Kombo Beach Resort

The beachfront view is relaxing, the surroundings are clean, and Combo Beach Hotel has a lovely atmosphere. It's a beautiful place, and the staff are generally friendly. The location seems lovely for families and other visitors. But charging D1,500 for each child over age 2 to use the pool and buffet felt completely unacceptable. We arrived at around 2:30 PM with four children aged 2, 3, 5 and 10, while the buffet only runs until 4:00 PM. It makes no sense to charge that much when young children barely eat at a buffet. The pricing for kids feels unfair and unreasonable, and really needs to be reconsidered. The place is beautiful, but this policy needs serious improvement.

The beachside setting and nearby mangroves, restaurants, golf course, Bakau town and Senegambia strip would bring us back. Kombo Beach Hotel itself also has lovely grounds, good pools and activities for children, tasty food, and an all-inclusive deal that felt worthwhile. The staff were excellent, especially the front desk team, who tried to handle our requests and disappointment. One manager later upgraded us to a room in the new wing with a swim-up pool, which was fantastic. But the start of the holiday was awful. We landed at 2 am on Saturday with our two tired children, after booking a superior room months earlier for a week, and were told there was no room for us. We were sent to a nearby hotel for the night, with a promise that we could speak with the manager at 10 the next morning. We had little choice, even though we were unhappy about it. That room had no Wi-Fi or TV, lots of mosquitoes and a shaky bunk bed that didn't seem safe for the kids. We got through the night with mosquito spray and went back to Kombo the next day. The manager asked us to return later, but our room had apparently been given to someone else because other rooms under construction weren't ready. We were then offered other hotels, including the first one, and refused. Instead, we were taken to a different hotel in Banjul. It was much better, but lacked the water slides and family focus that made us choose Kombo. We were told we could return on Thursday, five days after arriving in the country. Even after the upgrade, our room's air conditioning didn't work, and we had water and power outages. This is a five-star hotel with a two-star overbooking problem, and many guests seemed to have the same issue. Still, with the staff, location and facilities, we'd go back.

The ocean view gave the evening a really calm feel, and the prices were reasonable for food that was clearly prepared with care. My wife and I had a lovely meal at Barracuda. The staff were attentive and professional, without hovering. We'd happily return, whether for a date night or just dinner by the water.

The staff were lovely, and the place itself was nice, but breakfast-only guests had a daily struggle. There were no bowls or spoons, so I put yogurt on a saucer or plate and ate it with a knife and fork. That was if the yogurt hadn't run out again. Finding a cup for coffee was lucky, and the coffee barely seemed like coffee. Since we weren't all-inclusive, we hoped the cafe and à la carte restaurant would cover lunch and dinner. The menu was very limited, with lots of items unavailable every day. The restaurants outside were a relief, especially The Captains Table. We complained daily and got promises each time, but nothing changed. We'll stay somewhere else next year.