La Residence Dakar

Arrival is on the Pointe des Almadies, a residential corner of Dakar where the streets stay quiet even after dark. La Résidence is a small hotel: ten rooms and five suites set around a tropical garden and a stone-edged pool. The ocean lies fifty metres away, and restaurants around the Pointe are within walking distance, while embassies and international institutions sit a short drive off. Rooms run from 32 to 50 square metres, larger than most in the city, each with a private terrace or balcony, air conditioning, a desk, and a king or queen bed. Breakfast is served on a terrace, with coffee and fruit and the ocean air close by. You can walk to the water in under a minute. Evenings settle around the pool, where palms and stone hold the last light. The Plateau, Dakar's business centre, is about fifteen minutes away in ordinary traffic. Service here is personal rather than scripted, and the hotel keeps its scale small enough that staff know returning guests by name.