Gambia 'The Smiling Coast'

Advantages: Sunshine, Mid-haul flight, Everyone happy and helpful
Disadvantages: Friendship is not free!

...I visited The Gambia in April 2008 and must admit I had mixed feelings when I returned. Looking back now, we did have an amazing holiday, but I will admit it was far from a relaxing experience!... however we did come home with some great memories. I had read all the reviews and was prepared for the friendliness of the locals - after all they call it the 'Smiling Coast'. Everyone is friendly, wants to show you around, take you to their home. Even when you have a bit of a tan you will get approached constantly when you are outside your hotel - predominately by the local 'bumsters', who are unemployed young Gambian men eager to earn some money by showing you around and some can be very very pushy. However, we did befriend a local and this in many ways made our holiday a lot more interesting and easier. Accompanied with a well chosen...

flamegirl75 07.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of General: The Gambia

My guide to The Gambia

Advantages: Surf, sunshine, great people
Disadvantages: Mosquitos

..., Manchester and Glasgow). We stayed in a 3 star hotel on a Bed and Breakfast basis, which cost us approx £520.00 for the fortnight. I think this is very reasonable for a two week holiday. Almost everyone I spoke to before we went, assumed that The Gambia was going to be very expensive. At this point I would say, that I wouldn't recommend anyone thinking of travelling to The Gambia, to go on an all-inclusive basis, which many of the hotels are now offering. As a rule, you can eat out for cheaper and of a better quality. You land at Banjul International Airport, which it quite an experience in itself. You need to remember to have at the ready, one crisp £5 note per person, which is your airport tax. Its a small airport but it is filled with hussle and bussle. Tthere were locals very eager to take your case from the baggage carousel through...

kez17 14.03.2004 (27.09.2004) · Read review
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Review of General: The Gambia

THE GAMBIA - memories that stick.

Advantages: Holidays to suit everyone.
Disadvantages: Cost.

...by the Africans, and was an amusement to me. Having got our bags loaded into a bus that looked like it had seen better days, we were escorted to our hotel, and the lady bus driver gave us a description of life in the Gambia. What she was really saying was "chill out folks. Life here is slow". Arriving at the hotel, we were amazed by the temperature. It was the kind of weather to be wearing shorts at 11 at night. We put the kids to bed, and were pleased to note that there was a club for children for activities during the day, and so would have some time alone. The choice of things to do in the Gambia are amazing, and we took a trip into the Bush, and travelled by boat through the mangroves. There was a man on the boat that cooked for us, and it was basically bananas with a hot sticky coat of something that ressembled toffee. They...

thingywhatsit 14.02.2004 (01.03.2004) · Read review
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Review of General: The Gambia

The Gambia Experience

Advantages: Beautiful scenery, cheap food.
Disadvantages: Some hassle from locals although most tend to be really nice

...For years I have wanted to visit the Gambia but my husband was reluctant to go as the people had a bad reputation for harassing tourists. We had read on the internet that, in some areas, it wasn’t advisable to leave your hotel. This made me a bit wary as well because, when I visit a country I like to explore it, meet the locals and try the various foods. I decided to give Gambia Experience a call. They have been specialising in the Gambia for years and have recently started flying out of Glasgow, which made it even more appealing to me. The girl I spoke to was more than happy to advise me on the liveliest areas to stay in – we didn’t want to eat in the hotel all the time and were keen to visit an area with lots of bars and restaurants within walking distance. We were advised to stay in the Kololi area so we...

rustifer 21.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of General: The Gambia

Hotel International

Advantages: Location, breakfasts
Disadvantages: Poor rooms

...I recently went on a cultural girlie trip with a friend to Paris. I was left to do all the booking. I was looking for a reasonable hotel, near a metro stop, which included breakfast. I came across the Hotel International on various travel sites and it seemed fairly highly rated so I booked us in for three nights. LOCATION: The hotel is located 6 Rue Auguste Barbier in the 11th Arrondissement. The nearest Metro stop is Garcourt which was a two minute walk away and it was a five minute walk to Republique which gives good links to other lines. It's not really central enough to avoid the Metro and walk to the attractions but it was located so close to a stop that it seemed ideal. PRICE: Prices vary depending on size of room and season. There are singles, doubles and triples available. We paid Euro254 for the whole time...

tartlette83 17.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hotel International, Paris

The Strand Palace Hotel

Advantages: Central location, clean
Disadvantages: Food, rooms

...We stayed at this hotel in London a little over a month ago now for two nights, we chose this hotel mainly because of the central location and because it was only a ten minuite walk from the show we had booked to go too. Check in was very quick - About ten minuites and the staff at the reception seemed very friendly. My first thoughts on the hotel was that it looked really clean and that it was nicely decorated and it looked modern. I was a little dissapointed with our room as it was very small and basic, our room had a double bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a tv with satellite and a small, basic en suite bathroom with a shower. The views from our room very very poor - A block of offices which made our room dark as they were so close. The hotel has two bars and two resturaunts, the bars were again nicely decorated...

kate44 03.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Strand Palace Hotel, London

sachas hotel

Advantages: good price,great location
Disadvantages: no window

...****Sachas hotel- Manchester**** I booked this hotel last minute as i had a job interview in Manchester and needed somewhere quite cheap ,that was also near the centre. **Location/Getting there** This hotel is located in Tibb street which is a 2 minute walk from Piccadily Gardens or 10 minutes away from Chorlton street bus station.The Train station is a little bit further away say maybe a twenty minute walk but i don't think that this is that bad .You can also get a tram from Piccadily gardens and this goes to quite a few places.You could also get a taxi to the hotel but i am not sure what parking is like if you were to take your own car. **Reception/staff** Since i had never been to Manchester before i phoned and asked the staff for directions -they were very nice and helped me out.When i got there i think i got the same...

katie22008m 04.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Britannia Sachas Hotel, Manchester

Fantastic Hotel

Advantages: Fantastic Food
Disadvantages: Lifts are quite small

...When we decided to make a return trip to Benalmedina we opted to go to the four star Hotel Las Arenas as it was recommended by friends. It is slightly further out just opposite the Castle Bill Bill and when you cross the road it?s a flat walk all the way to the marina which is away from the large hills on which many of the other hotels are located. Reception On arrival check in was swift and at this time we opted to pay for a safety deposit box we were then handed the safe key and card key to room 524 and pointed in the direction of the lifts. On looking round reception it was laid out with tables and chairs and also had a grand piano, a small bar ,toilets and computers with internet access. There is a large board telling you about entertainment available during the day and at night. The whole area was laid out for wheelchair access...

elspeth334 15.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Las Arenas Hotel, Benalmadena

hotel olsanka

Advantages: Cheap and cheerful
Disadvantages: Not so easy to access the town centre of prague.

...hotel olsanka prague Having been to prague recently and having stayed at this particular accomodation a few years ago, I was keen to give this place one final chance as I had had a really rubbish stay at this place. Similarly to my previous stay, I had notice that the Hotel seems to be advertised much cheaper on accomodation websites compared to near enough all other places to stay in prague. getting to the accomodation The details of getting to prague town centre are covered in my previous prague accomodation review, and whilst this accomodation is not as easy to get to location wise, a tram journey needed to get the accomodation from one of the central location's of prague town centre. booking process I booked this accomodation using a third party reservation booking website and paid around seventy euros...

costas1234 02.12.2008 (31.05.2009) · Read review
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Review of Hotel Olsanka, Prague

The Perfect Boutique Hotel

Advantages: Fabulous decor; impeccable customer service;
Disadvantages: I had to leave!

...Last week my boyfriend turned 26 and I wanted to surprise him and take him away somewhere swanky for a short break. We both work very hard and long hours so I was after somewhere where we could relax and switch off from everything for a couple of days and just feel a bit pampered. After lots of research, Dublin seemed like the ideal place and after checking out some reviews on tripadvisor, The Dylan hotel looked like the perfect choice, being rated the 2nd best hotel in the city. The Dylan is a 5 star boutique hotel based slightly outside of Dublin's main centre in a 19th-century townhouse that used to house the nurses of the nearby hospital. It's located on the South side of town by the canal in a quiet side street in a residential part of town, so you're unlikely to be bothered by any noise, but is a quick and very straightforward...

bubblegum_princess 26.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dylan Hotel, Dublin