This study examined the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction at the Kampala Serena Hotel, a five-star hotel in Uganda’s capital. A survey of 200 guests measured expectations and perceptions of five SERVQUAL dimensions, namely tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy, together with overall satisfaction and intention to return and recommend. Reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, gap analysis, Pearson correlations, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression were used, supported by diagnostic tests. Perceptions fell short of expectations on all five dimensions, with an overall gap of −0.54, the largest gaps being for responsiveness (−0.78), reliability (−0.62) and empathy (−0.61). The mean satisfaction index was 3.90 out of 5. In regression, reliability (β = 0.41), responsiveness (β = 0.40), empathy (β = 0.25), tangibles (β = 0.19) and assurance (β = 0.19) each had significant positive effects on satisfaction, and with repeat-guest status they explained 84.9 per cent of its variance. In the logistic model, responsiveness raised the odds of intending to return and recommend 2.89 times per scale point, empathy 2.29 times and reliability 1.87 times. The study concluded that service quality was a strong determinant of satisfaction and loyalty, and that the hotel’s strengths in physical facilities and assurance were not matched by responsiveness and reliability. Recommendations addressed staff empowerment, service recovery, process reliability and personalisation.