Hotels Near Cocktail Football Field in Serrekunda

Firstly, I would like to thank the General Manager Mr. V Soares for making our holiday feel special, and looking after all our needs in this newly refurbished Hotel. Another thanks goes to MADELIN who organised my birthday surprise, and made it a wonderful experience. And LINDA with her bubbly and welcoming attitude to life,a real asset for the hotel, not forgetting BERNARD and his team for keeping our room spotless for our entire stay, and last but not least is AZIZ our security person who looked after our intrests whilst using the beach, also a great person to converse with. From my experince of traveling the Gambia, and staying at various hotels I can honestly say it is the best hotel by far, and will definately recomend to family and friends

I had a wonderful time at the resort. Everyone was so helpful. Especially Fatoumatta at the reception who helped us make all the arrangements to visit the necessary sites in town. The rooms and the pool are cleaned regularly, the barbecue is great, and walking on the beach in mornings is just the best. You can't take a bad photo even if you tried. Great vibe all around.

This was my first visit to The Gambia on an organised wildlife-watching trip based at the African Princess hotel. Sadly on the first morning I was unwell and confined to the hotel for the duration of the holiday, I should point out it was a heart problem and absolutely nothing connected to the hotel or being in The Gambia. The managers, Abraham and Roy, were absolutely brilliant making sure I was OK as were all the staff including reception, bar staff and housekeeping (Isa) providing a wheelchair to keep me mobile. The room was of a high standard, very clean etc. the restaurant very good serving lovely food, there was nothing that I would comment adversely on. At the time of writing I am still awaiting further treatment hence why I have not written this before. If/when I return to see the wildlife I missed I will undoubtedly base my trip at the African Princess hotel.

Just had a wonderful 11 nights here rooms comfortable and spacious fantastic shower had a room at the back overlooking the trees was a little disappoointed with the veiw at first but not for long the most magnificent birds I've ever seen and the monkeys twice a day

My stay at the balafon was amazing ! The pools , the beach , the bar , the staff everything together was such a great experience ! Specially lamin m. F camara and his team took amazing care off us. He made shure everything was perfect during my stay , he also made shure i could have a late checkout and shower before leaving because i had an evening flight. The balafon holds a special place in my heart. Greetings monthi

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!

Stayed at the Senegambia Hotel early March 2020 for two weeks (booked through Tui). Arrived at the hotel late in the evening (after a horrible flight in a Tui sardine can!), and was quickly and efficiently showed to our room which was a Superior double room. There was nothing 'superior' about it (although having seen some of the standard rooms, I suppose it was). It was tatty and felt dirty, the fridge was rusting and the front door didn't even close properly. This room was situated opposite the 'quiet pool' (room 105) and had a small terrace. We immediately went back to reception who then showed us a different room on the first floor of a more modern block which was so much better! Please note: The Tui brochure described the rooms as all having either a terrace or balcony. As we were on the first floor we had a balcony - but this is not a private balcony but a communal corridor! Other guests are constantly walking by, therefore there is no privacy meaning the curtains need to be closed all the time, so not able to enjoy the beautiful view. Also we had chain smokers next door which meant that we could not sit outside as there was not a totally separating wall. We would not have booked this hotel had we known this. Breakfast was minimal, enough to keep you happy I suppose, but was very little choice, especially for vegetarians. Fruit consisted of melons or papaya (sometimes bananas). Fruit juices (x2), cereals, egg station, minimal cooked selection (mostly meat products), and cold section (mainly meat products). The hotel itself was tired looking and run down (partly due to being closed through the Covid period), but survives on it's location. The grounds were superb, full of wildlife (birds, monkeys, reptiles) and were kept in good condition. There was vulture feeding every day and you could arrange a bird guide tour of the grounds in the evening (for a fee). The beach was clean and stretched for miles in each direction, but swimming was often 'red flagged' because of the conditions. I had cause to use the Mens toilets in the Reception area (I always think these should be the best in a hotel as they are 'front of house' and set a good impression). They were horrible! Dirty, rusting doors and on one occasion were so disgusting I couldn't go in there! So, would I recommend this hotel? For the location - definitely. Otherwise, not so sure. On the whole, a good holiday, but probably would not visit Gambia again as their environmental issues need to be addressed, such as their tendency to dump all their rubbish and plastic in the countryside, or take it to a massive landsite and just openly burn it (giving off huge plumes of toxic waste - and this within a couple of miles of the hotel!).

We have stayed at The Kairaba Beach Hotel for many years. We have seen it at it's best and now seen it at it's worst. Covid has a lot to answer for. It is so sad to see this Grand hotel so empty this year. Our first thought was to move hotels, but we have made many friends here at the hotel and feel at home here when we arrive. We decided to stay and even though the hotel is practically empty and working on a skeleton staff we felt obliged to stay and support. As usual the staff can't do enough for us. The management decided to allow local people to use the pool at a fee, and this has been taken up by them especially on the weekend. It gets very busy with lots of families n children most of whom can't swim. Which in turn is hard for the one pool attendent to manage as there can be up to 30 to 40 people in the pool. I understand that the management needs to bring in revenue but an extra pool attendent should be employed at the weekend. We need Whalley back at the pool❤️❤️ Breakfast is poor n not what we are used to, but on saying that we haven't gone hungry, it is once again so sad to see so few people in the hotel thus not a great selection and no buzz from it at breakfast from not being busy with guests. On the up side if we request something it is there the next day. On the whole yes it is quiet, we are under the impression that they no longer have a contract with Tui at the moment n can only be found on Gambia Experience which is expensive for the quality of the hotel at the moment. Personally I think that the hotel wasn't ready to accept guest in time for the winter holidays and with this, and what seems poor management from an higher level this once booming grand hotel has slipped into a sorry state. Hopefully with the support of regular guests that still belive in her and a higher better management plan the Grand old lady will get back to how she use to be once again in this fantastic location. We will always support as long as we are able thank you to all the stay you are doing an amazing job under the circumstances ❤️❤️

Air conditioning a paid option?!? And this is not disclosed until after check in? And wifi never worked so without phone in room, no communication with front desk. Oh, and no soap at all, much less any other bathroom product. Taken to very warm villa and dropped off without any explanation of anything. AC would not come on. Had to access a remote, unsecured wifi network to WhatsApp front desk because hotel’s wifi for this villa never worked for either of us. Once connected to front desk, was informed that AC was a paid upgrade!! Never heard of such a thing and certainly a BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE!! Agreed to pay extra, so maintenance man sent who actually removed and rewired the electrical box, while I held my phone light to help him because the lights also went out. AC finally on. Did I mention NO SOAP ANYWHERE? We’ve travelled extensively and this is one of THE WORST lodging experiences ever!! NOT RECOMMENDED because AC as an option without informing a guest is absurd!! Did I mention no soap anywhere?