"Dear Hotel Rocco Sarde,
Thank you for your response to my husband’s review. However, I feel I must follow up to correct several misleading claims and to provide further context for future guests considering your hotel — especially those, like us, who may be visiting for a special occasion such as a honeymoon.
Firstly, the pool bar was never open during our entire stay.
It was closed every day, and we were there for 10 days. I had to carry drinks down some steep steps myself — a precarious and unsafe experience — and when I asked the barman, I was told I shouldn’t be doing that. No alternative was offered, and certainly no drinks service was provided by the pool. The hotel’s response implies we had access to poolside amenities from 10am to 7pm, but that simply isn’t true in our case.
Secondly, the Wi-Fi in our room never started working again after the power outage.
We informed reception multiple times daily, each time being told a different version of events: that it was working (it wasn’t), to be patient, or that someone would be called to fix it — but only in several days’ time, long after we were due to leave. We were told to use the room phone to call reception, but our room didn’t even have a telephone. We weren’t asking for streaming speeds — just a basic, working connection to contact family or watch a film together in the evening. It was a small thing that became a persistent and frustrating inconvenience.
Regarding the wedding —
While we understand that events are part of hotel life, the wedding took over the pool area entirely, meaning we couldn’t use it on arrival. No staff welcomed us or showed us around. Instead, we were left to figure things out on our own while the event unfolded around us. Worse still, the view from our room was directly onto a small courtyard where leftover wedding food was dumped and where the maître d’ regularly smoked.
Our room was worn, basic, and lacked bedside lighting.
There were also no simple tea or coffee making facilities, which is something we would have appreciated. Again, not huge issues, but for a hotel claiming four stars, we expected better.
Our dining experience was poor.
We paid €35 for the buffet (your reply confirms this), which felt expensive for what was on offer — particularly as they had run out of Coca-Cola, and staff admitted it had all been consumed by the wedding party. On our second night, we ate in the restaurant. Unfortunately, our food was cold when it arrived, which left us disappointed and again, questioning the value for money.
I also witnessed a staff argument poolside, which was loud and uncomfortable to watch.
One staff member even “shushed” the others mid-argument. These things happen — but it’s not something guests should be exposed to during their stay.
And finally, an incident where my husband and I were shouted at to move our car from the bus parking area — except the car in question wasn’t even ours — left us feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable.
I agree that transparency is important, which is why I want to ensure future guests have an accurate understanding of what to expect. The surroundings of the hotel are beautiful, and breakfast was the one area we genuinely enjoyed — but unfortunately, the service, facilities, and guest care simply didn’t match the expectations we had, especially for our honeymoon.
My husband contacted the hotel prior to our stay to let them know why we were coming, but no mention of it being our special honeymoon was ever made.
We ultimately decided to leave before our stay ended and checked into another local hotel, where we were greeted with welcome drinks, a handwritten congratulations card, a complementary drink and warm, professional hospitality. The contrast in atmosphere and care was stark.
Hotel Rocco Sarde may once have been worthy of four stars, but that no longer reflects its current standards."
