We stayed in Sandale for 5 wonderful days and it was just what we were looking for - a lilltle piece of heaven on a glorious beach ! We walked for miles each day on the beach and it was clean and safe - the few people we met were very friendly and we were not bothered by alot of people trying to sell us stuff. The bungalows at Sandale are absolutely beautiful, they are very large and simply but beautifully decorated - lying in the huge bed under the mosquito net at night ,all you could hear was the sound of the surf - very relaxing and romantic - every morning there was a tray of tea put out in the room to give us a gentle start to the day! The whole consept of the place apealed to us as they are putting money back into the community instead of pumping it out of the country like alot of the big resorts do. Everyone who works there are people from the area and we were told that 30% of the nightly rates go back to the village .The owner Maurice is a really nice guy - he made us feel very welcome and as if we were visiting a private estate instead of a hotel. The staff at Sandale are lovely and so friendly and made us feel right at home. They are also very knowlegable about the area - we went on a bicicle tour one day with one of the staff called Oma - he showed us arround Kartong village and the surrounding area - we had a great day and learned alot from him. The food was also nice - we could choose if we ate at the little restaurant, in our lodge or on the beach which we often did - they brought everything down to us with a smile and a chat. The sun goes down directly infont of the Sandale and watching the sun set on the beach can be recomended. We were so glad we came down to this area instead of staying on the tourist strip in Kotu - we stayed there the first 2 nights and it was noisy and you were haggled by bumsters everywhere you went, the place was crawling with tourists and big resorts. If we had just stayed there I dont think we would have wanted to come back to Gambia, but now after staying in Kartong at the Sandale - we cant wait to get back. Thank you Maurice and staff at the Sandale for the wonderfull stay in your little piece of paradise. Monica and Knut.