Holiday Beach Club Hotel

The rooms are a bit basic, with no TV, and you pay extra for the fridge and air conditioning. The AC costs about 700 GMD a day, which is too much. Staff are friendly and helpful, and the hotel itself has a nice pool, gardens, beach bar, bar and restaurant. It’s right by the beach and a short walk from the main road, where the usual bumsters approach you. Not a bad stay, though there’s room to improve.

The location is the one thing that makes this place worthwhile. It’s a two-star hotel with one-star service. They take the towel from your room every day, and getting a clean one becomes an annoying daily hassle. The advertised WiFi is mostly unavailable. You get a bed, shower and balcony, but anything else comes at a premium.

It’s quiet here, with no entertainment or loud music, which was a big plus, and the staff were friendly. The hotel sits right on the beach in a lovely, well-kept garden, and the rooms are spacious, clean and suitable for tourists. Towel delivery was a clear problem. They take them from the room at 10 a.m.; clean replacements might arrive at 5 p.m. or not at all. A sheet was also taken away once without a clean one being left.

The only real plus was the peace and quiet. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel. It’s called a three-star place, but at most I’d give it two stars, and one for service. The rooms feel like the communist era in the 1980s and were dirty; the towels were dirty too, sometimes unwashed, and only replaced if you asked or paid. Air conditioning, a fridge and a kettle all cost extra. In the kitchen there were six waiters on their phones, but no one to clear tables or change tablecloths. There were no forks, coffee cups, plates, tea, coffee, hot boiled water, fruit, rolls, cold cuts or cheese. The boiled eggs were hidden at the back, and you had to ask for them. The hotel doesn’t really have a beach. There are rocks extending three metres out, though they protect against big waves. Monkeys on the balcony are amusing for a couple of days, then become a nuisance, stealing food and other things. The deck chairs are made of planks that barely hold together, and the mattresses are so flat they feel like they’re not there.