Hotel Senegambia Reviews

We've been to this hotel 3 times now - the staff are always excellent and are brilliant with kids. Mine are teenagers now and still enjoy going to see everyone again. We are going back again at Christmas and spending New Year there as well. The New Year party is fantastic, though I hear that the one in the Ali Baba restaurant is just as good just up the main street. Visit Tilly's Tours if you go - the excursions are a lot cheaper and Jackie, the owner, is amazing. She will tailor to your needs - we went to a Gambia v Mauritania football match with some of her staff; it was amazing and definitely not in the brochure.

just come back from gambia for the first time we loved it and are looking to go back next january
bit of a culture shock but once you get your head round it its ok .senagabia hotel very clean towels changed every day sheets every other day .we did b and b we ate out everynight tried every restaurant
most ok had one bad one in two weeks. irish bar woz our drinking bar but most ok

airport a bit of a shock so many porters easiest way is pick one let them take your bags it only cost a pound and you get no more fuss. bumsters no where as bad as we were told not as bad as turkey at least these dont touch .we drank on beech bars no problem even went in there disco toties .never got pesterd again .in all very good 6 hours away and 100% everyday if your in a group you wont get pesterd at all change money over there better rate .for a very good night food and drink go to green mambia left as soon as you come out the hotel. james and ailou will treat you like royalty

We we very prepared for our 2 week trip to the gambia, thanks to this site and the virtual tourist website. I went as a single Mum with my 12 year old son.

We were very lucky it seems at the airport because there wasn't any hassle at all from porters trying to take our case, although I heard that passengers following us did get bombarded!

Because of what I'd heard about the poverty in the gambia I was waiting to be 'shocked' as so many have put it. I have to say in all honesty, I was not shocked at all. You know you're going to a third world country and to be honest I found the whole experience exciting. It was like being on an adventure. I think what came as a shock most of all was other people's opinions. I heard some tourists saying how depressing they found the trips because you see a lot of poor children. I saw the same children and I can tell you not one of them was depressing. Despite their obvious poverty, they are bright and happy. They don't know any different. This is not to say I didn't care about what I saw. In fact, we took loads of stationary and gave it to a local school including solar powered calculators and dictionaries.

The hotel Senegambia is very welcoming. We arrived around 6pm and already it was very dark. My son was very nervous as we got off the coach. I think the atmosphere (the loud sounds of crickets and the humidity) was a big shock to him. This wasn;t helped by the fact that a family of frogs had made their way into our room! It scared us both cos we thought all sorts of insects and animal would be coming into our room. This was not the case thankfully. It seems they just happened to have gotten in earlier when our room was being prepared. I did not see one insect in our room for the whole 2 weeks.

We had a room attached to the main building. It was right opposite the pool. I have read that some people prefered the garden room. However, I was glad to be close to the main hotel because the walk from the gardens to the hotel was almost pitch black! Also, my son didn't have far to go to the pool. We weren't disturbed by the entertainment at night because the air con is quite loud and this drowned a lot of noise out! The air con by the way works great, in fact we got too cold if we left it on long! The room itself is basic but very clean. You have to pay £25 for a safe but one lady I spoke to just locked her valuables in her suitcase.

We stayed half board. This worked out well for us as my son was a bit apprehensive of going out at night. The food is tasty but a bit samey sometimes. the breakfasts are great, you get the works! Chat to the chefs and waiters, they really appreciate it. Both me and my son had no problems with our stomachs, apart from a couple runny ones around day 5 which is to be expected! (Sorry if that was too much info!)

On our first day we ventured out onto the beach. As expected we were bugged by the sellers/bumsters, one being a woman trying to get me to braid my hair and a man selling necklaces. My son bought a few necklaces for him and his friends back home and the man left us alone for the rest of the holiday after that, apart from a friendly chat. There tends to be the same sellers on the beach, like they have their own patch. The woman though wouldn't let me go onto the beach without calling to me to get my hair done which was a pest! You feel bad just blanking them but you have to! They are used to it I guess. I think I would have felt more confident being with a crowd of people. Nevertheless, we handled it fine after some practice and the sellers are never aggressive. I will add here that there are sometimes 1 or 2 dogs on the beach and I was concerned cos I'm scared of dogs! But they are not like the dogs here, they don't even give you a second look, they just trot along minding their own business!

Later, we ventured out the front of the hotel. OK, now this part was awful! We knew what to expect, but nothing prepares you for it. We are not used to people not taking no for an answer and not used to being rude to people, so it was very hard. They all knew we were newbies and pounced on us as soon as we left the front gate. First, the men trying to sell trips. There is a big concrete stand right outside the Senegambia where they all congregate. The trips are expensive. It was very hard to get away. Next came men wanting to show us around. They literally follow you up the road. What really made me angry though was when they started asking my son if he had money. Then I turned round and said, 'excuse me, he is a child, don't ask him those things. We are trying to go for a peaceful walk alone thank you!' The man acted like he was hurt and told me 'It's nice to be nice' and we just laughed and carried on. One thing to add here, the Gambians don't get irony or dry humour!

We hired a green taxi (like a jeep) to take us on all our excursions. It was great because when we'd had enough, we could just tell our taxi driver and go to where we wanted to next. It also allows you to feel like a Gambian yourself and experience things from their perspective, rather than sitting on a tourist bus looking out like you're at a drive-through zoo! He even took us to his family home. My son picked a fresh coconut from his compound and the mother of the family served us food and green tea. Both of which were delicious! He also took us along to a football game that he was playing in, which was fun and made us feel like one of the gang. We visited the palm tapper who climbed the tree for us and served us palm wine. It does make you feel a teeny bit woosey! Using a taxi was the cheapest option. We used the same driver every time (Buba Sonko) and because of this, he was able to say at the police check points that we were his friends and we didn't have to pay! My son loved sitting in the back of the open top jeep. We went to paradise beach a few times. It's deserted apart from a lovely eatery. My son had lobster for £10. It was fresh and delicious and it was a lovely treat. We went to the monkey park which was nice. We went to see Charlie the crocodile. I touched him but my son was dubious..apparently they are fed on fish only from birth which is why they won't eat anything else, including you! I have to say that even with our guide/taxi driver, we were still pestered by sellers/children. He did tell them where to go, but of course they don't have to do what he says! It was a lot better than if we'd been on our on though. I told my son to ignore them but he found it difficult at first.

I can't really comment on the nightlife, being with my son. But I will say make sure you do use your mosquito repellent at all times when you go out at night. It really does work. I forgot one night and got bitten twice. So we stayed in the hotel most evenings. The entertainment is good although after 2 weeks it gets repetitive. It consists of mostly native music and dancing. My son enjoyed it though, especially the fire eater and the limbo dancing. Children are encouraged to go up on the stage and join in. Luckily, my son met other boys around his age from the UK and played with them most of the time. He took his portable games console (nintendo) and this was a definite must. He played it on the plane, in our room at night, etc.

During the day when we were not going out, I learnt to play tennis. There is a coach who is on hand to have a game with you or give you some tips as he did me. My son played in the pool (loved the volley ball games in the afternoon), and played table tennis. It is good because there is always a member of staff to play with the older children (especially good is Kebba). The grounds are very nice because there are monkeys (including babies!), lizards and birds. We sometimes ate at the hotel when my son just wanted to stay in the pool (the pizza is lovely). The prices are much the same as you would pay back home. So better to go out to eat really. They serve tea and a plain cake in the afternoon also at a cost.

THINGS I WISHED I'D TAKEN:
Nice shoes! I was told to take walking shoes/trainers, sandals etc. Not very glamorous. Yes, you need them, but do take a nice pair of going out shoes for the evening. I got the impression they would get messed up, but if you're just going to a bar/club, its absolutely fine. Some people got really dressed up in the evening and there was me still in my flip flops!

An iron! In fact I did take one but it was old and went wrong. This did make me realise there are no iron facilities in the hotel. I asked at the laundry service but was told no. Maybe if you pay them to do your washing they will iron it but I don't know.

Blow up ball for pool if you've got children. The inflatables they had at the poolside were very expensive! Double what you would pay at home.

To conclude, we loved our holiday to the Gambia and would definitely stay in the Senegambia again. In December, weather is hot, the air fresh. A lovely place to go either for winter sun or to experience another way of life

Hello, just come back this morning from a week in the Gambia and as I have used this site before thought it was only fair to contribute, it was my first trip to the gambia so will try and break it up for you.

When you land at the airport just like anyone else the wife and I were tired and a little anxious, the word which best describes this is overpowering and possibly intimidating, loads of locals trying to grab your bags, however we were fore warned of this on this site so we kept a tight hold, we finally got on the bus to the hotel.

The hotel reception is very nice nothing too fancy but nice and welcoming, a porter takes the bags to your room and then you tip him as usual, the rooms are clean but very basic, the beds are large but rock hard but all in all they are ok, one thing i will say at this stage is the grounds are wonderful lots of trees, birds and monkeys, we went half board again the food is ok the breakfast is a good wide choice from cereal to fresh fruit or trad english however the bacon is cremated, the evening meals are good and again a good choice. The service is very slow i would put that down to the gambian way of life, but again it was ok.

The entertainment was basic but i have seen worse, ahh i almost forgot the beach. In a word, poor. The sea is rough and dirty and the beach very uneven not very good at all.
What you must remember is there are two worlds inside the hotel and the world outside, very third world and not very nice to be honest, you get lots of hassle, all the time, there are very few bars restaraunts etc and it is very limited we were there for a week if we were there for 2 we would be struggling.

We went on two trips but wish we hadn't, the poverty we seen was just too much to digest it was really upsetting to have kids begging you everywhere you went it breaks your heart'if you go on the trips make sure you take pencils books for the kids etc, in my view thomson do not give you enough prior warning of the condidtions, just filth, the toilets in the towns we visited were literally a hole in the floor, not so bad for a man but very difficult for the ladies, i would not reccomend the trips.

Something to remember is MAKE SURE you take cash with you there is one cash machine which kept breaking down so we were stuck with very little money much of the time.

We met a guide called Lamin which means first born male and we were really taken with him, we have his email we left him a few quid some bits and bobs, my trainers as his shoes were falling to pieces, we plan to keep in touch and send him clother and supplies on a regular basis.

to sum up i thing i speak for both melissa and myself when i say, The Gambia, fantastic weather but nothing else but poverty, very disturbing, i am glad i went as i have experienced a whole new way of living, i met lamin who is a great guy and iam as cynical as anybody, but we will not be going back.

My holiday started off well staying at the v.clean Luigi's complex. Then my plane developed a problem and we were all put in the Senegambia hotel at 10pm. My room was dirty, an unmade bed full of litter greeted me, the toilet flush was broken cracked tiles in the bathroom I was bitten all night by bed bugs the fittings in the room were very basic and poor. When I asked for some soap to wash myself with, I was told that the store cupboard was locked at 6pm and I would have to wait until morning (we were leaving at 4am).

When travelling to the Gambia go on bed and breakfast the meals in the restaurants average about £3-£4 are delicious especially the seafood, I recommend Solomons on the beach down from the Palma Rima hotel, be prepared to wait one hour for your food as everything is cooked fresh on an open fire. Go to Gambia but would not recommend the Senegambia hotel!!