The resort
The pool, the spa, the beach and the birds.
The pool
Twenty two metres, salt filtered rather than chlorinated, 1.2 to 1.8 metres deep with a separate children's pool at 40cm. Open 07:00 to 22:00 and lit at night.
Loungers, parasols and towels are free and there is no reserving them with a book at six in the morning. There is no lifeguard, so children are yours to watch.
The spa
Four treatment rooms behind the garden. Massage, facials, manicure and pedicure. Open 09:00 to 19:00, closed Sundays. Book at reception or by phone.
A 60 minute full body massage is $45, a 30 minute back and shoulder is $28, a facial is $40 and a manicure with pedicure is $35. Same prices for guests and visitors.
The beach
Forty metres of frontage, raked every morning. The beach itself is public, because all Gambian beaches are, but the loungers and the shaded deck belong to the hotel.
Vendors walk the sand and are part of the place. A polite no is understood the first time. Security walks our stretch from 07:00 to 23:00.
The garden
Two hectares of palm, bougainvillea and mango. Around ninety bird species pass through in a year and a printed list is at reception.
Modou, our head gardener, walks anyone who asks at 07:30 on Tuesdays and Fridays. It takes an hour and costs nothing. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Practical things people ask at the desk.
Wifi is free everywhere including on the beach, and it is fast enough for video calls in the rooms and the lobby. The password is on the card in your room and changes monthly.
Laundry is $6 a kilo and comes back the same day if it is in before 09:00. Ironing only is $2 an item.
Power. The hotel runs on the national grid with a generator that takes over automatically. You will hear it start and the lights will blink. Sockets are UK three pin.
Water. Tap water is not for drinking. Two large bottles are in your room daily at no charge, and the bar sells more at cost.
Accessibility. Twelve ground floor Garden Rooms have step free access from the car park and a wet room shower. The pool has steps but no hoist. The beach is reached by a boardwalk with two shallow steps.