An ideal first visit to Africa (Seaview Gardens Hotel (Kololi, Gambia))

Member Name: flodombey

Product:	Seaview Gardens Hotel (Kololi, Gambia)
Date:	14/04/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quiet, nice rooms

Disadvantages: Location - slightly further from Senegambia Strip

We stayed at the Seaview Gardens from 1st-8th November 08 and found the hotel to be a good value for money option. The location is not ideal as it does not have direct access to the beach which is a 10 min walk away (despite the name! - you can see the sea from some of the corner rooms though), you also have to brave a ten minute walk along the main road to reach the Senegambia strip with all the bars and restaurants where you will indeed be met by the infamous bumsters.

The walk to the strip is pleasent enough if you arent harrassed/approached every minute or so and you dont mind the fact that you will be very hot and dusty by the time you reach your destination.

Hotel - staff are mainly very very good, excellent restaurant service and room/porter service, some of the women on the hotel bar can be a bit surly at times and the day we arrived there was utter confusion over check in (they were adamant we needed a voucher for the hotel which we did not) and getting a key to the safe involved a ten minute deliberation between the girl on reception and her boss on the phone - this may have been because we arrived on the first plane of the season and were the only Thomas Cook guests staying in this hotel (most others chose the Senegambia Hotel).

Room was fine - quite good in fact when you consider that the Gambia is a third world country and the people live mostly in abject poverty. The bathroom was clean, we always had hot water on demand (immersion swith in room), the bed had a mozzie net over it and the TV had CNN etc. We didnt pay extra for the air con and coped ok with just the fans.

Food - the continental breakfast is ok but nothing special, my veggie husband was confined to eating bread rolls every morning, you can pay for other items but we didnt most days as we were on a budget. You can get decent tea and coffee as they actually have a kettle and proper tea bags! We ate in the restaurant on our first night, having arrived late, and had a good, tasty meal with very nice pancakes and ice-cream pudding, Andy, the waiter was a joy and couldnt do enough throughout our stay.

The pool area is small and by the day we left (by which time the hotel was half full) there were no sunbeds left by 1pm. It is very quiet though which is nice. Plenty of tables etc, just not a lot of sunbeds.

We used the Senegambia Hotel's facilities quite a lot and their beachfront is easier if you dont want to be harrassed on the beach as (unlike the Seaview) they have security employed to keep them at bay, you have to pay 100 Dalasi a day for this though whereas sunbeds at the Seaviews own beach are free for residents.

The Gambia is a beautiful country and the people are incredibly friendly, the bumsters mean no harm but can be incredibly annoying, you just need to be firm and consistent and they will leave you alone. On the strip we loved Chosaan bar where the food and the atmosphere were great and you can people watch to your hearts content. There are a number of bars and restaurants to choose from and we didnt have a bad meal anywhere, Al Basha Lebanese was our favourite meal there.

Visit the Bijilo national park if you get the chance, it is only a 5 min walk from the strip and the wildlife is amazing, dont let them persuade you that you need a guide, its lovely to wander round unsupervised as it were.

Also visit Abuko park and Lamin Lodge if you can, both are stunning. We had a fantastic driver from the Taxi place opposite the Senegambia Hotel called Kabiro so ask for him if you want someone who will keep you safe and show you a real glimpse of the Gambia away from the strip.

Summary: A great hotel in a magical country.