Sunset Beach Hotel

This hotel only has 3 stars and that is probably the correct grade for it, however the staff make up for any short cummings to ensure your stay is the best it could be, special thanks to Sana our bar and restraunte waiter, nothing was to much trouble for him. First of all we were told by our doctors what vaccinations we needed, only one was available on the NHS we had to pay for yellow fever and malaria tablets, total cost over £200 for my wife and I. We were told that due to our age (over 60) yellow fever was not advisable due to possible side effects, but we could not get into Gambia without a certificate, so we both had the vaccination. At no point were we told you could get an age related exemption certificate for free and as it turned out we did not even need the certificate to get into Gambia. (if you intend to travel to Senegal to go on safari you will need the yellow fever certificate to get into Senegal). The Malaria tablets were also unnessary as it was the dry season (October - April) and the insects that spread malaria are not active, they become active in the wet season only (May to September) Our accommodation was a bungalow, a novel change, it was very clean but was getting a bit rough around the edges, consisted of twin beds and bed side lockers, a walldrobe with about 18 inches of hanging space so my clothes had to stay in the case, TV above a dressing table with 4 chanels which the reception was that bad they were unwatchable anyway, managed to get BBC World news for a couple of hours only during our 10 day stay, very hit and miss, but not the end of the world, we are on holiday in the gambia, not there to watch TV. The rooms were cleaned every day and towels and bedding was changed when you requested it. The resort itself is quite small with only one restraunte, one small swimming pool and a todler pool. Sun beds around the pool area were always availoable with probabley 30% never being used at all, service around the pool / bar area is excellent. The hotel is right on the beach, but this is a public beach and there is the fact that there is a small river running between the hotel and the beach itself, it is full of old buildres rubble and rubbish prevents easy access to the beach as you have to wade through the river and its contents. I believe there are two types of travelers, those that visit a country and get to experience every thing it has to offer, good and bad and those that only leave the resort once to get back on the coach for the airport, thankfully my wife and I fall into the first category and thoroughly enjoyed everything The Gambia and Senegal had to offer, yes ferries are very busy and they do occasioinaly break down, you may have to get out of your taxi and push it for a bit but its all about the experience, soak it up and enjoy life. If you do get out and about you will witness extreme poverty with partly built houses, mud roads, litter every where, kids in bear feet using rags rolled into a ball

We really enjoyed the hotel. If you are looking for 5 star luxury then this is not the place for you. That said we could not recommend the Sunset Beach enough. We had a 10 day family stay. It is better than the 3 T's Tui give too. The room we had was very clean and comfortable. The sound of the waves from the beach was so relaxing. The pool area was great, no problem with getting sunbeds or sunshades. The pool guys always got what you needed at any time of the day and spotlessly clean. The cleanliness was reflected all over the complex, the staff worked so hard to ensure this was maintained al all times. The restaurant was light and well laid out with a sea view, the food was excellent, tasty, varied and lots to choose from. We did have to wait for a dinner table on a couple of occasions due to the larger tables being taken by couples using them, but we had another drink while we waited. We found that the stream issue was never a problem for us. The beach was fine and we had a great time helping the local fisherman land their nets. We would also recommend Aladdin's juice bar. a perfect juice smoothy for £2. The bird feeding close by was also brilliant and the canoe trip along creek was amazing. In all a perfect break away for our family, thankyou to everyone involved, the staff are are a credit to the hotel.

We have recently returned from the Sunset Beach Hotel after spending two weeks there. It is a lovely small hotel and the staff are amazing- they are always smiling and help in any way they can. The food was excellent- very tasty and plenty of variety. The menu was not repeated in the second week. The salad bar was wonderful- lovely and fresh and plenty of choice. There was soup every lunchtime and at dinner - always tasty and delicious. The bread was my downfall- lovely crusty bread at every meal! The chef would come around and talk to us and ask if we enjoyed our food. The Pool staff were always helpful and cleaned the loungers every morning, they were more than willing to bring you an umbrella and to move it if necessary. The waiters were great at serving drinks by the pool and made lovely refreshing, fresh lime sodas for us. Milton the entertainments manager came around and chatted- the entertainer team also would come round to talk.If you wanted to join in there were things going . Our room was clean and had a nice garden area. The bathroom was a little tired and could do with a revamp- however the shower was good and there was always hot water. It is best to bring your own shampoo and shower gel. Only two small bottles of shampoo were in the room. Also bring teabags as they were not topped up. We always bring our own anyway so was not a problem. The beach is beautiful- the access from the hotel became a little tricky due to the tides. This happens at different times of year- an act of nature and can’t be helped.The staff put out sandbags to enable you to cross the stream or you could walk past the fruit sellers and access the beach that way. If you wanted to sit on the beach the staff would take chairs out for you(and even drinks!) We loved walking along the beach in both directions, morning and evening. A glorious sunset from the hotel too. We watched the local fishermen bringing in their boats and their catch. There are various sellers that set up stalls in the pool area. We became friendly with one of the artists- I don’t know his name but he does some beautiful paintings. We in fact bought two. He is very interesting to talk to. He would be grateful for paint brushes if anyone could take some out. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and are looking forward to returning next year. It is a great place to stay and Gambia is a lovely country.

What a lovely hotel. We booked last minute and didn't pay a fortune for our first AL holiday. Having never been AL before we didn't know what to expect but it was fabulous. Stayed in a bungalow so did miss having a balcony but tbh we spent most of the time around the pool and restaurant. The room was clean and comfortable. Cleaned everyday. The staff we so helpful and attentive. The food was varied, plentiful. and hot and catered for all tastes. The drinks were fine and no sooner were you getting to the bottom of your glass when hey presto another one appeared. The entertainment was entertaining! We enjoyed it so much we booked to go back next year.

We booked a junior suite & on arrival we were taken to our room. It was smelly, dark, tatty & small- def not a suite. The door wouldn’t open/close properly. We refused to stay in it. Reception staff didn’t care. There was no one to help us. After a while the man on reception told us we could look at a ‘delux’ room & if we liked it we would have to pay an extra £600!! This room was nice but to be honest not ‘delux’ - it was a standard anyone should expect. That said we felt we had no other option so paid the extra money. We did manage to relax & enjoy our holiday- hotel staff were lovely but sometimes not enough attention to customers in the bar/restaurant area. Not enough seating in the restaurant when busy & nowhere to sit whilst waiting for a table. Food was acceptable. We would go back to The Gambia but def wouldn’t stay in this hotel again.

Nice, basic hotel. Good food and pleasent staff. Could do with dedicated outside smoking areas as I hate eating next to smokers. Evening entertainment good but too loud and stops conversation. Gardens and pool kept really well. Daytime music is often of a strange choice and could be lower volume and more chilled. Bar staff could do with putting their mobiles down and dealing with customers. The beach is wasted, no sun loungers or parasols. Weather in April was perfect. Overall,I had a lovely stay.