17 hour layover at ADD, eligible for free hotel?
 

I have some upcoming flights with Ethiopian Airlines and a 17 hour layover at ADD and I was wondering if am eligible for a free hotel? And what do you have to do at the airport to get this free hotel?

Regards,


Granite64

Yes, you'll be eligible. They should give you a voucher when you check-in at the departure airport. If not then go to the transit counter in ADD. You'll show your voucher to immigration and they'll stamp your boarding pass, no visa needed.

As long as you are connecting between ET flights, they will provide a free hotel night, meals and airport transportation. You will also not need to pay for your visa, but rather be given a transit pass. I have never received the hotel vouchers at departure, but it is pretty straightforward in ADD - you need to go to the transit/hotel counter on the arrivals level (before the stairs down to passport control), they take your passport and your boarding passes, manually fill out a voucher (and assign you a hotel) and then you go through immigration, pick up your bags (if you checked them only to ADD), go through customs and then wait in the 'bus passenger waiting zone' (after the X-ray machines of customs but before leaving the sterile area. Somebody will eventually come and fetch you, once the shuttle bus for your hotel arrives. The hotels, which ET uses, are not great by and large, mostly local hotels on the periphery of the city, but they are usually clean and safe, the food uninspiring, but edible. If you are flying in business class, they will put you in the Hilton Hotel (which is also not great), but in coach there is no telling where you will end up.

Question for Arnur or anyone:

Just to confirm, one would have the ability at the origination check-in counter to advise staff to only check the luggage through to ADD?

Yes.

I had to do this before going NBO-ADD-LLW because my clothing was in the bag that was being checked in. They didn't make too much of an issue of it, but everyone kept asking why I had my luggage for a transit in ADD.

Thanks.

Thanks as well. And I guess there is no issue in re-checking the bag for the final leg?

No issue at all, just walk up to the check-in counter as usual. They may ask why it wasn't checked through, but explaining that you needed whatever was inside during the hotel stay is sufficient.

I'd advise against changing your seat at this point though since your original boarding pass has your only immigration stamp. We did this and thankfully the officer at exit immigration was ok with the explanation that the ET check-in counter took the original boarding pass since we changed seats. He just stamped an exit stamp in my partner's passport instead. I can imagine that they could make more of an issue though if they chose to since we didn't have visas.

Thank you. Will definitely hold on to our original bp.

I guess the only other thing that I've noticed are inconsistencies mentioned online as to whether or not we will need to pay for a transit visa. We are traveling in business class and our layover is 16 hours. It seems clear we will be offered the hotel and transfer back and forth from the airport. I'm just not quite sure about the transit visa.

Transit visa is included in the stopover package.

Indeed, it's not even a real visa per say. They don't put a full page sticker in your passport like a typical visa. Instead you'll take your hotel voucher and boarding passes to immigration, they will put entry stamps on your boarding passes and send you on your way. Then coming back to the airport you'll go though exit immigration and they'll put the exit stamps on your boarding passes. Nothing at all goes in your passport.

It's a really simple process. Don't go to the visa on arrival counter, just straight to the immigration booth with your voucher in hand. There is one line roped off for Cloud9 (Business Class) that you'll have access to, saving some time if the others are backed up.

This varies. I have about a dozen entry/exit stamps in my passport from the transit visas, but the rest of the time there is only a stamp on the boarding pass or a slip of paper that needs to be handed in at departure. Never seen a logic as to what they will do on a given day.

Interesting, will see what they do as I'll be using it again in a couple weeks myself. Actually I have a full multi-entry visa already though I doubt they will go looking for it if I'm on a transit voucher, but my partner does not and will see if they stamp her passport or not. Actually she wants stamps for souvenirs, lol. She was disappointed when I told her Ethiopia doesn't stamp for transit, so sounds like she could get a pleasant surprise. I'd prefer they didn't stamp as I am far more limited on remaining space before offering this passport early retirement.

Does ET gives a better hotel for *A Gold holders? Or does only the class of travel matter for getting into the Hilton.

Class of travel is the only way to pretty much guarantee the Hilton.

The only benefit *G has is the priority lines to pick up the voucher and go through immigration. Which can easily save you an hour at the worst times.