The Kairaba Beach Hotel

Officially the Kairaba is still rated as a 5* hotel, the only one as far as we know in Gambia. And this is still visible with respect to the quality of the room furniture and the installation and the way the staff deals with wishes (addressed at the reception) or problems (e.g. a problem with water leakage in the toilet got immediately fixed by an experienced craftsmen after we told the room service about it and she had called her colleague). However, the hotel has been closed for 3 years due to Corona and the owner now plans to sell it. That's why they did not do a lot of promotion and had very few guests (＜20? certainly not more than 50). And this had influence on the services, which were adapted (small breakfast buffet, reduces choice). Only the prices for drinks at the pool bar stayed at the original 5*-level

Whatever you do DO NOT go to this awful place, we were unfortunate enough to be taken there for 1 night (thank God) with Tui after our flight was cancelled, we have never after 17 visits to the Gambia ever experienced such a poor hotel all around, and before anyone thinks its Africa and there is not the same standards there I have been so many times so feel I can make an honest comparison I have attached some photos of the hovel they called a bedroom,you can clearly see bugs in the actual bed, no toilet roll, no toiletries at all and the smell of damp was sickening breakfast was diabolical the plates were filthy there were no cups or glasses absolutely no bread at all very very poor selection, please do your research as I would hate anyone to experience what we did.

I stayed here for 2 nights on business recently. Admittedly this is my first visit to The Gambia but if you are used to European hotels then this place will come as a shock. The grounds were well tended but everything else appeared to have had little maintenance for at least a decade and looked tired, rusty, shabby and in need of a lick of paint. Perhaps this is why there are very few guests. The room and sheets were clean and the aircon worked. However hot water took 5 mins to arrive in a very dated bathroom and the internet is basically unusable. Breakfast is included but very basic. Drinks OK but very expensive. There is a 5m ***** of sand outside the hotel but no beach as such, it has been replaced by a wall of boulders presumably to stop erosion. Thankfully I was not paying the bill myself but there must be better alternatives than this!

Thank you for the amazing stay and the hotel associates' cooperation, an amazing local variety of breakfast meals, especially local juice. Especial thanks to the reception and F&B team. The room is old but the cleaning is not bad The Hotel beach and facilities were totally amazing

Sadly this place has gone downhill badly since my last stay 4 years ago. Staff service is poor, Internet is hopeless, laundry service terrible (missing clothes and received other people's), room service non existent, phones don't work, pool service is diabolical. I honestly can't say anything good about the place. Stay somewhere else where your dalasi and you are welcome.

We have stayed at The Kairaba Beach Hotel for many years. We have seen it at it's best and now seen it at it's worst. Covid has a lot to answer for. It is so sad to see this Grand hotel so empty this year. Our first thought was to move hotels, but we have made many friends here at the hotel and feel at home here when we arrive. We decided to stay and even though the hotel is practically empty and working on a skeleton staff we felt obliged to stay and support. As usual the staff can't do enough for us. The management decided to allow local people to use the pool at a fee, and this has been taken up by them especially on the weekend. It gets very busy with lots of families n children most of whom can't swim. Which in turn is hard for the one pool attendent to manage as there can be up to 30 to 40 people in the pool. I understand that the management needs to bring in revenue but an extra pool attendent should be employed at the weekend. We need Whalley back at the pool❤️❤️ Breakfast is poor n not what we are used to, but on saying that we haven't gone hungry, it is once again so sad to see so few people in the hotel thus not a great selection and no buzz from it at breakfast from not being busy with guests. On the up side if we request something it is there the next day. On the whole yes it is quiet, we are under the impression that they no longer have a contract with Tui at the moment n can only be found on Gambia Experience which is expensive for the quality of the hotel at the moment. Personally I think that the hotel wasn't ready to accept guest in time for the winter holidays and with this, and what seems poor management from an higher level this once booming grand hotel has slipped into a sorry state. Hopefully with the support of regular guests that still belive in her and a higher better management plan the Grand old lady will get back to how she use to be once again in this fantastic location. We will always support as long as we are able thank you to all the stay you are doing an amazing job under the circumstances ❤️❤️