Abuja’s Transcorp Hilton is in a dead heat with the Sheraton for the title of most massive hotel in the city. With over 600 rooms, Hilton takes the prize on capacity, though the Sheraton’s ancillary services (in particular their casino, steakhouse and workout facility) are a little bit nicer.

As with the Sheraton, the bottom two floors of the Hilton are closer to a village than an actual hotel. There are banks, airline offices, a bakery, a pharmacy, clothing stores and even a furniture and design shop here if you’re in the mood to go shopping. There’s also a tiny casino in the basement and a business center on the second floor with a dozen computers for paid use. Since the hotel has an attached conference center, there’s plenty of activity buzzing between here and the adjacent conference rooms.

For dining, the Hilton has several options ranging from Bukka, with traditional Nigerian fare, Zuma with a Mediterranean theme, or Oriental, which obviously serves Asian food. It’s also possible to get light fare at Fulani, the pool bar, the Lobby Piano Bar or Capitol, the raucous evening bar adjacent to the main check in.

Outside of the facility there’s a very large hexagonal pool that’s quite popular with the residents as well as a splash pool and tennis courts. The rest of the workout facilities are on the second floor where a gym is divided into two rooms with modest if cramped machines.

Rooms are distinctively retro in a surprising and affable way. The furniture is made from laminated veneer wood, chairs are squat and vintage and there’s a tan patterned carpet covering all of the residential areas (and the elevator walls). The nightstands still have big orange plastic buttons to turn on the lamps and analog dials to turn on some long-lost radio stations and even the bathrooms have chocolate-milk colored toilets, bidets and sinks. The only parts of the room that aren’t vintage are the very comfortable beds and the flat screen TVs, though getting the hang of the latter might make someone wish for a display from a bygone era. I had to call the front desk for instructions on how turn mine on and I have a degree in engineering.

A similar throwback to years past is the Hilton’s policy on internet. Wireless connectivity is only available in the public areas, and even wired internet was billed at N 1300 per day. This was the only property in the country that I visited that charged for internet, and the bitrate wasn’t even very impressive. Still, there’s a warm vintage feel about the rooms and atmosphere is quite enjoyable.