Hôtel Les Cordons Bleus — Hotel in Arrondissement de Fimela

My wife and I spent three days here in October, which is the warmest month. What attracted us here vs Collines de Niassam (more expensive) was the air conditioning. But we discovered much more. This is a 15-room hotel consisting of individual bungalows arrayed near a central building housing the restaurant and bar. Yes, this is a 3-star, so no TV, no hair dryers and no shampoo (and no safe in our room, though I understand some rooms do have them). But don't let the stars deceive you. The room and beds are very comfortable (though not much water pressure, not the hotel's fault really), scrupulously clean and every bug-fighting technology, from mosquito nets to spraying to aromatic coils are fully deployed.||||Then there is the food. Carefully-prepared, French in style with fresh local ingredients, we ate mostly fish, all of which was excellent. The ragout de poissons in particular was outstanding. We took every meal here, and our taste buds and stomachs were very happy. The setting is informal, and staff ask you to choose beforehand your meal from two options for each of appetizer, entree and dessert. The terrace, overlooking the river, is magical, and invites lingering. The Wifi is free and works in the restaurant/terrace area. There is no wifi in the rooms.||||Which brings us to the key of the hotel's charm: the owners and staff. Lionel is an expatriated French lawyer, and Lena is his Senegalese wife previously with an NGO in Dakar. The hotel is a labor of love for them, and it shows in the happiness of the staff, who are all friendly and professional. Lionel and Lena interact with their guests, are incredibly friendly, genuine and welcoming, and sat with us for a while after each dinner. They are also there to help and make sure everything is ok throughout the day. This made for a club-like or family atmosphere, and allowed us to learn a lot about the country and region. And the kicker: sharing with Lionel his trademark digestif: le sputnik! I won't reveal the recipe. You need to try it.||||As far as activities, not to be missed are the ATM quad rides available from the hotel. These are incredibly exotic 2-3 hour excursions with a local guide: salt flats, beaches, villages, termite hills, river crossings, palm forests, like touring another planet, amazing. And then there are all the boat and village tours for which the region is famous.||||Merci les...

Absolutement parfait! It was more than I could have expected and I loved my time here; I wish I could’ve stayed the whole trip in this hotel. My little cabin was so cute and clean. The air conditioning worked the whole time, the electricity worked the whole time. It was very clean and smelled wonderful. The bathroom was very nice, with hot water and a separate toilet from the sink. Mosquito nets provided (and needed), TWO beds to the room! a twin and a queen, very comfortable. I had a fantastic night’s sleep. The pools were a lovely surprise when I arrived, as my tour guide had booked the accommodations for me, and they were very clean and very beautiful. One is an infinity pool and the other is large enough for laps. Finally, the food was scrumptious! I had a three course meal included in my stay (as well as a delicious breakfast omelette the next morning) of a seafood starter- phenomenal, we’re right on the beach, how much fresher can you get; a VERY tender cut of beef and french fries and vegetables; and a cute miniature french toast type dessert. My companions had similar meals but fresh fried fish with fruit for dessert, plus fresh fruit-based alcoholic cocktails which they loved. I enjoyed every minute of my stay at Les Cordons Bleus and I would absolutely come back. Every staff member was kind and attentive and the owner sat with us, invited us to an end of meal drink, and chatted about all of our lives and travels. I truly loved staying here. Will update with further photos upon...

I stayed with my husband at Les Cordons Bleus in December 2018. It was quite a disappointment, compared to other places we have stayed in Siné Saloum. I would not recommend.

First of all, we found it to be overpriced – the prices of the rooms/meals did not reflect the quality or service delivered. We were also told by the manager that drinks were included, but we found out upon arrival, that these were additional charges. We also found the hotel to be poorly maintained.

In terms of food – despite verifying several times that vegetarian food would be possible – they made very little effort. For example – one meal was cheese on toast, with a bit of tomato…they also reheated meals again and again (for the same evening or the following day) – appalling service!

In all honesty, it didn’t look much like the photos – there was a massive fence around the compound which obscured the beautiful views of the delta. There were also no hammocks as shown in the photos – one of the reasons I had booked. It definitely wasn’t the peaceful “retreat” we’d hoped for – with music all day and in the evenings – and staff shouting at each other to communicate in the...