Africa/Middle East Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Africa/Middle East inc.Dubai
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hi we have been a few times to gambia and stayed at badela park the first time..

the staff were ok but the rooms and complex reminded us of prisoner cell block H....

the rooms had dirty falling apart mossie nets and the doors to the room had 1 inch gaps between the door and the floor allowing all insects into the room.

it nearly put us off ever going again to gambia but we tried again and stayed at sunbeach in cape point and it was 20x better.
bear in mind this was about 5 years ago we stayed there it may have improved a lot..
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:yikes I wish now I hadnt looked at that report del949!!!

There was me thinking ok the Gambians are fed up with us tourists spending our money in Lebanese hotels where the money goes straight out of the country...sooo why not stay in a Gambian owned hotel to show support!!! :tup

Also fed up of having problems bringing sponsered child into hotels to use the pool etc :duh

BUT I do like a clean bedroom and a decent breakfast (sets you up for day) :)

Think I could of made a mistake booking this hotel :whoops

ps. sorry I love these animations
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Re bringing sponsored children into the hotel, I do question whether that is a good idea anyway.
Children don't , by and large, find themselves around the touristy areas. The tourist police try to keep the area reserved for the workers and the tourists, otherwise you have a big bumster and begging problem. Without a doubt your motives for sponsoring a child are very noble but you are creating a situation where a very small number of people are beneficiaries. It's no wonder that every where you go you are approached by someone who "wants to be your friend". As a result of sponsorships the Gambian tourist industry may well be suffering in other ways.
I think the idea of keeping the money in the Gambia in terms of hotel choice is also well motivated but again possibly a little naive. Locally owned businesses probably don't recirculate any more cash than foreign owned ones. They both employ locals and the profits are not necessarily re invested in the Gambian economy .
Back to the pool, does a trip to a hotel pool leave a child thinking " I am lucky, that was a great day out " or " I am so unlucky to be poor and deprived".
Just a thought. It strikes me that so many people are happy in ignorance, unhappy when they know what others have.
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