Ocean Bay Hotel

We booked our holiday via the travel agent, had never been to The Gambia before so really did not know what to expect. The hotel when we arrived looked lovely, well kept, clean and the staff are all very well presented, a porter opened the door for us, and we were provided with an ice cold flannel to cool our faces along with a lovely fruit juice. The porter then took us to our room and showed us how the A/C worked etc. (This is where the tipping begins) In The Gambia, people will do everything for you, but further on in our trip we... more

Hotel is great, stayed on B&B and more economical to eat a la carte at seperate resaurant rather then bufett, especially if you don't want 3 courses. The staff are still learning how to treat customers as expected in Europe, some are making a better job at it than others, but everyone is friendly and polite. But Please please please take the time to go down the beach to Calypsos next door, for equally good food and drinks, at better prices under the stars at night. Better still when the band is performing, they are better than the... more

We could not have picked a better hotel in Gambia! The hotel itself is beautifully looked after, from the stunning modern entrance to the well kept Gardens. The bedrooms are of good quality and size with comfortable beds and good size bathrooms, perfect as a base for soaking up the sun and exploring Gambia! The pool is a good size, it is cold but once you have got the guts up to jump in it is pefect in the Gambian heat. As mentioned below yes the sun beds are taken up quickly but then what holiday resort does that not happen at, however... more

I agree with the good reviews of this hotel. There is only one thing very irritating: tourists making "reservations" for the sunbeds at the pool and te beach. At 8.30 in the morning about all the beds are taken by towel or book. People show up hours later. Rather egoistic and unfair. So please, don't confirm yourself as a guest to this nasty habit and complain to the management if others keep on doing so. Only de application of one rule would do: "no reservation of sunbeds allowed". Maybe I'll visit Ocean Bay again. Then I... more

Just arrived back from a week’s holiday at the Ocean Bay in Gambia. Fantastic hotel with really friendly staff. We had read mixed reviews before we went but had no problems at all. If you are looking for a cheap holiday, then this may not be the place for you. The drinks are not cheap with a draft beer being between £1.50-£2. There are however 2 lots of Happy Hour from 5.30-6.30 in the lobby/pool bar and then 6.30-7.30 at the beach bar, where cocktails cost £4 for two. We paid half board at approx. £20 each - the food was good with an... more

We stayed on a B&B basis with Thomas Cook. Overall, we thought that the hotel was very good and we enjoyed our holiday in The Gambia. Breakfast was good with a large selection of different options. We didn't use the pool area, preferring to go to the beach where you will easily find space to relax. Plenty of sun loungers are reserved before the sun rises, particularly in the pool area. On the beach, to the right of the hotel, you will find some juice bars and a stall selling fruit salads. We had great fun talking to Simon Peter, Rasta and... more

We stayed at this hotel for a week 26/1/07 booking through First Choice. First Choice were excellent all round. The hotel is really nice, and as others have said, the grounds and lovely and well maintained. We were very fortunate to be given room 308 which was on the ground floor, a hop, skip and jump from the pool. We tipped the pool boy 100 dalasi on our first day and he made sure our beds were reserved with towels everyday. The pool was rather cold but not too bad once you were in it. We were also quite unlucky with the weather this... more

Recently back from a wonderful week in The Gambia. Could not fault the hotel with its friendly staff, good breakfasts and comfortable room but we only used it for sleeping and breakfast, buying everything else outside. Apart from one organised trip - Roots, which was enjoyable but take a good book - we spent most of our time enjoying Bakau and its friendly people. Please do not be put off by stories of bumsters and stay by the hotel pool every day as you will miss so much. Yes, there are boys outside the hotels and on the beach and they... more

Ocean bay hotel is a lovely hotel but very expensive. If you are going b&b thats ok but don't eat lunch or dinner there,,,,walk down to the beach and turn right and about 100yds is the calypso bar right on the beach they do wonderful food (try the spag bol) and the drinks and the food are half the price of the hotel. The calypso bar is relaxing with great views and they have live entertainment some nights and its better than the hotel entertainment. If you like to chill and relax in the hot sun then go to the beach not a lot of people on... more

We were not at all impressed with the Ocean Bay Hotel. We thought it was totally overpriced. We paid £4500 for a 2 week holiday over xmas and new year for myself, my husband, a 6 year and a 3 year old. Firstly, no one explains that you must pay for anti-maleria drugs which are horrible for children and gave my husband and I awful insomnia and also Yellow Fever vaccinations which my GP wanted to charge £70 each for! I managed to find a cheaper one for £35 just up the road from where I live. We arrived at the Ocean Bay at... more