African Princess Beach Hotel

Amazing hotel set on the beach (swim up rooms are a must) rooms spacious clean and comfortable. All the staff from reception, house keeping, restaurant and management are very friendly and go out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. We had a couple of issues in the room on arrival but they were sorted immediately. It was my wifes birthday while we were away and Fatou arranged a complimentary birthday cake with all the staff singing happy birthday. A big thankyou to Fatou and all the team for a fantastic stay. We will be returning next year.

I visited the African Princess with my partner over New Year in December 2024 and for the first week of 2025. The weather was amazing and the hotel was incredible. We arrived at night and immediately noticed that although full, the hotel was quiet and the staff were welcoming. Our room was large and impeccably clean and we were lucky to be able to book a swim up room. This was cleaned daily and although a little cold, it was welcomed in the heat of the day. We were booked on a bed and breakfast basis and also ate in the hotel on NYE. The food was of a good standard with plenty of selection. I also want to advise of a driver who we utilised on our trip. He works outside of the hotel and whilst slightly more expensive than local taxis, he was brilliant. He took us to the crocodile park and advised us around money to give for charity. He also took us to the market and without him, we would have definitely not had a good experience. If you visit the African Princess please ask over the road for Abraham. I have included his card. He made our holiday extra special. We will definitely return.

The staff here are what makes this a great hotel. They are all very helpful, friendly, are always smiling and nothing is too much trouble. The rooms are cleaned daily, comfortable and a great size. There is a fridge in the room and the cleaners leave 2 bottles of water every day. The breakfasts are really good. I found the evening menu a bit disappointing, but I am an exceptionally fussy eater! The servers in the restaurant and at the bar are so professional and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and special! The front desk is staffed well, they are really knowledgeable, helpful and give excellent advice. The reason for this being 4 stars is the beach, while advertised as 'private' is not actually private. All of the hawkers and sellers are free to approach residents even though there is a security guard. I never got a chance to sit on the beach as each time I stepped foot on it I was approached by local men trying to sell things, offering to take me places or asking for my number. I think the advertising should make it clear that although the hotel is right on the beach, it is not a private area. Not everyone visiting the Gambia wants this sort of attention. The African Princess is a quiet, friendly, safe and comfortable hotel. I wouldn't recommend it to the younger crowd who are looking for a lively, party atmosphere, but for people wanting a relaxed, calm holiday, like me, it was perfect. There is a safe and Aircon in the rooms which are both included in the price.

We stayed here for two weeks on half board. We were allocated a room on the sunny side of the hotel from the outset, which was amazing and very welcome. Check in was easy. As we came in on the Tui flight, we were not there until nearly 10pm as the trip from the airport using the free transfer was a nightmare, fighting through the Serakunda traffic. An hour and a half for what would have been a 20 minute journey with a private transfer. That said - the hotel directed us to the beach front restaurant and we could order what we wanted from the A La Carte menu. A wonderful first evening. The room was spacious and clean. A lovely comfortable bed, nice and firm. The shower took a bit of getting used to because it took quite a while for the hot water to come through, but when it did, it was very hot. The swim up room has a platform in the water with the sunbeds in the pool. A lovely touch. First of all, I must congratulate the hotel for employing the happiest crew I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I must give a call out to Mariama Marong, Modou Lamin Conteh, Alice Sissey, Modou Jobs, Fatoumatta Sanyang and Isatou Jobe who all played a part in making the holiday brilliant. Roy - thank you for your patience in handling the issues we had. Well resolved. Breakfast is served buffet style. A very wide selection. Tea and coffee, fruit juices. Fresh eggs (fried or poached to order) omelettes, pancakes, crispy pork (like streaky bacon) chicken sausages, baked beans most mornings, tomatoes once or twice, hash browns or chips, porridge, salads, fresh fruits, jams, honey in different flavours, toast, rolls, french bread and pizza. Lunchtime has a limited special menu that isn't advertised. Apparently, it dropped off the menu when it was revamped. Chicken burger is good, as is the chicken club sandwich, which can be takeaway. Otherwise, it is the same al la carte menu you see in the evening. The drinks from the bar are very good (thank you Modou) and reasonably priced. All can be charged to the room. Check your bill at the end as mistakes can happen. The pool has enough sunbeds and there are many also on the beach. Every room has at least 2 on the deck. All the pools are kept clean, the water clear and fresh by the team of attendants. The grounds are well kept, grass kept watered and trimmed, with lots of trees and other plants scattered around. There are several hanging seating pods (single and doubles) in the garden too. Any maintenance issues were very quickly resolved. The hotel also keeps on top of the maintenance of the appearance, with some painting going on around. Half board. The evening meal is served buffet style when the number of guests on half board is greater than 20. Under that it is a la carte. When we were there the hotel was full, so we were on buffet. I know the Tui write up says to expect it, but we were under the impression is wasn't going to be every night. The write up also told us to expect local cuisine, which is what we got

The hotel itself is really nice: great rooms even though I stayed in an economy room, clean, delicious breakfast. I also had dinner at the hotel which was very good though the menu did not change during all my stay (twelve days). Most of my lunches were outside hotel – there are several very tolerable eateries just outside. Never a problem with sunbeds, additionally there are several very comfortable hammock couches to chill out. Locality is good too, though not as lively as Senegambia. On the other hand, it is perfect for bird watchers as it is very close to the bird watching point. Also the spa centre of the hotel is very recommendable. Hiccups? There were several. I had issues with my room or rather rooms. At first, I was assigned to one room, it appeared there was some misunderstanding and I was relocated. Then I found out that my room door does not lock. After several attempts, it proved to be beyond repair and I was relocated again (that was twice in three days). Check-in was quite smooth, though no welcome drinks for our group (sufficiently big one), even though a group before us had them. Service is in some cases hit-and-miss. Our luggage was delayed by airlines and I had to go and ask for my luggage twice because it appeared that the shift at the desk did not leave any information about the luggage and it was just sitting in the storage room. No one bothered bringing it to the room or even informing me. A similar situation was with laundry. I had to ask twice whether it was ready and when finally someone knew where it was, I was asked whether I would like to have it brought to my room – I was standing in front of the man and the laundry was one pair of pants, so it sounded quite ridiculously. And finally, there is an ATM at the hotel, but it never worked during my stay, closest one being in Senegambia.

First time in the Gambia and we will definitely be back. The hotel is very modern and the swim up rooms are great but the hotel does lack a bit of African charm. Rooms are large and the bed very comfortable but they are a bit bland and soulless and there is no decor to make you feel you are in Africa. The staff are fantastic and very friendly and the location on the Kololi strip is great with several good cheap bars and restaurants nearby and the main Senegambia strip only a short taxi ride away. The grounds are nice but again a bit corporate and sterile - more colour and flowering plants would be an improvement. The spa is good, brand new and competitively priced compared to other local places. The breakfast buffet is good and quite extensive but on the downside we had one evening meal at the restaurant (again lacking any African charm) which was very poor and tasteless (hence the 4 not 5 stars)., as well as quite a bit more expensive than the local places. Gambia itself is amazing, very interesting, full of life noise and vibrancy and the people are lovely - just learn to brush off the beach hustlers.