Hotels near Ngala Rocky Beach, Serrekunda

This was my first time visiting Gambia 🇬🇲 a wonderful experience which I will never forget, thanks to Kombo beach resort whom created a combination of entertainment and relax vibes which helped me escape from my usual demanding routine. On the accommodation I had the opportunity to meet great welcoming Staff whom made my stay stressfree and colorful. In particular ADAMA MARENA and KHADIJA went beyond any expectation giving that final touch of a cherry above the cake by entertaining I and my friends and always being smiley and cheerful. GREAT ENERGY KOMBO KEEP IT UP!!!!

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.

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

It was better than I imagined. I felt a welcome atmosphere from many staff. In front of the sea, there was Security near the beach chair so I was able to spend a relaxing time with peace of mind. It was a pity that the shower in the room was only cold water. The washbasin had hot water ...

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!).

The staff were great very helpful and nothing was too much bother. There was a mix up about the room when we got there, we booked a twin bed but got a double bed. It was sorted by the next day which was really nice. The Wi-Fi definitely needs to be improved. When we first got there it was ok but when we moved to the top floor we couldn’t get any wi-fi in the room. The rooms are basic, the beds are HARD and no tv but to be honest I didn’t miss the tv. Would I stay again?? Yes-because the price was good/location. No-it would be nice to try others hotels on Paradise Beach and the bed was so hard.