My Life-Threatening Experience at LaSandi Hotels in Jalingo — Why This Place Should Be Investigated Immediately

Lasandi Hotels Rating: 0.1 ★☆☆☆☆

If you’ve ever trusted a hotel enough to sleep peacefully inside it, imagine that same “safe space” turning into the most terrifying night of your life.

That was what happened to me — right here in Jalingo, Taraba State — at a place called LaSandi Hotels.

This isn’t just a bad review; it’s a real warning. Because what happened to me that night could have easily ended worse.

And honestly, if Taraba’s tourism and security agencies don’t look into this establishment soon, something bad might actually happen to someone else.

Table of Contents

1. Where Is LaSandi Hotels?

2. Why You Shouldn’t Consider LaSandi Hotels

3. Comparing LaSandi Hotels to Top Hotels in Jalingo

4. The Importance of Good Customer Treatment

5. Top 5 Best Hotels to Consider Instead

6. A Call to Security Agencies

7. How the Night Turned Life-Threatening

8. The Manager’s Behavior — and His Exact Words

9. Emotional Trauma and PTSD: My Real Reaction

10. What the Taraba State Government Must Do

11. Final Thoughts: What This Experience Taught Me About Nigerian Hospitality

Where Is LaSandi Hotels?

LaSandi Hotels is located in Jalingo, the capital city of Taraba State, Nigeria.

Public business records identify a company called Lassandi Hotels Ltd (RC-1690486), located along Brig. General Sinjen Street, opposite the Jalingo stadium.

On paper, this sounds decent — a hotel near a major landmark, right?

But what’s written on paper and what happens behind those walls are two completely different things.

You wouldn’t expect a hotel this close to central Jalingo to be unsafe.

But in my case, LaSandi wasn’t just “unsafe” — it was unsettling, violent, and traumatic.

The streets around it are usually calm, dotted with other hospitality outfits and shops.

It’s in a location that gives you a false sense of comfort.

And that’s what makes this story worse — because danger came not from the streets outside but from inside the hotel itself.

Why You Shouldn’t Consider LaSandi Hotels

When people read negative hotel reviews online, they usually think, “Maybe that guest exaggerated.”

I used to think the same — until it happened to me.

I booked a room at LaSandi Hotels for what I expected to be a normal stay. But sometime around nightfall, everything changed.

Someone started banging violently on my door. Not a polite knock.

Not a call from reception. This was hard, angry, persistent banging — the kind that makes you think, “This door is about to be kicked in.”

I froze.

My pulse went wild.

I have PTSD from a previous experience in Akure, where armed robbers once broke into a hotel room I was staying in.

That night in Jalingo, the same fear came flooding back.

I genuinely thought I was about to relive that trauma — that maybe thieves or kidnappers had come again.

I didn’t open the door.

I stayed quiet, hoping whoever it was would go away.

But the banging continued. Louder.

Harder.

And then — through the door — I heard an unfamiliar voice shouting.

Only later did I find out it was the manager himself.

He hadn’t called first.

He hadn’t identified himself as management.

He simply showed up at my door at night, pounding it as though he wanted to break it open.

When I eventually stepped out (after he’d left), I found that he had assumed we were drug dealers — me and my girlfriend, who was quietly resting with me.

He accused us, without reason or evidence, of criminal behavior.

Imagine being threatened and humiliated in a place you paid for.

From that moment, I realized: this isn’t just bad hospitality — this is dangerous incompetence.

A hotel that treats guests like suspects has no business operating.

Period.

Even after that, there was no apology.

No refund. No explanation.

Just coldness, arrogance, and a phone call from the same manager later on where he literally said, “I am not alright.”

I remember that line because it perfectly described the hotel’s state itself — LaSandi Hotels is not alright.

Comparing LaSandi Hotels to Top Hotels in Jalingo

To properly understand how shocking this experience was, you have to compare LaSandi Hotels to other top hotels within the same Jalingo axis.

I’ve stayed in several others — from Dajol Suites, Tahiti Luxury Hotel, Suntai Royal Suites, to Paradise City Hotel — and none ever made me feel the way LaSandi did that night.

Let’s start with something simple:

Professionalism!

In every other top-rated hotel, there’s a visible structure — from the reception to the security post.

You can tell that the staff are trained, the environment is calm, and the management operates with at least some emotional intelligence.

But at LaSandi, none of that exists.

The staff appear confused, untrained, and defensive, like people waiting for a fight.

There’s no sense of hierarchy, no accountability, and no culture of respect toward guests.

Even the basic hospitality etiquette — greeting guests, asking how their stay is going, or offering water upon arrival — doesn’t exist there. Instead, you’re met with suspicion.

You’re treated like you’re doing them a favor by staying.

When you compare that to a place like Dajol Suites, where you’re literally greeted with a smile, and the manager occasionally checks in to ask if everything is fine, you realize how deeply broken LaSandi Hotels is.

If Taraba wants to position Jalingo as a tourist-friendly city, LaSandi cannot remain the face of hospitality in that area.

It’s the kind of hotel that makes people never want to visit Jalingo again.

The bathrooms are old and unkempt, the corridors smell damp, and the staff often argue loudly right in front of guests.

It’s not only unprofessional — it’s unsettling.

The painful irony is that their prices are not cheap compared to better hotels nearby. You pay a premium for chaos, disrespect, and humiliation.

If this review saves even one traveler, student, or business visitor from going through what I went through, then at least this experience won’t have been in vain.

The Importance of Good Customer Treatment

Hotels are more than buildings.

They are emotional spaces — places people choose when they’re away from home, often tired, stressed, or traveling through unfamiliar cities.

That means how you treat your customers matters even more than how the rooms look.

In Nigeria, especially in northern states like Taraba, hospitality can literally determine whether visitors recommend your city to others.

When a guest feels safe, respected, and understood, they not only come back — they tell more people about your hotel.

But at LaSandi Hotels, the complete opposite happens.

I can confidently say this was the most dehumanizing treatment I’ve ever experienced in my years of traveling across Nigeria.

From Lagos to Abuja, even small towns like Otukpo and Makurdi — I’ve never seen a hotel so careless about human dignity.

Customer treatment isn’t only about politeness; it’s about responsibility.

A manager’s job is to calm a situation, not escalate it.

A receptionist’s role is to communicate gently, not provoke fear.

A hotel’s duty is to make guests feel safe, not threatened.

Unfortunately, LaSandi Hotels has none of that in place.

The manager, who should be the custodian of the brand’s image, was the very source of the problem.

His tone was aggressive, his behavior reckless, and his judgment deeply unfit for leadership.

Even after being called out for his actions, he made no attempt to mediate or clarify.

Instead, he told me over the phone — and I quote again — “I’m not alright.”

And honestly, that’s how I’d describe the overall experience: nothing about LaSandi Hotels is alright.

Until management across Nigeria realizes that customer treatment is what sustains hospitality businesses — not just buildings, bars, or painted signboards — we’ll keep having disasters like this.

A hotel can be luxurious, but if it lacks basic empathy, it’s already a failure.

How the Night Turned Life-Threatening

It was past 10 p.m. when the situation escalated.

The corridor was quiet, and I had just settled in for the night with my partner.

Then came a sudden, violent banging on the door — not the polite kind, but the kind that makes your heart stop.

Each strike echoed through the thin hotel walls. I froze.

My first thought wasn’t “someone needs help.”

It was “this is a break-in.” You see, I’ve lived through that terror before.

Years ago, in Akure, armed robbers had forced their way into my hotel room.

The sound of a door rattling under fists can stick to your brain forever.

That’s what PTSD does; it rewinds old fears in real time.

So, when the banging wouldn’t stop, my body reacted before my mind could reason.

I turned off the lights, held my partner’s hand, and whispered for silence.

For nearly a minute, the sound grew louder, then someone shouted angrily on the other side. The voice wasn’t slurred or drunk — it was furious.

I called the front desk, no answer.

I called again, nothing.

At that point, I was convinced we were under attack.

I couldn’t even open the door to confirm because who in their right mind opens a door when a stranger is trying to break it down?

Then, after what felt like an hour compressed into minutes, the voice identified itself — the manager.

He wasn’t apologetic.

He wasn’t calm.

He was shouting accusations through the door.

In that moment, I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified.

Relieved that it wasn’t a thief.

Terrified that it was the very person entrusted with guests’ safety acting like one.

That’s when I realized: LaSandi Hotels isn’t just a poorly run business. It’s a potential hazard to life.

No emergency protocol. No professionalism.

No empathy. Just aggression — raw and unfiltered.

And this wasn’t a random worker; this was the man in charge.

Hotels are supposed to feel like safe transitions between destinations.

That night, LaSandi felt like a trap.

I barely slept till dawn, waiting for the first light to leave that building behind for good.

The Manager’s Behavior — and His Exact Words

The next day, still shaking, I received a call from that same manager.

He didn’t call to apologize or check if we were safe. He called to double down.

He accused us — wrongly — of “illegal activities.”

Imagine that.

Guests who had paid full price, who had been quiet, respectful, and minding their business, suddenly being branded as troublemakers.

When I tried to reason with him, he interrupted and said words I’ll never forget: “You’re not alright.”

That sentence might seem trivial on paper, but context matters.

It came after a night of pounding on my door, after fear and humiliation.

To tell a customer they’re “not alright” after traumatizing them isn’t just unprofessional — it’s psychologically abusive.

Even if he had suspected something wrong, the decent, lawful response would have been to contact security discreetly, not confront guests violently in the middle of the night.

No trained manager behaves that way.

This man wasn’t managing a hotel; he was managing his anger.

And because of that, every guest that walks into LaSandi risks stepping into a similar nightmare.

I’ve been in customer service long enough to know that what happened that night wasn’t just poor behavior — it was a breach of safety.

A hotel manager has no right to invade privacy or create panic for paying guests.

What LaSandi Hotels needs is not renovation or repainting.

It needs reform and accountability.

If this is the type of leadership representing a major hotel in Taraba State, then there’s a bigger issue at stake.

It’s not only about customer treatment anymore; it’s about public safety.

This section widens the scope, showing how this event connects to public safety and where travelers can actually feel safe in Jalingo.

A Call to Designated Security Agencies

Incidents like what happened at LaSandi Hotels aren’t just “bad service” stories — they are security red flags.

When a hotel manager believes he can threaten guests, invade privacy, and act violently without consequence, it shows a breakdown in both institutional oversight and basic regulation.

This is why I’m calling publicly for the Taraba State Government, the State Ministry of Tourism, and the Nigeria Police Force (Taraba Command) to look into this hotel’s operations.

We need to start asking serious questions:

Who licensed LaSandi Hotels?

Who inspected it before it was allowed to open its doors?

Are there background checks done on the people placed in charge of guest safety?

Because clearly, in this case, the system failed.

I’m not saying this lightly.

That night could have gone wrong in many ways.

Imagine if I had opened the door in fear and reacted — or if there had been a misunderstanding with local security.

One man’s aggression could have escalated into something catastrophic.

Hotels should be sanctuaries, not threats.

Yet, LaSandi operates like an unsupervised zone — no trained response protocol, no chain of accountability, and no concern for the trauma inflicted on guests.

Taraba’s tourism board must recognize that a single bad hotel can tarnish the reputation of an entire city.

Jalingo is full of kind, warm people.

But if visitors encounter something like this first, that’s all they’ll remember.

This review, therefore, isn’t just a personal experience — it’s a public service announcement.

I’m urging security agencies and the tourism authority to investigate LaSandi Hotels, assess its safety standards, and hold the management accountable.

Because no Nigerian — or any traveler — should have to go through what I went through that night.

Top 5 Best Hotels to Consider in Jalingo Instead

To anyone reading this and thinking, “Where, then, can I stay safely in Jalingo?” — don’t worry.

Jalingo has good, even excellent alternatives.

These hotels value comfort, professionalism, and security.

Here are the top 5 better options you should consider instead of LaSandi:

1. Dajol Suites – Located in the heart of Jalingo, Dajol Suites stands out for its cleanliness, stable power, and professional staff.

Guests consistently mention how the reception team greets you warmly and checks in politely.

That’s basic, but it matters.

2. Tahiti Luxury Hotel – This one leans more toward business travelers.

Their security is tight, their management is visible, and the rooms are tastefully furnished.

If you’re visiting Jalingo for official duties, Tahiti is a safe bet.

3. Suntai Royal Suites – A mid-range hotel with an impressive sense of calm.

It’s the kind of place where you can actually sleep peacefully without being startled by noise, arguments, or untrained managers banging on doors.

4. Paradise City Hotel – A great option for couples or travelers looking for a slightly homier environment.

The management there has a clear understanding that hospitality means “making people feel at ease.”

5. Elim Top Suites – Less flashy but incredibly decent.

Their rooms are clean, the staff are polite, and the environment feels secure.

For travelers on a tighter budget, this is a solid, safe option.

All of these hotels share something LaSandi lacks — a culture of respect.

Even the smallest gesture — a smile, a knock before entry, or a calm voice when issues arise — separates true hospitality from hostility.

These other establishments prove that Jalingo can indeed offer world-class lodging when run by people who understand what customer service means.

Why You Shouldn’t Consider LaSandi Hotels

Let’s be plain about it: LaSandi Hotels should not be an option for anyone. 

Whether you’re a tourist, a traveler, or even a local looking for a short stay — avoid it.

A hotel is supposed to be a space of rest, not confrontation.

Yet everything about LaSandi communicates danger, neglect, and arrogance.

The environment alone sends warning signs — dimly lit corridors, indifferent staff, and a pervasive sense of carelessness that you can feel from check-in.

You can forgive an old building. You can even forgive small lapses like a faulty bulb or a leaky tap.

But what you cannot forgive is deliberate disrespect and threatening behavior from management.

At LaSandi, respect is nonexistent.

The management acts like they are doing guests a favor.

Staff talk back rudely, and complaints are treated as personal insults rather than feedback.

When a guest tries to clarify something, it quickly becomes a confrontation.

There’s no system of escalation or professionalism — everything feels impulsive and emotional.

That’s not a business model; that’s a hazard.

And because of that, the hotel simply doesn’t meet the minimum hospitality standard expected anywhere in Nigeria.

If you value your safety, privacy, or dignity, LaSandi Hotels is not the place for you.

Until the owners overhaul management, retrain the staff, and introduce accountability, it remains an active threat to guests’ mental and emotional wellbeing.

The irony is that LaSandi could have been something great — it has the structure and location.

But a hotel without heart, empathy, or discipline is just concrete pretending to be comfort.

The Psychological Aftermath of a Bad Hospitality Experience

People often underestimate what a bad hotel experience does to your mind.

It’s not simply “bad service” — it’s psychological damage, especially when it involves fear, humiliation, or violation of personal space.

That night at LaSandi didn’t just end when I checked out. I carried it with me.

The sudden banging, the shouting, the disbelief — all of it replayed in my head for days.

I kept thinking about how easily things could’ve gone wrong.

What if I had opened the door?

What if there had been a misunderstanding that turned violent?

When someone says they have PTSD, it means their brain doesn’t easily distinguish between memory and present danger.

So, that kind of confrontation can trigger a full trauma response — heart racing, body trembling, sleep disturbed for nights.

The worst part?

You start questioning yourself.

You ask:

Did I do something wrong? Was I overreacting? Am I the problem?

But no — you’re not the problem. The system is.

Hotels must understand that emotional safety is part of hospitality. 

Guests need to trust that the staff won’t harm or humiliate them.

Once that trust breaks, the damage lingers long after checkout.

For me, the fear that night wasn’t abstract — it was real, physical, alive.

And even as someone used to travel and unpredictable environments, I can say with certainty:

LaSandi Hotels left a scar, not an impression.

If this review helps anyone else avoid that pain, then it’s worth it.

Because sometimes, the worst thing about a bad hotel isn’t losing your money — it’s losing your peace of mind.

The Role of Hotel Regulation in Taraba State

The problem with LaSandi Hotels didn’t begin the night I was there.

It began long before that — the day someone approved it to operate without proper oversight.

When a business is allowed to serve the public without inspection, training, or enforcement, disaster becomes inevitable.

Taraba State has a growing tourism identity.

From the Mambilla Plateau to the beautiful hills of Gembu, the state should be one of the most welcoming destinations in the North-East.

But tourism doesn’t thrive on nature alone — it thrives on trust.

Visitors need to know that when they sleep in a hotel, they are protected by law and by standards.

Where are those standards at LaSandi?

Who checks how hotels treat their guests?

Is there a registry or code of conduct for hospitality businesses?

These are questions the Taraba State Ministry of Culture and Tourism should urgently address.

A manager who bangs on doors at night should never manage a hospitality facility.

A hotel that disregards human safety should never renew its license.

There should be surprise inspections, clear disciplinary frameworks, and a public reporting channel for guests.

If we want people to visit Jalingo and tell positive stories, the system must first ensure that hotels meet minimum psychological and physical safety standards.

How Jalingo Can Build Safer Hospitality Standards

Jalingo is an interesting city — growing, vibrant, filled with potential.

Yet it risks becoming a place travelers avoid if stories like this keep surfacing.

Building safer hospitality standards isn’t just about punishing one hotel.

It’s about redefining what it means to host guests in Taraba State.

The first step is training.

Hospitality workers should understand not just their tasks, but also the emotional intelligence required to do them.

How to handle complaints. How to de-escalate tension.

How to respect privacy.

Next, management should be certified before running hotels.

Just as doctors or lawyers are licensed, hotel managers should be certified in hospitality and conflict resolution.

The role requires far more than just ownership; it demands temperament and responsibility.

Finally, there should be a centralized digital platform — maybe a “Taraba Hospitality Register” — where travelers can rate hotels transparently, and the government can see patterns.

A hotel with repeated safety complaints should face suspension or closure until fixed.

When systems like that exist, incidents like mine at LaSandi become rare, because managers know someone is watching.

Final Thoughts and a Call to Government Action on Lasandi Hotels, Jalingo, Taraba state, Nigeria.

This is not just a bad review. It’s a plea for accountability.

What happened to me at LaSandi Hotels was unacceptable, dangerous, and deeply traumatizing.

It revealed not only the failure of one establishment but a gap in the entire hospitality regulation system of Taraba State.

If LaSandi can operate unchecked — if a manager can threaten guests and still keep his job — then the safety of everyone who visits Jalingo is at risk.

I am calling on:

– The Taraba State Government,

– The Tourism Board,

– The Nigeria Police Force (Taraba Command),

– And all relevant hospitality regulators

to investigate LaSandi Hotels immediately, review its management, and ensure that no other guest goes through what I did.

No business should be allowed to function if it endangers lives.

No traveler should ever have to choose between fear and sleep.

Until Taraba reforms its hotel regulation and enforces standards with seriousness, this story will remain a cautionary tale — one that echoes beyond Jalingo into every Nigerian city struggling between tourism and chaos.

For now, let this serve as a warning:

Avoid LaSandi Hotels, Jalingo, Taraba State. Choose Safety.

Choose dignity.

Because your peace of mind is not negotiable.