As hospitality professionals, my partner and I were interested in experiencing Urban by CityBlue Kigali to better understand the guest experience. While the property itself has strong physical attributes, several operational and service gaps significantly affected the overall stay. The experience already presented challenges at the reservation stage. After making the booking, I requested a confirmation but unfortunately never received one. For a property operating in a competitive market, the reservation stage is a critical first touchpoint for guest confidence. Upon arrival, we were checked into a room that had not yet been serviced. The porter handled the situation politely and proactively by contacting reception and arranging another key. However, what was surprising from a service culture perspective was the absence of a service recovery response, particularly an immediate apology or acknowledgment of the inconvenience. The second room was clean, comfortable, and well designed, which reflects positively on the property’s product. However, the room appeared to have been prepared for single occupancy, and we had to request additional amenities such as slippers and bathrobes. Later in the evening, when attempting to order room service, we experienced repeated difficulty reaching both the restaurant and reception through the room phone. We eventually contacted the reception mobile number. While they offered to reach the restaurant for us, the interaction again lacked a basic service recovery response, and the call ended while I was still speaking. When the waiter arrived to take the order, we asked for an estimated preparation time. The response provided was simply “a very short time.” While the food ultimately arrived promptly, professional service standards typically require clearer communication when guests request specific timing. We also noticed operational inconsistencies in billing procedures. We had a 30% food and beverage discount, yet each order required us to remind the same waiter to apply it. Bills repeatedly arrived without the discount applied, suggesting a gap in internal communication between departments. Breakfast service the following morning also showed several fundamental service gaps. A number of buffet items were not labelled, tables were set only after we had already been seated, and staff did not proactively check if additional cutlery was required between courses. We also did not observe a visible management presence overseeing the breakfast service, which often helps maintain service standards. Additionally, throughout the stay there was noticeable background noise, resembling repeated mechanical or maintenance sounds, which slightly affected the room comfort. To be fair, the physical product of the hotel is appealing, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and the porter demonstrated good guest care. The reception team was also polite during both check-in and check-out interactions. However, the core opportunit
