Travellers now have more power to respond to the hospitality they get, says HawaiianIslands.com. Good or bad and trip reviews are a way of returning the warmth offered by friendly hotels or warning fellow travellers away from unwelcoming ones.

As part of efforts to find out which hotels are top rated when it comes to friendliness, HawaiianIslands.com analysed millions of publicly available Tripadvisor reviews and ranked international hotels that are most frequently described as “friendly”.

Only hotels with at least 1 000 reviews were considered and only English-language reviews were considered. The analysis is correct as of October 2023.

“Africa’s friendliest hotels are the second friendliest on average, after those of Europe,” said HawaiianIslands.com.

The site’s research found that a pair of hotels in Gambia are the friendliest of African hotels, with the Kombo Beach Hotel in Kotu being known for welcoming back repeat guests. Customer service is the key.

A guest said: “The night manager Alpha is above and beyond helpful,” and “he regularly asks all the guests if they are okay and makes us feel that nothing is a problem for him. Total asset to this hotel.”

When it comes to South Africa, the study found that the Tulbagh Boutique Heritage Hotel (South Africa) is the third friendliest in Africa, with 47.08% of reviewers calling it “friendly”.

Here is the list of the top 10 “friendliest” hotels in Africa.

1. Kombo Beach Hotel Gambia – 52.7% reviews saying it was friendly.

2. Ocean Bay Hotel & Resort Gambia – 49.9% friendly reviews.

3. Tulbagh Boutique Heritage Hotel, South Africa – 47.08% friendly reviews.

4. Nubian Island, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – 46.41% friendly reviews.

5. Maharba Beach, Sousse Tunisia – 46.23 friendly reviews.

6. Iberostar Club Palmeraie, Marrakech Morocco – 46.05% friendly reviews.

7. Hotel Kanta, Hammam Sousse, Tunisia – 45.45% friendly reviews.

8. Veranda Paul et Virginie Hotel & Spa, Grand Gaube Mauritius – 44.55% friendly reviews.

9. A’Zambezi River Lodge, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – 43.45% friendly reviews.

10. Nubian Village Hotel, Sharm El Sheikh Egypt – 43.19% friendly reviews.

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