged in advance. This rule must change
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2020
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Impeccable service, top notch security, excellent guest services. Well worth the price. It had absolutely great experience from the moment I checked in to checkout time. It was life time experience and I will definitely go back again and I will
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: March 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked executive room and paid $100+ tax extra to get executive lounge and basic facilities which is generally airport pick&drop and laundary.
Even in executive lounge I had to pay for every tea and coffee and paid for laundary and airport pick and drop. so it was totally waste of money and staff behavior was too rude with us.
We organized 2 event with lunch and dinner for more than 200 people but there was no flexibility from hotel management and their attitude was too rude and bad.
We will definately look for another venue on our company hotel stay and event.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: July 2023
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was my second stay at the Serena, and I still find it the most beautiful, relaxing, grandiose hotel not only in Kabul but when compared to many top hotels in other parts of the world.
I had a very upsetting experience there though. One evening, coming back to the hotel with my husband, the guards stopped us, wanted to let me in as I was carrying out key, but not my husband, as they had decided that I had probably picked him up at a party and they disapproved. This was very offensive as it highlighted stereotypes that people may have about foreigners, as well as it completly ignored my rights as a paying visitor. What if I want to bring someone to my $300 per night room, am I not allowed to? Where in the hotel advertisment does it say such a thing? Was it so because I am woman, would they do this to male guests also? My husband and I were both extremely angry, and ignored the rude guards, pushing one of them aside to get in. We were probably lucky not to get into more trouble, who knows, they might have alerted the "moral" police too for all we knew. In sum, I found this incident extremely offensive to any paying guest, especially female. The Serena shoudl not employ people harbouring stereotypes, it is our money that sustains them and their families.
I reported this to the reception the next day, got a few smirks, no apology. I wrote to the management and still have to receive an apology.
All in all, as I said, the best place in town, but deeply troubling episode!
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Date of stay: May 2011
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I've stayed in this hotel on and off for years, and use the gym and spa services too. The standard of service has declined steadily since they first opened. Staff are consistently indifferent and unfriendly, and exert the least amount of effort possible... i.e. towels or water run out in the gym and are not replaced for hours. Machines have broken down and are not repaired. Change room is always over-heated and uncomfortable, especially when trying to cool down after a workout. While the Afghani keeps declining, the prices at Serena keep climbing somehow. The food is absolutely awful, especially for the exorbitant prices charged. I recently ordered a pizza, and it took 50 minutes to arrive, only after inquiring several times after the order. No apologies offered. When going in and out, security staff always seem slightly confused about protocols, and very slow to process guests' entry - always like it's the first time someone has entered the hotel. This is also a particularly hostile atmosphere for women. Security guards throughout the premises stare uninhibited. Male staff wander into the gym and watch women working out. I've several times asked male staff members to leave the room or stop staring. The place is often empty these days, and it's no wonder why. There are so many hotel options in Kabul these days, there is absolutely no reason to pay through the nose for terrible service, and there is no reason to tolerate rude staff when you can easily find much higher levels of professionalism in this changing city.
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Date of stay: October 2014
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hamidullah H, Manager at Kabul Serena Hotel
Responded Sep 2, 2015
Dear Honorable guest, Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during your stay. It is always our aim to deliver the highest of service and hospitality standards to our guests and it saddens us when we fall short of this aim. To this end, please e-mail us at info@serena.com.af; with your name and room number so we may investigate the matter further. Apologies again. Best Wishes, Hamidullah HYDERI Sales & Marketing Manager Kabul Serena Hotel
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
The hotel is clean, nice, and has security. The service is very good. If you need a hotel in kabul with western style amenities and security, this is probably the place to stay.
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Date of stay: May 2011
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Responded Nov 8, 2016
Dear Guest, Thank you very much for your positive review of our hotel. We take pride in providing a clean and well serviced property, and we were pleased that you enjoyed your stay. We look forward to having you continue to stay with us, every time you are in the Kabul area, and we want you to know that we value your business! Best Regards, Eid Muhammad Hussaini, AFOM
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Nothing is safe in Kabul and the Serena was attacked in 2009 with casualties. It now has a strong security perimeter but it continues to be a target because the insurgents know it is where the foreigners, especially influential and wealthy foreigners, stay. If you can abstract from all of that - and if you are going to Kabul obviously you can - then this is a splendid hotel. There are lots of places to sit and meet colleagues - coffee and tea shop, lounge area, huge central courtyard. I thought the food was excellent, the buffet even includes sushi. The rooms are very nicely decorated and the staff is amazing. Expats who live and work in Kabul like to spend their day off just hanging out here because it feels so restful, a little oasis.
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Date of stay: April 2012
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Good high class hotel No alcohol Food is superb as is service Great gym Short secure bus service to firing range Secure car service to Kabul International Airport 25$ seems to be enough Avoid going outside, indeed no need to without protective detail. Food and entertainment inside beats most of that the city could. Provide
MLC
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Date of stay: December 2014
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled on business
Room Tip:Protective gear can be supplied at the hotel subject to plenty of warning. Basic cons supplied to
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hamidullah H, Manager at Kabul Serena Hotel
Responded Sep 2, 2015
Dear Honorable guest, Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We are delighted to hear you had a pleasant stay with us and look forward to welcoming you back in the future. Best Wishes Hamidullah HYDERI Sales & Marketing Manager Kabul Serena Hotel
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Let's face it, nobody comes to this country for a vacation. I mean nobody that doesn't have family here. So don't even try it! It's not a nice country. It hasn't been one since perhaps the sixties. And even then, it wasn't quite the "Middle East bread basket" of any sort. That was the name people referred to Beirut as prior to its demise. But Nonetheless if you want to stay in a place that might remind you of a two n half, maybe three star place back in the States, then this is the best you'll do here in Kabul. It's definitely five star for this city as everything else is run down, broken down, or simply down in the rest of this backwards country and it's capital city of Kabul. The security is good but you can't help live in constant fear of the what-if. The staff try their best to mimic good service and for the most they are successful. At times they can be rude and dismissive. Afghan food is really great and this can best be found in the city rather than the hotel. Although the food in the hotel is very good. The best thing that can be said about the hotel besides its decent pool, is the comfy beds. The beds do take away the stresses of the day and in the end I wasn't sure if the beds were comfortable because the work during the day was extra hard and maybe even dangerous, or if the beds were truly cozy in and of themselves regardless of ones day. I do recommend that you stay here...but only if you HAVE to go to Kabul in the first place.
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Date of stay: August 2014
Value
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Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Hamidullah H, Manager at Kabul Serena Hotel
Responded Sep 2, 2015
Dear Honorable guest, Thank you for taking the time to write to us. We are delighted to hear you had a pleasant stay with us and look forward to welcoming you back in the future. Best Wishes Hamidullah HYDERI Sales & Marketing Manager Kabul Serena Hotel
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Good afternoon, Yes we are a public hotel where also Afghan guests and friends of guests are very much welcome to the Hotel. Just advise the Front Desk about your friend coming, for us to even better facilitate his/her entrance to the Hotel premises.
Kind regards, Tim Swagemakers, General Manager.
There are more places to choose from in the Kabul area.
PRICE RANGE
$200 - $225 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
AfghanistanKabul ProvinceKabul
NUMBER OF ROOMS
177
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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