Sunbeach Hotel and Resort

This is a small hotel. You have to pay if you want to go to the a la carte, therefore only leaving you with the main restaurant for all your meals. There are no snacks available between meals. The food is tasty with several different theme nights (one is curry night which was maybe too spicy). The staff work hard around the hotel, but stop and chat with you too often. They also stand too close (in your bubble). I think that this is just the Gambian way. The staff will tell you how they are struggling to support their family etc, and are looking for monetary tips. we took $1 US dollars as tips. The hotel is by the beach which is very sandy. Be prepared to be hassled by local tourist guides all time. It gets very frustrating very quickly. The Spa does cheap massages (£17 for a full hour), but be prepared that the person will want to swap phone numbers with you so that they can be your "friend". I understand from others that they are looking for people to send them money on a regular basis, or help them get a UK visa. This also happened to me on the beach. You can't relax. Outside the hotel is a little daunting. It is very dusty and you are not left alone. The airport is very hectic too, with some many people begging or wanting to take your luggage. You have to give a stern NO to get them to understand. Would I go back to Gambia? No.

We stayed at the Sunbeach Hotel located in the beautiful surroundings of Cape Point, Bakou recently for my 50th birthday. We were not disappointed. This is a wonderful hotel with amazing views and a very relaxed atmosphere. The service we experienced here was the best we had ever come across and the staff incredibly friendly and helpful, in fact they were second to none in our opinion.This went a long way towards making this a happy and relaxing break for us. A special mention at this point must be made about Jamba, our room attendant for the week. He ensured that our room was cleaned and in impeccable condition each and every day we we there. he was very welcoming and happy in in his work which he always completed with a smile. We feel he is a credit to the hotel and that they are very lucky to have such an efficient member of staff on their books. Although Bakou is a little out of the way for some excursions, we made use of the tour guide facility outside of the hotel which was called Sunbeach Tours. Our friendly guide Fanta was amazing and ensured we were safe and comfortable on the 3 excursions we went on. She also made each and every visit a pleasurable experience so we would fully recommend using their services. When I go back I shall be using them again for sure! The hotel is all inclusive and the food was very nice and varied each and every day. I particularly enjoyed the Gambian themed food night which featured both African Peanut stew (Beef Domeda) and Chicken Yassa which we loved. The beer and wine is also nice that is served here. This was our first time in Gambia, and I do not believe it will be the last! When I do come back it will be at this hotel as we found it to be so relaxing and pleasant with staff that cannot do enough for you. On that note we would like to thank all staff at The Sunbeach Hotel for making our visit so special. We will be back soon!! Stu and Vicky (Liverpool)

We have recently returned from The Sunbeach Hotel & Resort in The Gambia. The weather was lovely. Our room in the Hotel was "tired", and the Hotel in general could definitely do with a refurb. My main complaint is that on the TUI website, it says that the Hotel has "Two bars – one by the pool and one in the lobby – serve drinks and snacks throughout the day". This is NOT TRUE and is a FALSE REPRESENTATION. There is only one bar which serves snacks, for one hour each day - between 4pm and 5pm. One of the reasons that we booked this Hotel was because we thought there would be food available all day. This is very important to us, as my Husband has Diabetes and has to be able to have access to food throughout the day. This is a deal breaker when we book holidays. I complained to TUI, whilst we were there, and they said that they would get the Hotel to change the wording on the website. THIS HAS NOT YET BEEN ACTIONED BY THE HOTEL. Another complaint is that serveral times, we were asked by the Hotel staff for our phone numbers, as they would "like to be our friends". This was not a relaxing holiday at all. I know that the Gambians pride themselves on being really friendly and happy. But they would not leave us alone. Even in the restaurant, I got to the stage where I didn't want to go and get food in case there was any interaction with the staff. It was just too much and very stressful. One pro is that the WIFI was excellent throught the Hotel and grounds. ALL IN ALL, WE WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO THE GAMBIA ....................

Quite simply, this is a very wonderful place to stay. The staff are lovely, attentive and always smiling. The food (apart from curry night) is tasty with plenty of choice. The rooms are basic but comfortable. The pools are lovely and the evening entertainment is above average for an All Inclusive holiday. When booking a trip, use the Tour Guides directly opposite the main entrance to the hotel. Our guide ( Ismaila) for the Safari and Roots trips, was knowledgeable, attentive and looked after us from beginning to end. It was lovely to be able to immerse ourselves into Gambian culture. It gave us even more pleasure to place our money into a Gambians hand rather than the tour operator. Yes, this country is poor in relation to our own but they can teach is a thing or two in terms of patience and humility. Enjoy this lovely hotel. Enjoy the people and enjoy an amazing country. We will go back there one day.

Had a lovely week staying here, staff were lovely, food was good, wine was great, spirits not so great and limited cocktails but if that's my only moan then I think I am being too picky really. Loved it here and would definitely recommend as nothing was too much trouble for the staff and the animation team were great too. The room was great and kept clean too. We had a suite and sea view too so we were more than happy with that. Gambia is a poor country but full of lovely people and we went out for a trip on the Gambia River, saw hippos, crocodiles, monkeys and exotic birds. Went to a school on the way back from the trip and it was lovely to see the children enjoying learning and the facilities they have there, including a cooked meal. They rely on tourist donations and we were happy to contribute in a small way to help them to continue to run the school. In two days we managed to travel to 6 of the 7 regions in The Gambia so you can see quite a lot in a short space of time.