Le Papayer Ecolodge

We came away with wonderful memories of a beautiful, peaceful place and a truly charming team. The care from everyone was lovely. Assan is very kind, Sophie is so generous, and her meals are delicious. Fatou keeps everything meticulously clean. Papaye, Léa, Terrible, and the other four-legged companions added plenty of fun, too. The lush garden ecolodge is set in a magnificent spot. At night the sound of the ocean soon lulls you to sleep, and in the morning the birds wake you with their cheerful calls. Laurent spoiled us with thoughtful outings: he introduced us to an animist village and its fetishes, took us up a sacred tree to see the Casamance region from 25 meters high, helped us spot manatees beneath the coconut palms, and took us through the mangroves in a dugout canoe to explore the pristine nature of the Casamance. Thank you so much!

We spent fifteen days in pure bliss, getting out of our comfort zone and settling into the rhythms of Casamance and the warm welcome of the Senegalese people. We'd be very happy to return.

The staff tried hard to salvage things, and that's the reason for the one star. We were promised a place for our group with our own kitchen and internet, but that wasn't what we got. A woman, apparently an employee, was living in our house and we couldn't use the kitchen. She moved out after we complained, but first the owner tried to make us feel morally responsible for raising it. We were charged extra for everything, even coffee and water. Breakfast was expensive even by European standards, yet consisted of half a baguette and a few partly used jars of jam. They explicitly refused to provide eggs. There were six of us, and we'd been promised fast internet with plenty of data. Instead we got 3GB per day and a sluggish connection. On the second day they cut it off, saying we were creating the wrong vibe. The owner kept coming over to complain about everything while smoking. The only eco-friendly thing we saw was solar panels on the roof, while there was a lot of concrete. The place itself is wonderfully secluded, but we couldn't leave without the owner, and he used that to put pressure on us. This place is a scam!

Laurent and his team gave us a warm welcome and impeccable service, and introduced us to parts of the Casamance region that are still pristine. The place is beautiful, with local architecture that respects the setting, among lush woodland gardens beside the river.