We stayed in the middle of january 2012 for 7 days. Outstanding place!! Lovely rooms, beautiful garden with pool and great (homecooked) food. In the middle of a village. If you want to connect with the local people, then this is the right place for you. If you are after a fancy enviroment around the corner (beach promenade, discos, gift shops) then you are in the wrong place. The staff working in the house are very willing to show you round the village, to the beach or to all other places to visit. Self-evident, they do it in order to earn a tip and not solely because you are nice guys:-) But still you can be good friends with them.
Additional info for excursions: In general the people in the Gambia are quite relaxed and don't harass you as much as they sometimes do in Noth Africa (Egypt, Tunisia..). They approach you but if you show that you want to be kept alone, they quite quickly accept this. If you still feel to annoyed you best take a guide to show you round and he will keep all the others away. Advantage here: he will be able to buy stuff for you at a cheaper price, esp if you keep a bit behind.
BIRD WATCHING IN HIBISCUS HOUSE: they have waterfilled plates throughout the place, you can see very nice birds, just take your time and bring binoculars for close up, plate in front of room 2 was the best when we stayed. Birds take a bath in the plates too.
ABUKO NATURE RESERVE: hail a yellow (local) taxi at the main road or ask staff to order a yellow taxi. Pay entrance fee at abuko (30 Dalasi i think) and either take a guide or leave it. Guides are able to point out birds to you (recommendation for the "blind" fellows amongst us), but if you have some experience+binoculars+patience+use your ears and common sense, you are able see much by yourself very easily. The apes are anyway not very shy and are easily spotted.
BIJOLO FOREST PARK: basically the same applies here.. When returning: yellow taxis are easily catched from main road 10 mins walk away..
BIRD WATCHING IN A BOAT, starting point at Denton bridge: When its low tide the mudbanks in the creeks are exposed and birds forage there, binoculars very helpful! You don't really need a bird guide on the boat, just keep own eyes open! We went to pelican island and back, I guess thats the usual route..Took us 4 hours.
TOUR THROUGH THE VILLAGE: best take a local guide (ask hotel staff), you can easily combine this with a walk to the beach. This way you get to know how to get to the beach and to the bar mentioned below. He might show you the local bakery, the school etc, maybe even a compound - the locals name for private house(s) including grounds
DRUMMING AND DANCING PERFORMANCE: There is a music bar in walking distance. Location: "crossing" where the track to the beach leaves from the main road. They have some drums standing if front of the place. At the moment the have sth on every sunday evening, you only pay what you drink and eat (BBQ). And a tip for the band. Some neighbours/locals might pop round to dance which makes a good party!! You can walk back home (no street lights though), if you know your way!! We did...
BUY A DJEMBE: Someone told me they have only three "Djembe factories"-looked more like some workshops-in the Gambia. All other places just trade them. Nearest place here: Serrekunda, not far from the SOS childrens villages, maybe a 5 min taxi drive.

Hibuiscus House is everything you could want in a hotel and more. We were collected from the airport and although we did feel a little anxious as it was our first time in The Gambia we soon put all our fears to rest when we arrived at the hotel. The hotel rooms are well spaced amongst the very mature gardens, the pool, bar and relaxing areas are all wonderfully equipped with plenty of places to read books and relax. We had a week at Hibiscus House over the New Year and mixed days lazing by the pool with guided tours and a new years day boat ride. Musa is the most wonderful chef - every meal we had was delicious and authentic with a real Gambian heat! Attention to detail is paramount at Hibiscus - nothing is ever too much trouble and the staff are always on hand to help and always with a huge smile. The New Year's eve party was fabulous and with a real mix of people- it gave for a very different welcome to the New Year. Everything is super relaxed and taking things as they come is the order of the day. As the hotel is small some days you would have the pool all to yourself - although the pool is lovely it is quite chilly - perfect to cool you off from the sun. All in all this hotel is superb for an off the beaten track experience and real taste of Gambia.

We stayed at Hibiscus House for two nights at the end of our holiday in The Gambia. We had previously been up the river for 3 nights and on the the beach near Kartong for 3 nights. Both simple but fabulously located places. Hibiscus was the opposite. Hibiscus House is a brilliant little oasis but not in a great location. It is located in the village of Brufut and out of place in a village with poverty all around. It is also not near anything of interest with the closest beach a 20 min walk.

That said the room was great and really well done, the pool area was incredibly relaxing, the staff brilliant and the food the best we had while in The Gambia.

So whilst having mixed feelings about the place we did have two really nice days at Hibiscus.

Liam and Alex

We spent 10 days at Hibiscus House between 21st - 31st December. It was our first trip to The Gambia and it certainly didn't disappoint. Hibiscus House is a hidden oasis in the middle of Brufut village. You really do get the best of both worlds, luxury accomodation and excellent service combined with the opportunity to embrace the local way of life and venture out and explore. If you are after a small, rustic, boutique style hotel away from the main toursit strip then this is the hotel for you. The gambain staff at the hotel are extremely friendly and hard working, they cannot do enough for you to make your stay extra special. We found everyone we met to be very friendly and felt safe travelling around by foot,local taxis or geli geli (these are local minibuses-travelling by these is bit of a culture shock but great experience and very cheap....only 7 dalasi). Alagie (a local guide recommended to us by Hibiscus House) was an excellent guide and friend to us during our staff and we enjoyed the days out and trips we spent together. The beaches are beautiful and very quiet, you can walk to Brufut beach from the hotel, and if you lose your bearings the local children will point you in the right direction! The trips booked through the hotel are reasonably priced but if you want to save some money and go on an adventure then try travelling around by geli geli.You can catch these local minibuses from the end of the road outside Hibiscus, under the mango tree! The food and drinks at the hotel was slightly more expensive compared to restaurants/bars in Senagambia (main tourist area) but we cannot fault it.Everything we tried off the menu at the hotel was delicious and tasted very fresh!

We have so many fantastic memories of our stay it was definately a christmas we will never forget. A special thank you to Bakary, Fatu, Lamin, Mousa, Fatu(Mummy), Alagie and the rest of the team at Hibiscus House,we will stay in touch!