"Definitely not a 4-star experience
Unfortunately, Hotel Pinija falls well short of what I would expect from a 4-star hotel.
The reception area is beautiful, but unfortunately, things go downhill from there. The elevators are tiny and the rooms are rather average. There was a horrible smell coming from our bathroom. We reported it to reception and were assured that a technician would come to clean the sink and that housekeeping would leave an air freshener in the room. Neither happened.
Both the indoor and outdoor pools were cold.
Our used bathrobes were taken away, but no clean replacements were provided.
The food was very average, with an extremely limited choice at lunch. Drinks at both lunch and dinner were charged separately. This was, however, clearly stated in our booking conditions, so we do not consider this a complaint.
The biggest problem, however, is the staff.
Unfortunately, the service was generally unfriendly, unprofessional and dismissive — from the waiters and bartenders to reception and even management, with only a few exceptions.
The waiters often looked as though they were there against their will.
On one evening, one of the female bartenders was loudly reprimanding a younger colleague in the lobby. It was so uncomfortable and loud that we eventually left the area because we simply couldn't listen to it anymore.
But what was most disappointing was how the hotel handled an extremely difficult situation involving our family.
During our stay, our one-and-a-half-year-old daughter unfortunately had to be hospitalised. She spent five days in hospital. The hotel staff were fully aware of the situation, yet **not a single person asked how our daughter was doing or whether we needed any help.**
On the second-to-last day of our stay, I called reception and expressed my dissatisfaction with the level of service. I was told that the manager would contact me “immediately”. No one ever did.
When we checked out, my husband once again expressed his disappointment. The receptionist simply handed him the tourist tax bill. He did not even say “I'm sorry”.
The hotel also apparently has no proper luggage storage area — or, at the very least, nobody was able to tell us where we could leave our luggage while waiting for our airport transfer.
Since our daughter was due to be discharged from hospital on the day of our departure, I asked the receptionist if someone could help my sister with our luggage, as we were simply unable to manage everything ourselves. I was assured that help would be provided. Once again, nothing happened.
After returning home, I contacted the hotel management by email and asked for an explanation, particularly regarding the lack of communication and support after our daughter's hospitalisation.
The response I received was very diplomatic, but ultimately evasive. The director apologised several times for the situation and for various inconveniences and acknowledged a “lack of follow-up”, but never actually explained why this had happened.
The email ended with an invitation to visit Hotel Pinija again, with an assurance that this time we would receive the respect we should have received in the first place.
We sent another email asking for specific explanations regarding the incidents described above.
We never received a reply.
To sum up, our impression is that this hotel is primarily focused on profit. Guests are treated more like sources of revenue than people and are essentially left to fend for themselves when something goes wrong.
We absolutely do **not** blame the hotel for our daughter becoming ill. What we do find unacceptable is the complete lack of empathy, communication and genuine concern shown by the staff during an extremely difficult situation for our family.
From a hotel that presents itself as a 4-star property, we expected at least a basic level of professionalism and human empathy.
Unfortunately, at Hotel Pinija, we experienced very little of either.
And when it comes to management, don't expect much more than polite apologies and empty phrases."
