Kombo Beach Hotel, Banjul

Overall Kombo Beach is a great hotel, one of the better ones, good value for B & B and breakfast was great. Eating and drinking there afterwards very expensive though. Outside of the hotel is a mixed bag, a very poor country with what seemed like hundreds of people constantly approaching you for something, trying to get you to come to their shops, bars, restaurants, buy juice, taxi rides, be their official guides etc. We saw the real Gambia though, took some supplies to some schools, and rice etc to the SOS orphanage. Plenty of entertainment in the Senagambia strip, 20 - 30 or so eateries and bars, many of which have live music, proper african style drumming and dancing. yellow taxi's are half the price of green ones so worth a short stroll up the road from the hotel to catch one. Always haggle for the best price. Lamin lodge was amazing as was the monkey park. lovely beach to take long walks on, but once again, you have to keep saying no thank you to all the bumpsters etc offering you their services. the seas pretty rough there, great for surfing, but not for swimming or snorkelling. We got a better exchange rate out there for £'s than back home and you can always haggle with them on the exchange rate also. Worth a visit, stay in the hotel if you want an easy time though, but venture out and see the sights if you have the confidence to deal with the hassle. they are very very poor, there is little work there and they generally mean no harm. you'll meet some real characters, and pretty much everyone is smiley and happy.

It was the best holiday ive ever had. It was just me and my friend, both 20 and girls. you will hear watch out while your there be carefull, but we had no problems. yea you get the guys wanting to talk to you, but their just being friendly nothing rude just all want to make you have a wonderful holiday. I wouldnt stay anywhere else but the Kombo Beach Hotel, always something to do,yummy food wonderful staff. i can not say enough how much i love it there, it wont be for everyone but a great place to clear you head on the beautiful beach.try and talk to a holiday maker whos been there before so they can give you some tips on money like how much taxis are etc,neva pay the first price they say, half it and if you can half it again.the guys all wana take you out to the clubs, and you see people from your hotel there out with there guides. its just wonderful, ive been back 3 days and we're planing to go back in april!

We have spent two good holidays at Kombo Beach Hotel and all the staff were great really friendly, nothing is to much trouble to them. Rooms are really clean and looked after well.

If you want relaxation this is the place, the Kombo Beach Hotel, spa, pool beach all fantastic. There are sellers on the beach but this is policed they are under control and there are not many of them, be careful of the horses cantering along the beach front.

Don't expect to leave the hotel and go for a walk or select any other means of transport other than the green taxis parked outside. It was much better to walk up the road and get one with a yellow stripe which was much cheaper or get a bush taxi much cheaper still. You just need to be firm with them, they are only trying to make a living in the holiday season. If you had guests they had to be signed in by a certain time and signed out by a certain time through another gate. This was more akin to a convent school where you were being watched all the time. What you need to do is get local guides as they are brilliant people who will look after you well and make sure you get the best out of your holiday. Agree your price up front or daily and expect to include them for drinks along the way. They will take you to their homes (buy a bag of rice) where you will taste the REAL local food which is fantastic meet the families and build relationships you will want to return to again and again. I have just booked my third holiday to the Gambia but it will not be to the Kombo.

I absolutely loved the Kombo Beach Hotel and would recommend it to anyone. All of the Staff were extremely friendly and the food had lots of variety.

Being only 18 and going away for Christmas and new year with the family and to Gambia I was wary... I thought I'd much prefer somewhere I actually knew like Spain... But I can honestly say I'm soooo glad I went!! It's a beautiful country with so many plus points. I and my younger sister have made good friends with the hotel staff and can not wait to return!! I was surprised at how many people return year after year but I can see why... I met some young girls who I became friendly with.. this I did not expect and will be seeing them this year hopefully for Christmas 2008 and new year at Kombo!!

With 12 years of visiting the Gambia, I should think that tells you something?. You will either love it or you'll hate it!!!. We love it!! We help a few families, giving what we can, when we can. We have built a Nursery School, and we send boxes of items out, (That's getting very expensive though so might have to stop doing that). We started off with the Hotels, some are better than others, you get what you pay for. We personally like the Kololi area, because we can go out to 'The Strip' at night and have a meal, a drink and even a dance!!. There are also Casino's. Then we went Self Catering that suits us we can eat when and what we want. We have also rented a house for 6 months, that was ideal and we popped back and forth to use the house as much as we could, but unfortunately the keys have now been returned so next time (I am looking on the internet now ) will be the cheapest option out and make the most of it, because we have now brought a piece of land to build our very own small house under the African sky!!!....As I said before. You will either 'Love it or Hate it....and we Love it!!!!.

This is about my 6th time to The Kombo Beach and 9th time to the Gambia. The hotel is improving all the time with the introduction of TVs and fridges in rooms. This time I went on business for my charity, Northampton Trustee Fund. There was significant rainfall followed by hot sunshine. The rain was early this year.

Everything was good - if a little expensive due to the poor exchange rate. A beer in the hotel was 55 Delasis a bottle, 30 Delasis in the supermarket next door and 20 Delasis away from the resort if you know where to go. Problem was getting around without the hassle from the locals. OK they are desperate this time of year as it is the low season, but it was impossible to have a quite walk on the beach or outside the hotel on the road. Having been many times I am used to this but I have to say even I got fed up with it. Don't let on you have money, as they will pester you from day one. Being firm with them helps but if you get rid of one the next one is upon you straight away. I fear for the tourist industry in the Gambia because people will not go there for all this hassle.

That said, I understand it can be much worse in other parts of the world. By all means use the local tourist guides who are directly opposite the entrance to the hotel. As for 'The Chief' Ten or Landing - tell them Andy from Northampton suggested them and they will look after you!

Where do I start... you have to sign for your pool towels which are disgusting, they have holes in them, bath towels in rooms are not always available. Air conditioning is so old that it makes a racket that keeps you up all night, bath tiles need re grouting, absolutely everything in the hotel is priced up. Are we the only people who found Kombo Beach awful?

We would have rather paid a bit more and stayed at the Kariba which is a beautiful hotel and staff are far more attentive than at the Kombo. Excellent weather