The Diplomat is a Nigerian-backed hotel chain with three locations in Lagos, two of which are in Ikeja, the other in Maryland. The Maryland site is 10 to 20 minutes from the airport when traffic is light.

Despite being relatively close to the runway and a busy arterial road, the Diplomat offers a measure of peace and serenity because of its location in a quiet gated community.

It has a modern exterior, with a large glazed frontage and bespoke steel and glass doors. The lobby is a spacious, clean area with neo-classical pillars and a chromed curved staircase leading to the upstairs rooms. The relatively elegant space is somewhat let down by the interior décor: the series of nondescript paintings have neither style nor a sense of place.

The rooms are huge, as are the beds: Nigerian double beds tend to be larger than standard doubles, but these are amongst the largest in Lagos. Wi-Fi is reasonably fast – not quite up to streaming speed, but enough to send emails. The rooms aren’t stylish in a crisp, modern sense, but they are comfortable, and bathrooms have both baths and showers.

Off the lobby there is a small bar with a French window that looks through to an inviting swimming pool area. Past the bar there is a small dining room serving both buffet and a la carte menus, while two separate buildings house basic conference facilities, one for 40 persons, and the other for 120.

The new Indian management had only just taken over before my stay, but they seemed to have things in hand and my experience was overall very pleasant.