The Lex hotel was much more than expected. All staff polite, friendly and helpful. Lovely welcome drink which was much appreciated after an 18 hr flight. Room a good size, with a massive bed, tea, coffee, etc and a fantastic shower. Lovely roof top bar and pool.
Food - breakfast a reasonable price £9. Buffet with wide selection. Lovely ambience. Lunch and dinner either in the restaurant or roof top bar were again amazing. Tasted wonderful and beautifully presented. Prices again great. Two mains and drinks £15 for two. Two/three minute walk, fast food and good quality local cuisine.
Getting around - Use the grab app for taxis. Not a huge amount near the hotel to see cultural but easy to get to the fort, basilica etc by taxis or a long 40 min walk, although it should have been less, we did not have a good map and kept getting lost.
Trips out. Used someone who had been recommended to us. Communicated by WhatsApp. About £154 for a trip to swim with the sharks, visit the falls and then do the sardine run with snorkelling with the turtles and hundreds of different fish. Day 2 £125 for the chocolate hills, tarsiers and various local cultural sites. Both days amazing experiences.
Top tips - print a good map of the city out before you go.
Download the grab app.
If shark swimming, take footwear you can walk in the water with. Flip flops not ideal. Also for any sea activity pay extra for the water camera, it’s only about £5 otherwise you will not have photos of the event.