I had previously booked a $25/night apartment via Airbnb for three nights so we could have a place to stay as soon as we arrive in Cotonou. It took almost an hour to arrive at Segbeya, where our apartment was located.
The Airbnb host, Haidi, told us to alight in front of a church where he came to pick us up with his bike alongside a friend. I rode with him, while Barakat rode with his friend. He was so nice and thankfully, he speaks and understands Yoruba fluently. He also speaks and understands French, but sadly we don’t.
We settled in and to be honest, the apartment wasn’t what I had expected, although it looked the same as the pictures posted online. I guess I just had a certain image of it in my head. The environment was basic and nothing serious was happening. It wasn’t completely bad, it just wasn’t giving the vibes it ought to give. We eventually canceled for the third night because we were more settled and could think of other places to stay.
One thing that completely took me off the grid was the fact that we had to pay for electricity during our stay. We paid 4,000 CFA / ₦4,000 / $8 for the two nights. In fact, we managed it. Dylane, the owner of the apartment said that’s how it’s been done because electricity is very expensive in Benin.
We were also able to use the wifi provided at the apartment since we couldn’t get a sim card on our way. The roaming charges were ridiculous. I had about 30GB of data on my mtn sim card before I got to Benin and it disappeared in less than an hour,
Overall, the environment was peaceful and we enjoyed our stay. $25 is pretty fair for the kind of services they provided.
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