Mansea Beach Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

Firstly let me say that this was our tenth visit to The Gambia and we have stayed at Senegambia, Kombo Beach, Sunset Beach, and Palma Rima previously. We have also looked round other hotels to check on what else is available. We are therefore well used to the low comparable standards of accomodation that this "poor" country has to offer and have always been able to cope with it. Then we came to Mansea Beach over Xmas this year and found it to be far and away the most apalling hotel we have ever encountered, whether in The Gambia or anywhere else in the world for that matter.
The rooms are in a disgusting state of dilapidation and need total renovation. The electrical points are in a dangerous condition and the plumbing is haphazard at best. Several of the guests when we were here commented that it was like "Tenko" (remember the TV programme about a Jap prisoner of war camp?). We asked for a fridge in our room and paid extra - when it arrived there was more rust on it than white and it contained several cockroaches inside!
The breakfast buffet is simply awful, with minimum choice and constantly running out of things. The female members of staff tended to be rather surly, although most of the male ones tried to be helpful. It was quite amusing to be sat by the pool and watching a batch of new arrivals being taken to their rooms - then to see several immediately coming back out to be moved to other rooms, only to find out that they were no better!!
We saw bumsters being allowed into the pool area that were brought in by guests. One morning a female guest arrived at the pool area at 8am with 2 of these characters - all 3 were drunk and they continued drinking and using hotel facilities, alongside families with children who were also sat around the pool. My recommendation is that if you are planning to come to The Gambia - pay a little bit more and stay at either Kombo Beach, Senegambia, or Kairaba - avoid Mansea Beach like the plague!!!