Hotel Saly Portudal dengan Gim

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

This really is a lovely hotel most efficiently run by the Directrice - Stephanie - the gardens & pathways are between the buildings are immaculate & beautiful, the pool is superb & continuously skimmmed of leaves & insects. I had a suite on the top of a two storey building. White walls dark wood furniture, bedroom, bath room & sitting room - very spacious. Two televisions efficient air con & good shower. secure wall safe+excellent wifi. Breakfast is first class with omelettes made to order. Dinner was quite varied & sometimes the dishes were a little ambitious but always well presented & timely. Dinner was served at 8-00pm - not before - with an excellent cocktail bar that really served some very tasty fruity cocktails often prepared by the charming Abi. Every night there was entertainment -band , singer, local dancing & a mannequin parade showing off the outfits put together by the tailor in Neptune boutique. Every day various activities in the pool or ping pong etc. Most of the staff only speak french & almost all the guests were french. I loved my stay & am more than likely to return if in good physical shape.

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.

During my 10-day stay at this hotel, I found the beach to be nice, but unfortunately, I was really let down by the cleanliness of the room. The fact that we were provided with sheets that had been previously used by another guest, particularly a male, was very off-putting. Moreover, the inconsistency in the cleaning services' schedule made it difficult, especially if you plan to hold meetings in your room. Additionally, despite the country not having potable water, we were only allowed 2 bottles of drinkable water per day, which simply wasn't enough. The language barrier also posed a significant challenge. Although it was stated that English and Spanish were spoken, this wasn't the case. Furthermore, the issue with bed bugs meant that every night turned into a battle for a peaceful rest. In conclusion, I would recommend that you save your time and money by considering other accommodation options.