Sunbeach Hotel

It was the second time we spent a week in The Gambia. Last year we stayed in Ocean Bay Hotel, this year in Sunbeach Hotel. Although the first one might have been a bit more "posh", we absolutely prefer Sunbeach Hotel and we will return next year. The hotel has a lovely atmosphere and wonderful views unto the sea on both sides of the resort. We stayed in House 1 which is furthest to the Cape Point and highly recommendable. We spent most days on the beach as the pool area was a bit too lively for our taste. It was easy to change between beach and pool and we made good use of both. Although we had booked only B&B we had three meals (including one fish buffet) at the hotel of which a single dish was a bit of a disappointment, while the rest was absolutely fine. We never missed a happy hour and made good friends there and then. At the end of our week we were surprised that we had spent less money in the hotel than we thought we had. We ventured out on our own more than once with a very nice taxi driver. However, an organized trip on the river Gambia was okay but overprized. On our own we always felt very safe and the people were just lovely.

Visited Sunbeach Hotel in April 2006 and will return in April 2007 - it really was that good a holiday! The purpose was to fish and to see Gambia at the same time. The former turned out to be much better than expected and can highly recommend Hooked on Gambia for fishing trips. The Sunbeach Hotel is a well run hotel with management and staff eager to help and assist at all times. Nothing was too much trouble. Infectious laughter is one way of summing up the atmosphere. The rooms were made up daily and cleaned to a high standard. The gardeners often left a posy of flowers for my wife who was mobility problems. The evening buffet selection was quite extensive and good.

we stayed for two weeks in this hotel and to be honest it was an excellent hotel. the rooms were spotlessly clean and the bars public places also clean.. all the staff were friendly and helpful although most of them were trying to get something out of you. either by offering to take you to their homes or on trips.. we found the prices in this hotel was a little pricey..eg--half beer £1.50 / buffet dinner £12 per head. the breakfast was good except don't ask for hard boiled eggs and the bacon/sausage left a lot to be desired. if you want to go out the local bar/chinese/italian/hungarian are all in short walking distance. the guides outside the hotel are good if you are nervous about going out as you will not be pestered with them. but if you don't need a guide its still hard to get rid of them as they tend to follow you wherever you go to be your friend... the roots trip is great and also the classic cruise.. also some good fishing trips for beginers+pros..all in all a nice relaxing hotel+resort with loads of hot sunshine.. oh and don't forget to take pens,crayons+chalk for the local school..

Spent Xmas and New Year at Sun Beach. Staff could not be better. The accommodation was very clean but was very dark as green is not our favourite colour! The gala dinner Xmas eve was excellant as was the entertainment which followed. The nativity was well thought out with Mary, Joseph and 3 month old "Jesus" is a stable. The highlight of the evening was Father Xmas arriving on his donkey!! (He arrived by speedboat on Xmas Day). On Xmas Day, entertainment was provided by way of carols sung by children from a local school. Brilliant!!!!! Especially when they were sung reggae style. The downside of our stay was the very poor selection of food. Breakfast was ok but evening meals were sometimes very poor. Salads sometimes consisted of lettuce, tomato, cucumber. On some nights, there were no tomato. This, to us spoiled a very very good Xmas and New Year. The entertainment staff were more than good and worked very hard arranging sunbeds for the guests and generally sorting out their needs. Overall, we had an excellant stay and made good friends with the staff. It was unfortunate that the variety of food, especially in the a la carte restaurant let it down.

I have just returned from The Gambia at 5am this morning and already want to go back. This was one of the most enlightening holidays I have ever been on.Myself and friend both female age 28 went and had a ball. The hotel is okay but the friendliness of all the staff makes up for the fact that yes the Ocean bay next door did look better. It is in a fab locationwith a great beach and taxi right outside and you can walk to reataraunts if you find hotel too expensive. We ate out everynight and also took one trip with The Gambia Experience and one with a local guide too,we have stroked crocodiles,fed monkeys,been to a hospital a school and to Lamin Lodge on a boat.We ate at local restaraunts on the beach which most tourists dont find unless they go with a guide. Yes you get followed down the street with tales of undying love,part time boyfiends if you wish and dinner invites but as long as you have a laugh with these people and are firm you wont have problems.this is a 3rd worl country with the average wage being £20-£50 a month but these people are a hell of a lot more happy and chilled out than most of us. Go to LE Bateux for good food on the beach and as a treat try the Butchers shop,if you brave it try a local nightclub dancing till 5am and hardly any hasssel from men,get more back home. Dont buy ciggarettes on duty free on way out as they are £5 a carton from street vendor for 200,it is a muslim country so just chuck a pashmina in your bag or a kaftan encase you go to a local restaraunt. OH and practically everynight is Reggae night!!!

31/01/07 - 07/02/07 Great position on the beach with superb gardens. The pools were spotless and the staff everywhere attentive. There were activities laid on if you wanted them from water aerobics to beach volley ball but they were very low key. At this time of year the Christmas rush is over and the hotel was very relaxed. We stayed on a B and B arrangement and were therefore able to sample the local restaurants. There was a great choice at breakfast and it was a good standard. We did try the Sunday BBQ which was excellent and great value with locally caught fish. The hotel's entertainment manager "Ten" arranged for us to meet a local football team as we had brought out football kits from our school. We had a fantastic afternoon. We would recommend this hotel for a stay in one of the quieter less commercialised coastal areas and can't wait for next year.

We have just returned from a week at the Sun beach hotel and I have to say you must be either terribly fussy or just had a real unlucky week to have left the previous bad reviews! My husband and I have travelled around (Kenya,Dominican Rep, America etc) and were a little dubious about going to Gambia for our honeymoon as there are such mixed reports! All I can say is that we had the most amazing week, fantastic weather, lovely beach, clean & comfortable rooms, cheap to eat & drink, great staff - always polite and welcoming, we truly could not ask for more and are now hoping to go back there next year with our 2 young children as we felt it was a very safe environment for them. Yes there are lots of bumsters around, but they are so harmless and great for local advice! You only need to give them 50p and they will show you all you need to know and even carry your bags! You must remember that this is a third world country and you will not get the luxurious 5 star hotels that we have in England/America etc. Still it was a pretty big hotel with lots of amenites, the choice of food breakfast/dinner was varied and tasty and I don't think £1 for a local beer is that shocking when everything else is so cheap, if you really need to budget then simply buy everything outside of the hotel, a beer was as little as 60p, water 30p and we had a lovely 3 course meal and drinks at the chinese for around £13. Chapmans, The Clay Oven and The Piano Bar were also highly recommended to eat at.

We have just returned from a week at the Sunbeach Hotel and Resort in The Gambia, where we celebrated the New Year. I was a little apprehensive before we left for the Gambia after reading previous reviews on this site. However, I was pleasantly surprised on arrival to find the resort basic but clean and comfortable and way above my expectations for a four star in a developing country. Again I was dreading the food - as I'm a vegetarian and quite stringent about food hygiene. However, the main restaurant was very clean and run by a Scots chef. There was a great deal of choice and although not a gourmet a la carte restaurant, the food was delicious, plenty of fresh fish, chicken and curries, vegetables, rice, noodles etc (much better than any Egyption buffet). We were booked in half board but ate at the Avacado Restaurant at the Coconut residence on one evening (highly recommended - the food was 5 star and not too expensive - and a beautiful hotel), we also dined at the Ngala Lodge, again delicious and highly recommended). We transferred our buffet dinner one evening to the Sunbeach's 'a la carte' restaurant (hmm far from a la carte, and we waited 2.5 hours for our food which was fine but nothing special and certainly not worth the wait.) Food at the beach bar came from here too, which we ordered whilst lounging round the pool - but not good for veggies if you just want a sandwich. They also don't like to deviate at all from the menu - they have a cheese and ham toastie on the menu and it was quite a struggle to get a simple cheese toastie. Breakfast was fine - lots of choice, although the fruit was a little disappointing. Prices inside the resort were inflated to UK prices - don't expect your stay here to be cheap, we were told by an ex pat that it was one of the most expensive resorts in the country. Expect to pay around £2 for a small bottle of local beer. BE WARNED IF YOU ARE GOING OVER NEW YEAR THE PRICES ARE INCREASED FOR NEWS YEARS EVE - WE WERE PAYING AN ADDITIONAL £14 PER BOTTLE FOR CHAMPAGNE!! All of the wine and champagne prices were increased on NYE but not the beer. We went to the hotel manager, Mr Vogel to query his policy and were met with a rude, patronising response. Several staff had already told us that the increase was for one evening but he told us it was because it was new stock - hmm what a coincidence. I would be interested to hear if they as still charging 3000 dalasi for a bottle of Veuve Clicquot or if it has gone back down to 2000 since our departure. We wouldn't have minded so much if the additional costs were going to the staff - but none of them were being paid any extra for working new years eve. Don't expect to be treated with any respect by this manager - he was rude and very unhelpful and on this basis we would NEVER return to this resort. Which brings me onto the other people we met. All of the staff without exception and excluding Mr. Vogel, were wonderful, very friendly and warm. We had a 3 year old in our party and he was adored and given a great deal of attention - no one could do enough. Our teenage girls were also given a great deal of attention but were treated respectfully and we had no worries about leaving them in the hotel of an evening. There were only a few bumsters on the beach but if you told them you weren't interested you only had to say so once - there was no persistent hassle. We had a fabulous guide who took us to the crocodile museum (highly recommended) only a short walk from the hotel, where you get to see a bit more of local life, the children are beautiful and very friendly - take pencils and paper for them if you can (paper is very expensive out there). Wherever you go in the Gambia tip as much as you can afford to - these people earn a pittance (average £40 per month). The trainee staff in this resort earn nothing while they are training (3 months!) OUTRAGEOUS! The management need to start investing more in their wonderful staff rather than greedy profiteering - it hasn't gone unnoticed and it isn't a recipe for a relaxing holiday for tourists with a consience.

We booked our holiday with airtours and we got a good deal for Xmas. We were meant to be staying at the Corinthia Atlantic but this was overbooked (again) and so we got hte Sunbeach which we heard off quite a few people it was lots better and we came out on top. Flights with Excel from manchester to Banjul and return were on time and sufficient. Transfers were fine too. Hotel is clean, nice and the rooms are very good and better than the Whitesands five star in kenya! There are 3 pools, one large used for everyone, 1 kids and the other is small and quiet. We didnt use any of the pools because the beach was the best for us. The sea is ok for a swim but by no means carribean (obviously). The beach was lovely with no bumsters giving you grief. However there was lots of junk in the sand of which you have to be careful. Also there wasnt enough sun loungers for not even a third of the people so there was lots of arguements and tension especially when certain people put towels on them at the crack of dawn and then have the cheek not to use them all day....... This problem was improved slightly on Boxing day when they seem to find more. But it was still ridiculous and we had to get up at the crack of dawn to tip the beach boy and "reserve" our sunbed til we had breakfast. It was either that or you lay on the beach with no towels or anything. No thanks! This holiday was a complete relaxtion holiday for eating, drinking and sun bathing and The gambia and this hotel served this very well. However we only had one meal in the whole seven days that was any good and that was at the curry house called the Clay Oven and was probably one of the best meals I ever had. One place I found a large peice of clear plastic in my main dish this was at TAOs in senegambia strip. It was awful anyways so don't bother. Breakfast at the sunbeach was poor. The full english breakfast was awful. You could tell the people that just arrived as they had the full english not realising how bad it was where as those who were in the know were sticking to bread, cheese, pastries and omelttes. We never went hungry but it was poor. The Ocean bay hotel next door was meant to be the 2nd best hotel in the country (kairba first) and we went in for lunch. It did look better than the Sunbeach without a doubt. But if our lunch was anything to go by I would skip that as well. My carbonara was pasta and mayonasie and my partners chinese fish dish was raw and the noodles rock hard as if they hadnt been in water? Very strange but awful. I have travelled a fair bit and thought I knew what to expect when I had a trip into Banjul with a guide. I was wrong. I knew it was an experience and made me better person for it if someone asked if I would do it again after knowing what I do know. I WOULD NOT. I dislike the thought of staying in the hotel all the time and I like to see the real country but this took the biscuit and put me to tears. Banjul is not touristy and most trips are in tourist areas as are where you go to eat and drink. The floor was a foot deep in rubbish everywhere. The stench and dirt was disgusting. And when you see first hand what the people are like in the market you get a clear understanding of why the money is so dirty and smelly. I bet you thats how some poeple end up ill with tummy bugs! Use a plastic bag to keep it and always wash your hands after handling it. The people were doing very dirty things and had no idea of what hygiene is (least said the better). I saw a policeman smashing a woman with a baton and dragged here out of the car and was beating her up and blood was everywhere and there was nothing we could do. all the police carry wood with nails in or coppper pipes to beat people with. They are very repressed here and the only reason us tourist don't get the same treatment is that they are too scared as the govermental people would beat them to a pulp if they touched you. Gambia has some lovely poeple and are fiendly, the tourist areas are great with the added bonus of being cheap to get there. We still spent £800 (couple) in a week on food and stuff so it wasnt cheap overall. The drinks were english prices in the hotel. What a rip! Get out of the hotel and the price dropped a third some places. I would not recommmend going full board at the hotel going on what I know but don't hold your breath for amazing food outside either. I personally would not take any children as its just too dangerous. I know its good for them to see other places but Gambia is just abit too much on the raw side. Loads of people became very ill off the food. Could you imagine your children like that? I knows theres a risk everywhere but there is a even higher risk here...... Also everynight you would see prostitutes both men and woman everywhere with there "partners" alot of which had no subtlety what so ever. I saw families eating out with all this going on and I'm sorry but you wouldnt do it at home so why on earth is a country like that!! Especially with the aids thing.....Although its highly amusing to people watch. Everything said above is my personal opinion and is by no means meant to upset anyone or offend. However the type of person I am I have to tell it how it is and this is how it is! I hope its of some use to you. I wish info like this was availble for me when i was looking before my holiday! As with all my holdays I would never go back but as theres too many places to see but wouldnt come back in anyways. Kir123

we have just returned from our first trip to the gambia, we will not be returning i dont think well not unless there is a very cheap deal andwe only wwant sun and sand, as to venture outside of hotel complex is a daunting task, we had read the reveiws before going , but were still unprepared for the continual pestering from bumsters and beggars, this hotel was however very nice, and staff were very polite, and helpful, breakfast were exellent, pool area was very clean, ans comfortable sunbeds plenty available. The beach was well maintained and pretty much bumster free, we would recomend having a massage from the girl along the beach outside the calypso, she was very good and didnt pressure us to have her services, So if you just want a relaxing holiday, and staying on complex then I would reccomend this hotel, as value for money,