Sunset Beach Hotel (formerly the Kotu
Strand) lies on the oceanfront with a nearby creek estuary
adding a nice picturesque touch.
Hotel Room Facilities & Services:
97
air-conditioned en-suite hotel rooms (226 twin / double
beds)
A Standard room sleeps 3 persons
Apartments sleep 4 guests and come with a lounge & kitchen
for self-catering
2 pin sockets
Smoke / fire detector & emergency lights
Cable satellite TV with 12 channels (BBC, CNN etc.)
IDD telephone
Internet connection possible
Fridge
Electronic safe with private El-safe code
Some self-catering suites available
General Facilities & Services:
1 bar
2 restaurants
Swimming pool with side snacks kiosk
Children's bathing area
Poolside attendants with fresh towels
Tropical gardens
Sunbathing terrace with padded sun loungers
Mini-market & fashion boutique
Zahra Hair Salon
Massage studio
Foreign exchange desk
Sports include such as shoreline volley ball, football,
table tennis and darts
Review:
Sunset Beach Hotel is on a span of well-kept beachfront,
with the estuary of the local
stream
as an added scenic feature. Formerly known as the
Kotu Strand Hotel it was planned and constructed in
1979 by Stig Bengtsson. The buildings were more functionally
efficient that aesthetically pleasing: a mix of 50
double and triple rooms with shower, with
fake ceilings of painted Canadian plywood, snug carpets
and efficient Swedish sanitation
made it almost impermeable to Gambian bugs.
The accommodation has formal parallel blocks first
spared from any over identical harshness by borders
of amazing
hibiscus, trimmed hedges
and lawns of Bermuda Grass brought in locally; then
by the back were added 50 units with 18 self-catering
apartments, all with shower, built in 1987-1988.
All of this deteriorated after the demise of the owner
and his uncertain succession, until 2001
Lebanese lessees
began a major reconstruction.
There is a good pool and a rooftop terrace on one
of the two restaurants; the food is exceptional. The
majority of the hotel rooms are in somewhat stuffy
and no-frills bungalows in well-ordered rows but the
place is well-furnished and tidy. Over the years Sunset
Beach Hotel it has grown in popularity as shown by
the substantial number of repeat guests to Kotu.
Breakfast is at the Cafe and Grill. Lunch is served
here as well and every day their chief chef and his
team prepare a daily specialty from the West African
Region. Dinner is served in the Bar & Grill or
in the cafe.
Note: During the winter holiday season the room board
basis is bed and breakfast, half-board or full board
as well as all-inclusive.
Gambia
Hotels Finder
97
air-conditioned en-suite hotel rooms (226 twin / double
beds) 
