We went to Palm Grove 3 years ago The Hotel had entertainment most nights for about an hour or so Africain dancers Snake charmers and singers etc, That was in October at the beginning of the season So I am sure there will be some shows on over the the Xmas period. They also did a ocasional evening meal buffet outside in the gardens which was very nice

Hi, thanks for that, I noticed on the hotels own site and the travel agents site that there were no reviews whatsoever, we are going half board but everyone I have spoken to says it is so cheap to eat out that we would have been better off going B&B, do you agree about how low the cost of living is?

We have the Palm Grove listed in our review section but not reviews yet, Knitter, we'd love it if you add one for us.

Palm Grove

We went half board as well. which because the hotel is fairly remote i think is better.
Though there are cards and leaflets around the hotel offering free taxis if you ate at some of the restaurents in the nearby town. We had a nice 3 course meal and bottle of wine and a couple of extra beers and it came to about £20 pound one night.
There was a little beach hut a couple of minutes from the palm grove A larger than life lady ran it, she was on her own with 3 small children ...Very very basic you could get a meal here We never but some from our hotel did ...But 2 beers at this hut use to cost us about 20 pence !!!!!!!
We gave her all our toiletres when we left but she most appreciated the couple packets of painkillers i left her for her " Headaches and Womens Problems" makes you realise how lucky you are have the money and just popping down to tescos for a packet
Watch out for hundreds of little frogs in the hotel especially the open plan bar area (not sure if they were there because it was the end of the rainy season when we went ) but you had to watch were you put your feet when you went to get a drink some nights ....... who needs to entertainment when you could watch them

I promise I will post a reveiw at weekend Sarah

Hi, thank you so much, that is very helpful, especially about being remote, i wasn't aware of that. how easy and how far is it to the nearest built up town area? and is it safe to go. I read somewhere about not trusting the taxi's in the Gambia, what do you think, are they ok? is there such a thing as a bus route day or evening? sorry to keep bombarding you with questions but I am finding it difficult to get more info than the brochure. My husband asked are there any ATM, or cash machines as we know them? if not, does the hotel change money. I am so looking forward to going because we always like to try somewhere different each year. Next year we are looking at Cape Verde, have you been there?

we'll hold you to it knitter

I am sure you will love Gambia I am surprised its not got more of a following like Goa Its only a 6 hour flight similar weather Friendly people always smiling You will experience poverty and begging outside the hotel grounds.
The taxis we used were arranged by the hotel Or the free ones organsised by the restaurents and bar who want your custom.
The hotel is set back of a main road opposite the prison!!! there are a a couple shops and stalls a 5 /10 min walk away But no bars as such ...... though this was 3 years ago so it could of changed. The hotel bar closes at 1am.... Not sure about ATMs we used the hotel to exchange our money.

Trips are fairly cheap We used the travel company(thomas Cook) All day jeep trip £20 Night out with the reps Free first drink in each bar was about £10 .. River boat trip retracing american slavery was about £20.
You can also take a Guide and do your own trips lots of the hotel staff offer their services on their days off

Never been to Cape Verde we are going to Goa this Xmas and have just booked the Maldives for Christmas 2008 as its the big 50 and my 25th wedding aniversary ...... I better get saving

ps I have posted a reveiw

many thanks for your detailed description, I am certainly looking forward to our trip even more now. This will be our first Xmas away from home so I dont know what that experience will be like, keen to find out though. My son went to Goa on his honeymoon and told us about the begging and maiming there, is the Gambia on the same scale? I hope that after our trip we will be able to post our own review. Your review makes it sound great, many thanks. I have since found out that there are ATM's in the hotel, according to Thomas Cook anyway. Would you recommend travelers cheques and what is the currency there? I can then find out the exchange rates and so on. My husband is a smoker, unfortunately, and he has asked if cigarettes and alcohol is cheap to buy to bring home or is it better to buy in duty free at the airport?

Hi All,
We're off to the Gambia staying at the Palm Grove Hotel in January.I believe it's quite remote....can anyone tell us how far to the nearest pub/ restaurant? Or better still can anyone recommend anywhere good for us to go.....Thanks Lynda

HI ,In gambian terms its not so remote,atms only accept visa cards note VISA,you can withdraw2000 dalasi at a time 3/4 times at once remember each wittdrawal charged separately,so can be pricey am express travellers cheques safer .though pay out is one dalasi less than currency rate chill cheers maxie

We didn't stay at the Palm Grove but met people who did. They said it was "alright" but not up to much. There is a decent beach bar next door which is pretty good. It's a fair walk to Kotu village but easily do able. Take a torch though. At low tide you can take a short cut along the beach but you need to check the tide times to make sure you can get back the same way. The problem is the Kotu river which is too deep to wade through at high tide. Low tide it's just a few inches deep.