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About
#1 of 10 hotels in Kotu
Location
4.4
Cleanliness
4.3
Service
4.1
Value
4.3
Renown and well established, Bakotu is a small, friendly hotel that offers guests a quiet, relaxing atmosphere uniquely surrounded by nature. Rooms with comfy beds are clustered around beautiful mature gardens. Your patio and our platform that overlooks tidal Kotu Stream are ideal for animal and birdwatching. Relax by pool or get a massage. Enjoy a drink people-watching or a cocktail at the bar by the pool. There are two restaurants. For dinner Captain’s Table offers excellent cuisine. Free wifi, a mini-supermarket, a laundry service and friendly staff are here to help you enjoy your stay. Great variety and more entertainment is conveniently on your doorstep - the beautiful beach of Kotu beckons, nature walks galore, trips and guides, the hustle and bustle. Ideal for those looking for variety and something a little bit different. A warm genuine Gambian welcome awaits you!
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Property amenities
Free public parking nearby
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Pool
Free breakfast
Beach
Horseback riding
Massage
Concierge
Street parking
Public wifi
Outdoor pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Poolside bar
Fishing
Convenience store
Sun terrace
Sun umbrellas
24-hour front desk
Laundry service
Ironing service
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Room features
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Safe
Seating area
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Extra long beds
Bath / shower
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
HOTEL STYLE
Centrally Located
Languages Spoken
English, French, Danish, Dutch and 3 more
Location
72Somewhat walkable
Grade: 72 out of 100
15Restaurantswithin 0.75 miles
2Attractionswithin 0.75 miles
Contact
2 Kotu Stream Road, Kotu Gambia
Getting there
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586Reviews55Q+A100Room tips
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+1
The Bakotu hotel is an oasis of calm. Located next to the Kotu creek - you are surrounded by trees, visiting birds and a small troupe of green monkeys. The staff could not be friendlier or more helpful - they really go out of their way to make your stay comfortable. The rooms are basic and comfortable with a small patio area in front of each. We hired the fridge and fan - which I would recommend. The onsite supermarket provides all the essentials. Within a 2 minute walk of the hotel are half a dozen restaurants. We ate in all of them and felt they offered better food and atmosphere than our meal on the Sennegambia strip. Aroma was our favourite - do not miss the Gambian Domoda, Benechin or Yassa dishes - all equally tasty. The fish here is the freshest we've known. Our TUI rep summed it up right "you will never be lonely in the Gambia". EVERYONE you meet will want to speak with you. Go with the flow - it is very weird at first - but once you acclimatise to it it makes for great enjoyment. Everyone just wants to know you are having a good time and are loving the country. I do not recognise the "bumster" characterisation for people outside the hotel. All the people who approached us outside the hotel were offering a real service - taxi, money exchange, local guiding, restaurant. No one was begging - we never encountered a beggar in our week trip. If you say "no thanks", or "maybe later" they will 100% respect that and not push - but maybe only after exchanging names, where you are from, are you having a good time etc. The beach is 2mins from the hotel and is glorious. The Dominos beach bar offer cheap beds and nice food / drinks- but there are many options along the beach. Definitely do a 1 hour boat trip with the birdwatching association at the Kotu bridge - 2mins from the hotel. Try the fruit from the ladys on the beach front - they make an awesome fruit salad and the fruit smoothies from any of the blue kiosks are delicious too. You will see a few reviews that, in my view, are quite moany. Yes there is only wifi in the bar area - but its a beautiful bar and it kept us off our phones! Breakfast is basic but tasty and delivered with a smile. If you are still hungry there are multiple cheap choices on your doorstep. Basically - go with the right attitude and you will have an amazing time. Final shout out for "Happy Bob" a private tour guide who works out of the delicious Aroma bar. He is very trustworthy and comes highly recommended. We had many chats and he took us on a local tour to the monkey park - a must do. If you are looking to see some real Gambia on a bigger tour - I would recommend Black and White tours. Google them or check them out on tripadvisor. Their office is on the Sennegambia trip and they are a very professional outfit. I'm sure the TUI subcontracted Gambia tours are good - but Black and White are dedicated to supporting the local community. When you find out there is no such thing as free schooling or any form of social security - you start to realise how important your business is. We had one of our best holidays here and I would not want to stay anywhere else in The Gambia.…
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Hire the fan and fridge. Meet Happy Bob - he's a dude.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
4 Helpful votes
Helpful
If you like tropical gardens, no TV's, music and just want to chill out, this is the place. Nice rooms too. But very extra costs for fans, safe, AC and fridge. Breakfast is poor & slow. With no choice, you have what they want you to have! Half board, NOT worth it! Again limited choice, of two items. There a number of restaurant's across the street, pizza, Gambas & fillet steak, for £5 to £6. Nice pool area, but not enough shade & stupid floor tiles that get too hot, you burn your feet! Hotel should only use captions table restaurant at night, too quiet for both!!
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Bring beach towels and electrical item to boil water in your room, to make tea or coffee!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
First the Gambian style. Every 20m they will ask you for something, buying, giving....but Always smiling. It's also very safe. No criminality. Then the place. Kotu beach is a nice place with some small good restaurants. Less expensive than on the strip. Also a good beach made from sand. Then the hotel. 80 rooms in bungalows in a nice park. Most of the time you hear only the birds. Only when power breakdown you will hear generators. Rooms are nice and clean. Dont forger to leave your key if you want cleaning. Don't forget the tip. Shower is ok. Bad point, no sunbathing towels at all. Give a tip to the cleaning and ask for more small towels. Breakfast is not flexible and no buffet. Every day cereals, then eggs and bread with one type of jam and peanut butter. Bad coffre - Nescafé. Ok for 3 days....After that, ask for cheese if you dare.....they just will not listen to you and turn back ( the tall girl is rude. Others are friendly). No discipline, no cleaning of thé tables, foam matrasses at the pool are dirty ans always wet. Leave a glass there and you will find it tomorrow on the same place. A fan and a small safe at the reception will cost you 140€ for 14 days. Far too expensive for this country. So, we have still a good holiday -2 days to go- are not dissapointed but this hotel definitively needs a better manager.…
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
A very attractive small hotel set in beautiful gardens with palm trees and lots of wildlife. It is in a good, quiet location a stone’s throw from Kotu beach. The rooms are fairly basic but comfortable enough with the best showers I’ve had anywhere! The staff are all amazing, friendly and helpful. And now for the ‘buts’, and I’m afraid there are a few. Let’s start with the frequently mentioned breakfast which really is dire. As so many others have said, it consists of eggs every day cooked in a rotation of ways - boiled, scrambled, omelette, fried - with some fairly bizarre accompaniments such as banana or a burger…. If you don’t like/can’t eat eggs then tough luck. Then there are the ‘extras’. We could live without a fridge or a fan, but I totally agree that you shouldn’t have to pay the ridiculous amounts required. We did need a safety deposit box though, and that cost us the equivalent of £46 for two weeks, total robbery, these should be free and in every room. Is having as many mattresses as there are sun beds really too much to ask? It’s not as if there are hundreds of sun beds! I’m sure that the hotel has some management, but whoever they were, they were completely invisible. If they had been present I would made some friendly and polite suggestions, there is little point in complaining to the breakfast waitress, she is only doing what she is told.…
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: No need to go half board, there are good restaurants nearby.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
+1
We chose this hotel for it's wildlife and we weren't dissappointed. The rooms are basic but comfortable. Bed was comfy. Was suprised to find out that there were no toiletries or hairdryer in the room. There are no tea/coffee making facilities or phones either. Fridge hire is expensive and is something we wouldn't bother with on a next visit. Our room wasn't cleaned for 4 days as we weren't made aware of having to hand the key in to reception early to get it cleaned. Adami was brilliant once we got cleaning sorted. She made sure everything was clean. Breakfast was boring. Different cereal,fruit juice and eggs everyday. Bread was ok though. The site itself is lovely and clean. The staff were all friendly. Can't comment on the onsite restaurants as we ate out. Decent places over the road to eat. We tried them all. I'd stay here again,loved it.…
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
+ Beautiful hotel and surroundings + Helpful and friendly staff + Fresh room + Fresh pool + Less than 1 minute to very good beach + Monkeys in the park around the hotel, fun to see - No fan in room, can get hot at night Eat at Domino's on the beach, good food.
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip: Visit Monkey park, safari in Senegal, eat at Domino's and Solomons.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
+1
Mostly bungalows set in well kept tropical gardens, the rooms are basic but comfortable. The beds best ever! Wildlife all around, birdsong and toads also monkeys often around. Our room was very well cleaned every day. All the staff very keen to help with anything. Breakfasts a bit predicable after a few days. We stayed bed and breakfast so explored the numerous local restaurants in the evenings where a fair price gets a good meal.
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
My partner and I stayed at Bakotu in February 2023 and have very mixed feelings about the place. The grounds are by far the highlight, with rooms set in a tropical environment which is great for birdwatching and monkey spotting. You wake up in the morning to the sound of the birds and fall asleep at night to the tune of the bull frogs in the nearby ponds. The staff are also very friendly, especially Haddy who runs the bar! Our room was also comfortable with a hot, powerful shower. But, we felt that the following points really let the hotel down: Food - breakfast really is as bad as other reviewers have commented. What is dressed up as a la carte basically means you get no choice whatsoever. Every morning is the same, a small bowl of cereal followed by eggs. If you don't like eggs u are not offered an alternative, so unfortunately for me I just ate cereal. Dinner isn't much better in terms of quality and the service is beyond slow! Expect to sit for 2 hours with huge gaps between courses. You really don’t need to stay half board here, there are several really good restaurants just across the road as we found out when we decided we weren’t going to spend our holiday eating food we didn’t want to eat. Charges - the next thing is that everything, and I mean everything, costs extra! Our room did not have soap, which we had to buy ourselves, and on realising that our room neither had a fan, nor air-conditioning, we were told that to hire a fan for the week would cost us £30! If we had wanted air conditioning, this would have cost us £80 and a fridge would have cost us £60. Given we paid £1700 to stay here for a week, I think this is disgraceful! Soap should be a basic provision given that we have just come out of a worldwide pandemic, and a fan should also be included in the room rate given that it is above 30° every day. House keeping - on the 4th day our room had still not been cleaned and our bathroom bin was overflowing because we were being responsible and not putting paper down the toilet. when we finally asked when it was going to be done, we were told at that point that if we wanted our room cleaned we should leave our key at reception. Nobody had explained this before. Communication - In general the hotel needs to improve communication with guests. Critical things like the time of breakfast and dinner, what to do to get a maid service, which taxis are safe for tourists to use and that reception can help organise them, all would have been good to know when we arrived. If it were not for the hard working staff and the beautiful grounds, we would have scored this hotel a 2. Given the complaints we heard when talking to other guests we were not alone in our views. If some critical things could be addressed this hotel could be wonderful!…
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip: Quieter rooms are at the back away from the pool.
Happy hour is 4 pm to 6 pm in the bar out...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
This was my first Solo trip and I could not have asked for a better location or hotel. The staff were so friendly and supportive particularly Bai, Muller and Sal. The room was spacious with a comfortable bed and modern shower. The gardens were tropical teaming with wildlife including monkeys tortoises and birds. It had a laid back chilled vibe and would be perfect for anyone who needs a quieter holiday. I would highly recommend for any Solo traveller.
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
Stayed here for 2 weeks. We have been here 3 times before so we know what it's like and that's why we love it. Rooms are comfy and clean, beds especially comfortable. The grounds are green and tropical and provide good cover for the gekos, bull frogs and birds. The green back monkeys also roam about and can be noisy but this is Africa! The staff are a joy! Haly tends bar and always has a welcoming smile. The breakfast team are friendly and very accommodating for those of us with special food needs. The food is good, we ate at the Boabab bar and Captain's table and both are equally very good food and service. I know the Internet is very intermittent but I don't go on holiday to be on my phone every minute. Opposite is the beach, but be warned when you walk through the craft Market the locals will want you to look at their wares and will talk to you. Be kind they are only trying to earn a living, it is a very poor country. They are friendly and chatty and will understand if you say no thanks. The reception staff Lamin and Bai were very helpful and friendly. This is the best place to stay for the bird watching and has a river side platform to see the wildlife. Above all its quiet, relaxing, welcoming and just charming.…
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Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
PRICE RANGE
$75 - $85 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
bakotu hotel kotu
LOCATION
GambiaBanjul DivisionKotu
NUMBER OF ROOMS
80
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Frequently Asked Questions about Bakotu Hotel
Which popular attractions are close to Bakotu Hotel?
Nearby attractions include Kotu Beach (0.1 miles) and Liv Bar (0.09 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Bakotu Hotel?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and a pool.
Which room amenities are available at Bakotu Hotel?
Top room amenities include air conditioning, extra long beds, and a seating area.
What food & drink options are available at Bakotu Hotel?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge during their stay.
Is parking available at Bakotu Hotel?
Yes, free public parking nearby and street parking are available to guests.
What are some restaurants close to Bakotu Hotel?
Conveniently located restaurants include Ningki Nangka Restaurant, Kunta Kinteh Beach Complex, and Tandoor.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Bakotu Hotel?
Yes, guests have access to a pool during their stay.
Is Bakotu Hotel located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.4 miles away from the center of Kotu.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Bakotu Hotel?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian.
Are there any historical sites close to Bakotu Hotel?
Many travelers enjoy visiting National Museum (8.6 miles).
Is Bakotu Hotel accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access. For specific inquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.