"So, it’s time to give ‘my’ honest assessment of this hotel, so that people can understand the reasons for the title name choice, having attended three times in the past 6 years for another two-week break….
LOCATION is fantastic, perfect distance from the strip, walk to the beach, the theme & water parks, including the golf courses with infinitum, amazing indeed.
ROOMS are basic, clearly not been updated or modernised with the majority for some time, dust under the beds, stains on the pillow cases and sheets, ours were not washed for over 9 days, we did mention this to the cleaners, who said it would be sorted, but it was not (we heard other guests had the same issues and took them to the reception) and sadly, there was chips and rust on bath tubs and mould in corners on the tiles. TVs were also bouncing with flicking and the cast or apps on them never really worked. The air con was good and strong, the WiFi would knock you off constantly and the Shower was on a holder on the wall that was loose and went from hot to cold to hot to cold repeatidly. Definitely need to be cleaned better, as the cleaners seem to be in and out in no time, which you can understand with so many rooms they have to tend too, but that should be no excuse on their cleanliness or ability to ensure they are doing their job properly. A msssive disappointed for a so called 4* hotel.
STAFF do not seem to smile or engage all too often. I am sorry, but that is fact, and we found this when engaging with other families and guests within the hotel, as they felt they were seeing the same issues. Now, they work long shifts and hours each day, which obviously can be draining, but again, that is the job they took, so courtesy should not faulter, now this is with the exception of a small minority who did an exceptional job during our stay.
ENTERTAINMENT - well, where do i start. In the three visits to this hotel, it has declined in a massive way from trip to trip. They advertise and book in acts, who either cancel or get changed around which is disapponting, so much so for the adults. Alot of the time, it is left up to the animation team. It did not help the ones who did not like football (not us, but we chatted with others as you do on holidays) as they cancelled ones on the footy nights.
ANIMATION TEAM - Having heard that a few people had left before we arrived and another during our stay, it was a concern. Well, we did soon see why. The girls barely smiled ever or engaged, they could not wait to get off/away and stuggled with the adults. The boys, well one tried but was out of sinc on the dances, water activities and everything, it did not look good. They done the same things one day and another the next, than back to day 1 again. Nothing new was added or anything, and when asked, stating it was all they had to use and that engagements with their ‘director’ where not sucessful. They also confirmed the great inflatibles from previous years were no longer there, meaning yet again, what was to hand, was basic and aimed at the young children or toddlers. Even the volleyball net (which many enjoyed down the years, was gone and not replaced) so poor indeed and the water pook games lasted no time at all.
However ….. it was clear for all to see, that one person stood out high above the rest, easily, and that was ALEX, they way the kids and young children flocked to him was a testiment and credit to his role. He engaged with everyone, held conversations, joined in the fun and games, played great tunes on request at night and looked like he actually was loving it himself. ALEX made it great for the adults too. He took ideas on board, he stayed past his shift times, he really made what we experienced and seen, it a fantastic time for the guest, so, this had to be highlighted.
POOL AREA is as big as it can be, however, they cannot supply enough loungers for the guests staying, or parasols and tables, which is likely the same with most hotels in the area, however, they could take away the 3/4 grass and tree areas to make more room, which would improve this issue easily, but thats an observation and option for them to take on board I guess.
POOL HOST was a new role we noticed. Were a young man would monitor the sun loungers and parasols, where if people where away for more then 20mins a card is placed on them, if not returned within another 10mins, then they were removed and left at reception, which is fine, but he seemed to target the people who were genuine or in the pool with their families having fun, so not ideal considering it is ment be a fun family holiday, and now people fear leaving these unattended to enjoy the pool and poolside fun and games together.
SUN LOUNGER / MORNING QUEUES is an issue that ALL hotels have. The fact the doors do not open until 9am, when breakfast is served from 7:30am does not help. Now, i am one of the people that believe, if you want a good ‘pitch’ and are happy to queue to get it, due to the lack of beds available, then fair enough and fair play, who is it really hurting, as the ones who always seem to complain, are the ones who land down from 11am wanting a prime location and parasol, again which are lacking in numbers, this we know, having seen the POOL HOST flexing his muscles on multiple occasions with paying guests over them ( yes fully paying, big money guests) like he owned the place himself. This was pathetic, but was a daily occurance. At the end of the day, if your not prepared to stand for an area, they dont complain, its each individuals own choice, also, opening the doors from 8am, would defo lighten that issue ten fold.
ISSUES - we observed a few, but the stand one few, involved the POOL HOST taking parasols oft guests needing them, stating it was one per two beds, yet ge would argue with guests who complied with that rule, just because they had no it up at that time, and this was done in front of everyone, embarrasing the guests and then chucking iut remarks we heard clear as day as ‘I could have you thrown out’, which shocked us and the parties around us, from a pool host, again, that should be a managers call, even after the guests clearly had done no wrong, sad indeed. The outside pool bar closed at like 5pm, yet the pool remained open to 7pm, which no one could understand, as many still were enjoying their day, so something to be considered by the hotel again too. Guests also got annoyed at the pool tables kept breaking and when bar staff were alerted, the brazenly stated it was not their problem and to go to reception, who had the same attitude and said it was an outside companies problem and they would have to wait for them to be called in to fix the problem, but it was constantly happening.
FOOD was amazing. I am one of the most fussiest eaters around, with a group who are better than me, lol, but lets just say I had no issues at all, the breakfast buffets were excellent, tasty, well prepared and the dinners the same, with good quality food and themed nights as well, a credit to the cooks and the waiting staff for sure. The only small minor issue woukd be that desserts, they were the same often, so a more diverse option list would be good, but look, again, thats picking holes as what they had was lovely.
OVERALL we had a good stay, having been here two times prior to this one, but it needs to be said and outlined, that the decline over each visit was clearly noticeable.
The cleanliness, the curtesy of the staff, the rooms, the entertainment, the avtivities, it was a let down, as it seemed with going cashless, their options for Tips dropped and that could have been a factor, who knows. People pay their hard earned and good money for this hotel, but in no way, shape or form, is it a 4 star hotel, it is a 3 star at best and H10 and TripAdvisor seriously need to take a look at this issue, as people are paying over the odds for this hotel, it’s as simple as that.
Would we return again, I highly doubt it, which is a huge pity, as down the years (and repeat visits) we met so many wondeful familes and make some long term connections, and they sll agreed with their lack of want to return, such a pity now.
These opinions are based on my own thoughts, experiences and what I viewer and was part of, hence the true and honest review, for the benefit of future attenders!!!
Thanks."
