Hotel berhampiran Bijilo Beach, Serrekunda

We were fortunate enough to be given an upgrade from standard to superior - how we wish now that we were not. Check-in was an interesting experience and despite on check-out almost being hustled out of our room by the cleaner there was no option around getting into the room early if it was ready. Not a big deal as could go use the pool and towels are provided. The room was big, clean with the bathroom a little dated with a broken handle on the door and a shower head that was a little tempremental. The biggest issue was the noise from the bar accross the road which went on to around 4am on the weekend and about 2am during the week. Not the hotels fault - and becuase we were only there a short time we didn't ask to move rooms as firstly the reason for the upgrade was the shortage of standard room and quite honestly I could not be bothered to pack and unpack again (the weekend extra time being the last 2 nights). If you are given a room in the Stones building my advice would be to ask to move to the other accomodation. While the Stones building does have it's own pool it is quite some way from the beach (and the main accomodation) and main pool area - add that to the noise from the bar (and there is a new bar being built directly oppoiste) it puts a dampner on your holiday - unless you are there to drink into the early hours then it will be perfect as you do not have far to stager back. Drinks were somehow more expensive in the top bar than the beach bar (for beer). We did not try the food but recommend the milkshakes. Overall location is good as away from the main ***** and a very short walk to the monkey park. I would only stay here again if it is was in the accomodation blocks near the main pool/beach.

This hotel is an absolute knocking shop, only suitable for older Europeans looking for young gambians to sleep with. If you are booking a Delux room, they will show you a very decent room (furniture, black and white), but when you go there you are given a different room, citing this room does not exist. Three people saw this room, but yet, it does not exist!! The manager, Haddy, is a pathological liar. The deluxe rooms are disgusting, and the room is partially furnished with dilapidated furniture. The bedding and showers are awful. The breakfast is an abomination, the same every day. If you are a lone traveller, the safety is paramount !! I was told my indoor CCTV was making the housekeeping uncomfortable. If they were not doing anything, then why would they feel uncomfortable, do your job, and leave. They were uncomfortable because they knew they were being watched! The whole conversation was recorded with the manager, Haddy, who retracted her comments when she realised I knew the law. I will post the recordings on my Tiktok page to warn others. The 24-hour security is a joke. Many times, they were caught sleeping or no one at the front entrance. One security approached us believing we were arguing, then went back to the lounger to have a sleep, again caught on camera. Photos and videos will be sent to the Gambian Tourism Board. This hotel is based on the ***** that houses some of the most unsavoury characters, who can walk into the hotel at any time of night. She told me that no one is allowed in the rooms unless they are guest, again this was a lie. I witnessed several people coming and going, staying in rooms, and even one of my own security friends who met a European woman was frequently seen going in the room. This hotel is very unsafe and only cares about your money!! Once they get it, you will be treated disrespectfully. The only members of staff who were decent were Ebrima (housekeeper) and the House Keeping Manager, who informed me to keep my camera on for my own safety. Please avoid this hotel. It's not fit for purpose. If you are travelling alone, DO NOT GO HERE! Yes, the location is good, but the service you receive for the money they are charging is below par. The manager, Haddy, does not believe a word that comes out of her mouth. She is a con artiste. - WiFi is bad - location good - cleaning, ok - staff, been around better - rooms, below standard Stayed for 3 weeks and regretted most of it!! Gambia is still a nice place, but be very careful who you deal with. Most are corrupt!!

Very nice hotel. Its location is very central, in the back of ”the *****”. Loads of Dutch people here! The pool is nice, they even have a swim-up bar. I had some fish in the local restaurant next to the pool, which was amazing. The AC was working well, there was warm water (not hot). Room cleaned daily, the bed was very comfortable. Definitely recommend it!

This was my first trip to The Gambia and it was literally a first trip whereby I tripped over, broke and cracked my two front teeth after falling flat on my face! After exiting the restroom located within the foyer. I tripped over a metal frame positioned at ground level. Not to the same degree as me, I know that other guests have had near experiences when leaving this restroom (see picture. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if this had been an elderly person or a parent with a baby. It is for several reasons that I would never recommend this hotel: A) No matter the nation, health and safety should always come first and be the priority in any hotel establishment. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have heard someone say, ”Well, this is Africa.” No justification! After my experience, no precautions were made to ensure that other guests wouldn't have the same experience. In fact, the hotel manager wrote: ‘It is important to note that the hotel never have any reported incident from any guest, neither staff since the establishment of this resort in 2020’. The fact that I experienced it and reported it does not imply that no one else has ever tripped or had near miss experiences, even though you may not have had any reports. B) The general manager has some serious communication problems (once you manage to find him), such as a lack of empathy and an inability to listen to others. I am unable to be name him owing to legal concerns, but his middle name should be ”Avoidance.” C) Periods of no power occur frequently. This happened almost every night during our stay since their generator shuts down due to an overload of power and overheating. One evening, as my mother and I were getting ready for an event, we had to use our cell phone lights as a guide. Moreover, when this happens, there isn't any water available for a shower. Also, no functioning primary shower head, had to utilise the hose, whenever there was water available. D) One could not have a private moment since the bathroom door would not stay closed. Thank goodness my mum was with me. E) Someone managed to use their hotel room key to get into our room one night (mistakenly), the lock had to be changed. Yes, that did in fact occur! F) Though I wasn't expecting the Ritz, I would have expected it too at least be kept up, despite the attractive photographs on the website. This review is from a sincere individual. Though I don't usually post reviews, I felt compelled to write this review because I don't want anyone to experience what I did or am currently experiencing. I also regret that I was unable to shorten my stay. I am utterly disappointed because this was also my first trip to West Africa!

Het is een fijn verblijf, zeer ruime kamers. Vriendelijk personeel. Mooie locatie, dichtbij de *****, maar er niet tegenaan. Er zijn wel veel insecten in Gambia en die kom je helaas ook wel eens tegen op je hotelkamer. Ze maken het grondig schoon, maar ze kunnen niet alles voorkomen.

Overall I rate this hotel as 4 stars. Having said that we did have a few issues. Someone previous referred to this hotel as Fawlty Towers. For the first few days of our 18 nights stay I could see where he was coming from. Problems first. On arrival at the airport we expected to be greeted by the taxi arranged through the hotel. It was not there. After many phone calls our ride arrived. If we went again I would not bother with 30 euro taxi ride and would take a local taxi at about £20 at silly o'clock. When we arrived at the hotel a man spoke to us and claimed he was the taxi driver due to pick us up, he was on time but we told him to go away. Complete nonsense. We didn't tell anyone to go away. Even as a first timer I could tell the Gambians apart. He was definitely not there. I refused his card. No way would I use him. Our first room was large and comfortable but the safe didn't work. The next morning someone came to show me how it operated and agreed it was broken. We were immediately moved to a new room. The new room was large and comfortable but the toilet wouldn't flush overnight. Not normally too much of a problem but my husband was very ill with v&d due to fish allergy. Being ill and the toilet not flushing all night was very bad. They said they would fix it. We went away on an overnight trip and when we returned I was ill - nothing to do with the hotel. The toilet didn't work. My husband ran up and down the stairs a few times. The night man would flick a switch in a cupboard somewhere and the sewage pump would work again for an hour or so. We moved rooms again the next day as we refused to be fobbed off and they said no other rooms had that issue. We had toilet flushing issues again but this time the issue was fixed quickly. WiFi in the third room didn't work unless I stood outside our door. Plus points: The staff were lovely and helpful. Malick, our room attendant, was very kind and caring. He arranged for a fridge that actually got cold as the one in the 3rd room got cool only. The bed was very large and comfortable. High quality sheets and towels were a bonus. His and her sinks were good. Shower was good. Sprayed in various directions with easy to use controls. TV in room showed British football - big plus. Air con worked well. WiFi worked well in parts of the hotel. They had frequent conferences and seemed to move routers to suit the business people. Once we learned where we could get the best signal we could easily Skype call back to the UK. Sunbeds were very comfortable and plentiful. Actually we usually got a good WiFi signal by the pool. Pool looked clean and was used frequently by Europeans (albeit cold). Breakfast was good. Supposed to start at 7.30am but this only worked if we stood there and told them what we wanted. They make lovely porridge. Egg station was good for make to order eggs, hot buffet with sausages, beans etc. toaster, fruit juice, coffee, cereals, f

We have just come back from two weeks at the hotel. We has a swim up room on the sunny side which was excellent. We had trouble with the patio door locking on the first day. Reported and fixed within 1/2 hour. I locked myself out of the safe. My fault again sorted in 1/2 hour. The hotel provides beach towels. You have an empty fridge so you can stock up from the local supermarket. The sockets fit uk plugs or euro so no adapter needed. The bathroom has shower gel and a shampoo/conditioner which are both nice and replenished when used. Two bottles of water are supplied daily. Towels are replaced if left on floor. The bed was comfortable. We ate out every night at a different restaurant every day. The hotel food is good. Breakfast was well presented and kept well stocked. The bar next to the restaurant has sport on tv every night so football fans will not miss a match. The bar prices were not too pricy. The weather was sunny and no rain!!!!! Equal with the Caribbean but only 6 hrs flight and same time as uk. Would recommend. We have booked already for next year as loads more restaurants to try. It was perfectly safe to walk about at night and day

I attended as part of an overseas aid convoy, we were two days late arriving due to being stuck on a mud road in Mauritania. The females on the team that spoke with reservations got some special deals such as full board and laundry at reduced rates however nothing available if you were male. The first two days was heavy rain and my room was flooded twice on the toilet area, it's apparent this has happened many times before as there is mould and main the bathroom, you can smell the damp. There is a fridge in the room and I noticed people getting water daily to their doors, this appeared once for me during my 7 day stay. The pool is constantly filthy with flies and cockroaches, even a dead lizard, I asked for the pool to be swept snd this was ignored until the following morning, we were literally swimming amongst flies the whole time. Staff at the bar were confrontational and would talk to you in English but then talk about you in the local language. The restaurant manager last night was just aggressively shouting at the staff which wasn't a great dining experience. The spa is ok and I had a nice massage though the prices are ridiculously expensive at 110 euros for a 100 minute massage. Bearing in mind this is an average monthly salary for some it's clearly over priced. The beach is pleasant and you can walk for miles however the locals hassle you for money and gifts, complaining that you are rich white people who don't care about the gambians. My room was cleaned daily and there is a great laundry service however I would get bugs including cocoa roaches in my room also.