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Hands down 4.5-5 stars!!! — and I rarely give ratings this high… but it’s really hard to fault this place — and it’s definitely the little things that make the difference! From check in to check out, everything was wonderful. They have clearly recently renovated and the aqua and teal colors everywhere are fabulous! Our room was sparkling clean, complete with everything we needed, and the shower is absolutely amazing! (just be careful you don’t scold yourself, as I accidentally did, as the handle in the shower does not indicate which is hot and which is cold…) Staff are all-round wonderful, and many of them speak English. The beach chairs are a perfect width, with built-in pillows and your own Hotel Africa Queen quick-dry towel… how cool is that? The walk into the village is a short but sweaty one, with a local market, fruit and vegetables, and souvenirs galore… make sure you try at least one trip into town! I walked up and down the beach a few times and never once felt hassled or like I didn’t belong here. The beach is filled mostly with young kids playing in the water and playing soccer on the sand, as well as a few stray dogs trying to shelter from the heat. When the tide goes out there are a few places along the beach that look quite dirty, with trash everywhere… however, the hotel area is pretty clean and I noticed the staff were up early cleaning the beach first thing every morning. Something that fascinated me was watching locals come down to the beach to wash their goats and the young kids measuring out a soccer field on the beach using the inside of an old cassette tape — genius! Dinner was fantastically displayed and staff were wonderful during each meal. Awesome live music and entertainment on the Saturday night, full of energy, Senegalese traditional dance and amazing African drumming — what a treat!! Excellent wifi (I could stream videos/TV shows and upload same with relative ease). Super quiet hotel — we slept like a baby each of the three nights we stayed! Only two (very small) negatives: quite a few cockroaches around; the cleaners came to our room around 1pm each day and left our door wide open whilst they left for about 20 or so minutes — this seemed a bit odd and not very security conscious… These last two points aside, Hotel Africa Queen set a very high standard for the remainder of our trip and we wouldn’t hesitate to return!

Baobab Soleil was a very pleasant hotel to stay. These were the things I liked about the hotel: It was very close to the wildlife park, Foret de Bandia and the hotel shuttle could provide a ride to and fro for a fee. The hotel was also close to the airport, but since I was not flying in or out, it did not apply to me. There weren't too many staff members, only about three. They worked hard to provide services and were very friendly. The rooms were spacious, clean and had basic amenities. There was a large pool, which was open 24/7. Food was good although the menu was limited. There were alcoholic drinks to purchase. There was Internet access at the restaurant area. The surrounding area had many baobab trees making the name Baobab Soleil very fitting. One could take walks around the area with no safety concerns. Suggestions: If possible, have an Internet router so that people who like to do some work or read online could read in their rooms or patio instead of going to the restaurant, which is often loud with people talking and also has a lot of flies. Also the weaver birds on the large tree close-by make quite a racket that can be tiring after a while. I was there 3 nights and wished to do some work in my room, but could not do that and was a bit disappointed. All in all, it was a good 3-night stay at the hotel.