Bakotu Hotel

Bakotu has been hosting British package holidays since 1984, but what really sets it apart is its position right beside Kotu Stream — one of the best birdwatching spots in West Africa. Resident birding guides lead early-morning walks straight from the lobby, and the hotel's own gardens turn up plenty of species before you've even left. It's a comfortable, unpretentious three-star with 78 rooms set around a pool and mature gardens, a short walk from Kotu Beach. Facilities cover the basics well — pool, restaurant, bar, WiFi and the garden that birders prize — without the scale or bustle of the bigger strip resorts. That suits its core crowd: returning birdwatchers and couples after a quiet, well-located base rather than nightlife. For anyone pairing beach time with The Gambia's famous birdlife, few hotels are better placed.