OK it's Africa, so you cannot really compare a European 5*. But, it was definately a 4*+. Most things were good but then they fall down huge cracks (some in the walls). Drainage water flooding the pathways was (not) dealt with as normal'ish. Not cleaning the room until evening seemed acceptable (or at least to Starwood Hotels, as I was informed), but how can you clean a room then leave it without towels? The only day they wanted to clean before evening was of course the day we were leaving.

The location is great, the local staff are very friendly and willing, and it is probably the best Hotel in the area.

Trouble is they were pretty much fully booked and with little competition the urge to improve evaporates. My partner had some shoes go missiing in the room which was really ignored. The non-local management are at best complacent, as I discovered in conversation with them.

We choose this hotel because "brand" and all inclusive....it works quite nice in this hotel.Breakfast very nice,Lunch very nice.....dinner hmmmm...i prefer a little better quality.small nice houses ....and a lot of different size of little "dragons" on all outside walls.Beach quite ok but swimming in ocean a little difficult because of big waves...however beach bar works properly.Room cleaning and towel change not very good....many times one towel for two person and without shampoo....however i think its arrangetable if open the mouth.Gambian people very kind but better to switch on any recorder to repeat your story again and again in every 5 minutes for them.Take t-shirts,football,pens,papers anything to scools....they preciate it very much and its real big expierence.

Arrived home on 21 December from 1 week stay here. As soon as we arrived we were impressed with the friendly staff. We had requested by e-mail a high level room and they had noted this and allocated a high room in the block beginning with 4, as soon as we walked into the room we were met with a brilliant view of the sea which was a good start. Throughout the holiday the staff were pleasant and helpful, the room was clean, always found something to eat that we liked, could always fall back on the grill if nothing else. Plenty of sweets for anyone with sweet tooth. Breakfast very wide choice i.e. cereal, fresh fruit, pastries, eggs (poached,fried,scrambled) tomatoes,beans etc etc. If you want a relaxing holiday thats fine but if you want to see some of Gambia plenty of places to visit. We didn't book any trips via the holiday company but went into town using the hotel courtesy bus (didn't turn up but they provided a taxi), we arranged for the driver to wait which he did for 2 hours (cost about £8). We also visited Lamin Lodge with the birdwatching guide (Karamba) from the hotel (you can find him near the towel booth) and the same taxi driver, saw various birds and also took us to the rice/crop fields, got to see some of the villages which is an eye opener. We also went on a separate trip to the crocodile pool with the same taxi driver which was a good experience (can stroke the crocs if you're brave) and the monkey reserve.We walked along the beach with the birdwatching guide (very knowledgable and only asks you to pay a tip) to the fishing village and that was another experience. You can either use the tourist taxis from the hotel which are dearer but still nowhere near UK prices or the local taxis but dont be shocked by the state of the cars, also their driving looked a bit hair raising. There is not much near the hotel so if you are B & B would probably need to go into Sena Gambia quite a lot. You can get pestered on the beach but they are not at all aggressive, didn't seem as bad when we were with the guide. All in all the hotel may not be 5 star UK standard but so what, was clean, friendly, good standard food, excellent staff, long sandy safe beach, sunshine guaranteed, relatively short flight and plenty to see. We would love to return next year, plenty more to see and this is an ideal base.