By Yunus S Saliu
As reviewed by the tourists in a recent survey published by Business Insider Africa (BIA), the Kombo Beach Hotel located in Kotu is been rated the world’s friendliest hotel “with 52.74% of reviewers calling it ‘friendly.'”
According to a recent survey the BIA stated that “the Kombo Beach Hotel in Kotu is known for welcoming back repeat guests, and customer service is the key. On Tripadvisor, 52.7% of reviews for Kombo Beach Hotel in Kotu, The Gambia, mention the word “friendly” – the most of any hotel in Africa and worldwide.”
One of the guests stated “The Night Manager, Alpha is above and beyond helpful. He regularly asks all the guests if they are okay and makes us feel that nothing is a problem for him. A total asset to this hotel.”
“Just three miles of shoreline away is the Ocean Bay Hotel and Resort, with 49.9% “friendly” reviews, the second most friendly of any hotel on the continent. Outside the Gambia, Africa’s friendliest hotels are mostly a mix of sea, lake, and riverside reports.”
Meanwhile, the countries with the friendliest hotels are clustered in Europe, with four of the top five — including the UK’s Belmore Court and Motel — on the ‘old continent.’ Africa’s friendliest hotels are the second friendliest on average, after those of Europe.
To determine the friendliest hotels for hospitality around the world, HawaiianIslands.com analyzed 12.6 million reviews of more than 14,000 4- and 5-star hotels around the world. Hotels were ranked based on the percentage of publicly available Tripadvisor reviews that contain the word “friendly.” “Only hotels with at least 1,000 reviews were considered.”
However, another key finding from the survey is the friendliest hotel in the U.S. is The Royal Sonesta Portland Downtown in Oregon (43.57%), North America’s friendliest hotel is the Summit Lodge Boutique Hotel in Whistler, Canada (47.10%), Europe’s friendliest hotel is 3HB Clube Humbria in Olhos de Agua, Portugal (52.11%) and the friendliest hotel in the UK is the Belmore Court and Motel in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland (50.47%).