Hotel Dengan Gim di Thiès, Senegal

We stayed at the hotel for 9 nights with our two young children and some friends who also had their kids with them. We found it a real mix - the setting was really beautiful - gorgeous beach, lovely pool and nice looking huts to stay in, but there were lots of annoying problems throughout the holiday. Firstly, the food looked pretty decent - but it tasted fairly average unfortunately. As the hotel is all inclusive, this left us feeling like we were a bit stuck for dinner (although we ended up going to another hotel to eat a couple of times for a bit of variation). The puddings in particular weren't great - they looked awesome, but often just didn't taste of very much. Secondly, dinner is from 8-10pm. Maybe this is fine for many guests from the Mediterranean, but it was really late for our kids (who are normally in bed by 8) and there was no flexibility offered and no way of ordering dinner early from the restaurant or something. That left us with ratty kids getting tired and staying up late, or going to bed hungry. Another annoyance was the very loud music being pumped out by the pool. The clientele when we were there were hardly 18-30 party animals - almost everyone either had kids or were in the older age bracket, so it didn't seem to fit and ruined the general feeling of peace on the beach and down by the sea. The loud music continued into the night with raucous drum performances every few nights and loud music and singing on others. That started at 10pm and went on for a couple of hours most nights, keeping us and the kids up even later. For families I would recommend asking to stay further away from the restaurant so this would be less of an issue. Also, although there weren't many mosquitoes visibly around, even in the evenings, we got bitten to death at night. There were no mosquito nets over the beds and I assume that they were getting in through the thatched roof as we weren't able to track them down and get rid of them. My little one got 50 bites over a couple of nights and I had a couple of dozen - even using DEET and trying to cover up at night. I could barely sleep with them buzzing in my ear and ended up wearing full length clothes all night to avoid getting savaged every night! Annoying not to have nets which would have immediately solved the problem and are standard in many other hotels we have traveled to around Africa. Some more positive things were the availability of taxis outside the hotel, who the hotel were able to call for you if you wanted. We went on a tour to the nearby Bandia Reserve which was pretty decent and the (quite grumpy) hotel events guy was able to arrange this easily. The staff were nice to the kids, although a bit rude and non-responsive to us which didn't make us feel particularly welcomed. Also for fellow Brits or other non-French speakers, the staff didn't speak much if any English (to be expected and we speak reasonable French so were able to get by). There was a bit of gentle harassment from sellers

Très décevant pour un hôtel club 3etoiles: aucun accueil, pas d’explication, personnel mou et pas accueillant. Leur seul objectif c’est demander l’argent . Il est difficile d’avoir une serviette supplémentaire, piscine non nettoyée, animatrice qui ne bosse pas , chambre avec problème clim, lumière….

Given some of the marginal places I stayed on my pass through Senegal, this place was probably the nicest. I was probably not the target customer as I didn't use them as an all inclusive and clearly that is the intention. The property is a bit of a walk from humble downtown Saly, but otherwise this place has charm and character all over the place. The bathroom was particularly generous and the bed nice and comfy. It was quite a hike to get out of my room and back on the street though, because the grounds are quite large. If you like service though, this is surely the place you want to stay in Saly.

We are a ‘young’couple in our early 60’s and we booked our stay via RCI. We were allowed to check in a bit earlier however our apartment wasn’t ready. We had to ask for the kitchen door to be unlocked but when it was, there was no equipment in it! Even when it was finally stocked up there was No Kettle,no Washing up liquid,no dish cloth to wipe the surfaces. We had to ask for a bin liner on our first day and then when the bin was emptied it was never replaced. We also had to ask for a scouring pad, Ice tray and oven gloves (but they were useless) There was No Sharp knife! We had to prepare our meals using a bread knife! Have you ever tried to peel a kiwi with a bread knife? There was also No Grater, No Garlic press, No Wine glasses (only 4 small tumblers) , No wooden spoon. We had to ask 4 times for someone to fix the oven. The unit definitely wasn’t set up for self catering. The unit was very shabby, and not well maintained and was definitely not up to the standard that we expect from RCI. The kitchen badly needs refurbishing. There was no carbon monoxide monitor and yet we were cooking on gas. No smoke alarm and the fire extinguisher was outside! We were unlucky with our unit (no 1) as it was right by the reception and had people constantly walking by. The outside space wasn’t at all private. We could constantly hear the staff in reception shouting at each other all day long. There were also no mosquito nets. The biggest problem though was that Neptune is not on the beach! The RCI information states that the beach is on site which is very misleading and should be removed. You actually have to walk through a car park and a taxi rank then 100m down a path! The Gardens were beautiful and well maintained.

The hotel is perfectly situated on the beach, there were plenty of loungers and umbrellas available. The hotel staff - with the exception of Reception - were inattentive (bordering on rude) at meal times and at the bar on the beach. This may have been a language barrier issue as the French guests were greeted, seated and served very quickly. Breakfast was self service with plenty of choice with freshly cooked eggs and a friendly chef. Evening meal arrangements changed between al a carte to buffet in certain days which was a little odd as the a la carte meals were obviously prepared earlier and sat waiting to be served as the food was never served hot. The room was clean if a little tired, tea & coffee was replenished daily. The terrace was large but seemed unfinished with metal poles sticking out of the wall. Senegal is not an affluent country and I wasn't expecting luxury but the staff attitude left a lot to be desired and ruined our experience.

The hotel is about 45 mins from the nearest airport, mostly by motorway. The hotel has a small open air reception area. Check in was a bit slow and it is expected that a considerable sum will be held against a credit card. Beware of the amount! We had a large luxury room overlooking the marina. It was lovely but the fittings are dated and marked which does not reflect the standard expected. There is a safe but it is very high up and inaccessible to a short person like me unless you balance on the room stool which is not safe. The room towels were poor quality and therefore needed changing daily. The beds were large and comfortable and the a/c worked well but was noisy. The food was buffet service but was always hot with plenty of choice, The evening entertainment and Sunday afternoon saxophonist was perfect for the mostly older clientele but few stayed to enjoy it in the evening which was possibly due to the seating being so close to the restaurant and therefore not a more relaxing area. The staff were all lovely and helpful but little English is spoken so be prepared to communicate in French or use a phrase book or App. The beach is kept beautifully clean and there were always lots of sunbeds everyday. The sea is warm and safe and there are also jet skis and fishing available. Staff to be praised include: Abdouleye and Babbacar (beach) and Therese and Gamou (Guest relations) who were always helpful and cheerful. Negative point to note - there is a lot of building work both in front of and behind the hotel. The 'marina' is now just an enclosed water area with twenty floating rooms. These spoil the view somewhat and we had not been made aware of the noise during the day from the building work around the hotel. I'm sure this is only temporary. There is a nice pool and also a separate pool if you have a more superior room.

We stayed at the hotel for 9 nights with our two young children and some friends who also had their kids with them. We found it a real mix - the setting was really beautiful - gorgeous beach, lovely pool and nice looking huts to stay in, but there were lots of annoying problems throughout the holiday. Firstly, the food looked pretty decent - but it tasted fairly average unfortunately. As the hotel is all inclusive, this left us feeling like we were a bit stuck for dinner (although we ended up going to another hotel to eat a couple of times for a bit of variation). The puddings in particular weren't great - they looked awesome, but often just didn't taste of very much. Secondly, dinner is from 8-10pm. Maybe this is fine for many guests from the Mediterranean, but it was really late for our kids (who are normally in bed by 8) and there was no flexibility offered and no way of ordering dinner early from the restaurant or something. That left us with ratty kids getting tired and staying up late, or going to bed hungry. Another annoyance was the very loud music being pumped out by the pool. The clientele when we were there were hardly 18-30 party animals - almost everyone either had kids or were in the older age bracket, so it didn't seem to fit and ruined the general feeling of peace on the beach and down by the sea. The loud music continued into the night with raucous drum performances every few nights and loud music and singing on others. That started at 10pm and went on for a couple of hours most nights, keeping us and the kids up even later. For families I would recommend asking to stay further away from the restaurant so this would be less of an issue. Also, although there weren't many mosquitoes visibly around, even in the evenings, we got bitten to death at night. There were no mosquito nets over the beds and I assume that they were getting in through the thatched roof as we weren't able to track them down and get rid of them. My little one got 50 bites over a couple of nights and I had a couple of dozen - even using DEET and trying to cover up at night. I could barely sleep with them buzzing in my ear and ended up wearing full length clothes all night to avoid getting savaged every night! Annoying not to have nets which would have immediately solved the problem and are standard in many other hotels we have traveled to around Africa. Some more positive things were the availability of taxis outside the hotel, who the hotel were able to call for you if you wanted. We went on a tour to the nearby Bandia Reserve which was pretty decent and the (quite grumpy) hotel events guy was able to arrange this easily. The staff were nice to the kids, although a bit rude and non-responsive to us which didn't make us feel particularly welcomed. Also for fellow Brits or other non-French speakers, the staff didn't speak much if any English (to be expected and we speak reasonable French so were able to get by). There was a bit of gentle harassment from sellers

Très décevant pour un hôtel club 3etoiles: aucun accueil, pas d’explication, personnel mou et pas accueillant. Leur seul objectif c’est demander l’argent . Il est difficile d’avoir une serviette supplémentaire, piscine non nettoyée, animatrice qui ne bosse pas , chambre avec problème clim, lumière….

Given some of the marginal places I stayed on my pass through Senegal, this place was probably the nicest. I was probably not the target customer as I didn't use them as an all inclusive and clearly that is the intention. The property is a bit of a walk from humble downtown Saly, but otherwise this place has charm and character all over the place. The bathroom was particularly generous and the bed nice and comfy. It was quite a hike to get out of my room and back on the street though, because the grounds are quite large. If you like service though, this is surely the place you want to stay in Saly.

We are a ‘young’couple in our early 60’s and we booked our stay via RCI. We were allowed to check in a bit earlier however our apartment wasn’t ready. We had to ask for the kitchen door to be unlocked but when it was, there was no equipment in it! Even when it was finally stocked up there was No Kettle,no Washing up liquid,no dish cloth to wipe the surfaces. We had to ask for a bin liner on our first day and then when the bin was emptied it was never replaced. We also had to ask for a scouring pad, Ice tray and oven gloves (but they were useless) There was No Sharp knife! We had to prepare our meals using a bread knife! Have you ever tried to peel a kiwi with a bread knife? There was also No Grater, No Garlic press, No Wine glasses (only 4 small tumblers) , No wooden spoon. We had to ask 4 times for someone to fix the oven. The unit definitely wasn’t set up for self catering. The unit was very shabby, and not well maintained and was definitely not up to the standard that we expect from RCI. The kitchen badly needs refurbishing. There was no carbon monoxide monitor and yet we were cooking on gas. No smoke alarm and the fire extinguisher was outside! We were unlucky with our unit (no 1) as it was right by the reception and had people constantly walking by. The outside space wasn’t at all private. We could constantly hear the staff in reception shouting at each other all day long. There were also no mosquito nets. The biggest problem though was that Neptune is not on the beach! The RCI information states that the beach is on site which is very misleading and should be removed. You actually have to walk through a car park and a taxi rank then 100m down a path! The Gardens were beautiful and well maintained.

The hotel is perfectly situated on the beach, there were plenty of loungers and umbrellas available. The hotel staff - with the exception of Reception - were inattentive (bordering on rude) at meal times and at the bar on the beach. This may have been a language barrier issue as the French guests were greeted, seated and served very quickly. Breakfast was self service with plenty of choice with freshly cooked eggs and a friendly chef. Evening meal arrangements changed between al a carte to buffet in certain days which was a little odd as the a la carte meals were obviously prepared earlier and sat waiting to be served as the food was never served hot. The room was clean if a little tired, tea & coffee was replenished daily. The terrace was large but seemed unfinished with metal poles sticking out of the wall. Senegal is not an affluent country and I wasn't expecting luxury but the staff attitude left a lot to be desired and ruined our experience.

The hotel is about 45 mins from the nearest airport, mostly by motorway. The hotel has a small open air reception area. Check in was a bit slow and it is expected that a considerable sum will be held against a credit card. Beware of the amount! We had a large luxury room overlooking the marina. It was lovely but the fittings are dated and marked which does not reflect the standard expected. There is a safe but it is very high up and inaccessible to a short person like me unless you balance on the room stool which is not safe. The room towels were poor quality and therefore needed changing daily. The beds were large and comfortable and the a/c worked well but was noisy. The food was buffet service but was always hot with plenty of choice, The evening entertainment and Sunday afternoon saxophonist was perfect for the mostly older clientele but few stayed to enjoy it in the evening which was possibly due to the seating being so close to the restaurant and therefore not a more relaxing area. The staff were all lovely and helpful but little English is spoken so be prepared to communicate in French or use a phrase book or App. The beach is kept beautifully clean and there were always lots of sunbeds everyday. The sea is warm and safe and there are also jet skis and fishing available. Staff to be praised include: Abdouleye and Babbacar (beach) and Therese and Gamou (Guest relations) who were always helpful and cheerful. Negative point to note - there is a lot of building work both in front of and behind the hotel. The 'marina' is now just an enclosed water area with twenty floating rooms. These spoil the view somewhat and we had not been made aware of the noise during the day from the building work around the hotel. I'm sure this is only temporary. There is a nice pool and also a separate pool if you have a more superior room.

We stayed at the hotel for 9 nights with our two young children and some friends who also had their kids with them. We found it a real mix - the setting was really beautiful - gorgeous beach, lovely pool and nice looking huts to stay in, but there were lots of annoying problems throughout the holiday. Firstly, the food looked pretty decent - but it tasted fairly average unfortunately. As the hotel is all inclusive, this left us feeling like we were a bit stuck for dinner (although we ended up going to another hotel to eat a couple of times for a bit of variation). The puddings in particular weren't great - they looked awesome, but often just didn't taste of very much. Secondly, dinner is from 8-10pm. Maybe this is fine for many guests from the Mediterranean, but it was really late for our kids (who are normally in bed by 8) and there was no flexibility offered and no way of ordering dinner early from the restaurant or something. That left us with ratty kids getting tired and staying up late, or going to bed hungry. Another annoyance was the very loud music being pumped out by the pool. The clientele when we were there were hardly 18-30 party animals - almost everyone either had kids or were in the older age bracket, so it didn't seem to fit and ruined the general feeling of peace on the beach and down by the sea. The loud music continued into the night with raucous drum performances every few nights and loud music and singing on others. That started at 10pm and went on for a couple of hours most nights, keeping us and the kids up even later. For families I would recommend asking to stay further away from the restaurant so this would be less of an issue. Also, although there weren't many mosquitoes visibly around, even in the evenings, we got bitten to death at night. There were no mosquito nets over the beds and I assume that they were getting in through the thatched roof as we weren't able to track them down and get rid of them. My little one got 50 bites over a couple of nights and I had a couple of dozen - even using DEET and trying to cover up at night. I could barely sleep with them buzzing in my ear and ended up wearing full length clothes all night to avoid getting savaged every night! Annoying not to have nets which would have immediately solved the problem and are standard in many other hotels we have traveled to around Africa. Some more positive things were the availability of taxis outside the hotel, who the hotel were able to call for you if you wanted. We went on a tour to the nearby Bandia Reserve which was pretty decent and the (quite grumpy) hotel events guy was able to arrange this easily. The staff were nice to the kids, although a bit rude and non-responsive to us which didn't make us feel particularly welcomed. Also for fellow Brits or other non-French speakers, the staff didn't speak much if any English (to be expected and we speak reasonable French so were able to get by). There was a bit of gentle harassment from sellers

Très décevant pour un hôtel club 3etoiles: aucun accueil, pas d’explication, personnel mou et pas accueillant. Leur seul objectif c’est demander l’argent . Il est difficile d’avoir une serviette supplémentaire, piscine non nettoyée, animatrice qui ne bosse pas , chambre avec problème clim, lumière….

Given some of the marginal places I stayed on my pass through Senegal, this place was probably the nicest. I was probably not the target customer as I didn't use them as an all inclusive and clearly that is the intention. The property is a bit of a walk from humble downtown Saly, but otherwise this place has charm and character all over the place. The bathroom was particularly generous and the bed nice and comfy. It was quite a hike to get out of my room and back on the street though, because the grounds are quite large. If you like service though, this is surely the place you want to stay in Saly.

We are a ‘young’couple in our early 60’s and we booked our stay via RCI. We were allowed to check in a bit earlier however our apartment wasn’t ready. We had to ask for the kitchen door to be unlocked but when it was, there was no equipment in it! Even when it was finally stocked up there was No Kettle,no Washing up liquid,no dish cloth to wipe the surfaces. We had to ask for a bin liner on our first day and then when the bin was emptied it was never replaced. We also had to ask for a scouring pad, Ice tray and oven gloves (but they were useless) There was No Sharp knife! We had to prepare our meals using a bread knife! Have you ever tried to peel a kiwi with a bread knife? There was also No Grater, No Garlic press, No Wine glasses (only 4 small tumblers) , No wooden spoon. We had to ask 4 times for someone to fix the oven. The unit definitely wasn’t set up for self catering. The unit was very shabby, and not well maintained and was definitely not up to the standard that we expect from RCI. The kitchen badly needs refurbishing. There was no carbon monoxide monitor and yet we were cooking on gas. No smoke alarm and the fire extinguisher was outside! We were unlucky with our unit (no 1) as it was right by the reception and had people constantly walking by. The outside space wasn’t at all private. We could constantly hear the staff in reception shouting at each other all day long. There were also no mosquito nets. The biggest problem though was that Neptune is not on the beach! The RCI information states that the beach is on site which is very misleading and should be removed. You actually have to walk through a car park and a taxi rank then 100m down a path! The Gardens were beautiful and well maintained.

The hotel is perfectly situated on the beach, there were plenty of loungers and umbrellas available. The hotel staff - with the exception of Reception - were inattentive (bordering on rude) at meal times and at the bar on the beach. This may have been a language barrier issue as the French guests were greeted, seated and served very quickly. Breakfast was self service with plenty of choice with freshly cooked eggs and a friendly chef. Evening meal arrangements changed between al a carte to buffet in certain days which was a little odd as the a la carte meals were obviously prepared earlier and sat waiting to be served as the food was never served hot. The room was clean if a little tired, tea & coffee was replenished daily. The terrace was large but seemed unfinished with metal poles sticking out of the wall. Senegal is not an affluent country and I wasn't expecting luxury but the staff attitude left a lot to be desired and ruined our experience.

The hotel is about 45 mins from the nearest airport, mostly by motorway. The hotel has a small open air reception area. Check in was a bit slow and it is expected that a considerable sum will be held against a credit card. Beware of the amount! We had a large luxury room overlooking the marina. It was lovely but the fittings are dated and marked which does not reflect the standard expected. There is a safe but it is very high up and inaccessible to a short person like me unless you balance on the room stool which is not safe. The room towels were poor quality and therefore needed changing daily. The beds were large and comfortable and the a/c worked well but was noisy. The food was buffet service but was always hot with plenty of choice, The evening entertainment and Sunday afternoon saxophonist was perfect for the mostly older clientele but few stayed to enjoy it in the evening which was possibly due to the seating being so close to the restaurant and therefore not a more relaxing area. The staff were all lovely and helpful but little English is spoken so be prepared to communicate in French or use a phrase book or App. The beach is kept beautifully clean and there were always lots of sunbeds everyday. The sea is warm and safe and there are also jet skis and fishing available. Staff to be praised include: Abdouleye and Babbacar (beach) and Therese and Gamou (Guest relations) who were always helpful and cheerful. Negative point to note - there is a lot of building work both in front of and behind the hotel. The 'marina' is now just an enclosed water area with twenty floating rooms. These spoil the view somewhat and we had not been made aware of the noise during the day from the building work around the hotel. I'm sure this is only temporary. There is a nice pool and also a separate pool if you have a more superior room.