"We have been so disappointed by our stay at Hipocampo Palace. I’ve never felt so compelled to leave a review, and I am actually still at the hotel, but feel like it’s my duty to warn any prospective guests!! What is advertised as a ‘restful retreat’ and a ‘luxurious, stress-free holiday’ couldn’t be further from reality. We were excited to be coming here knowing it was newly refurbished. What we weren’t expecting was that the hotel was going to be still under construction and entirely unfinished - really not ready to he accepting guests.
Whilst the rooms are finished (and are actually lovely), as well as the restaurant and main foyer, this is where it ends.
- There is contruction going on all day, every day. You can hear this in the rooms (today, Saturday, we were woken up at 7:45 by drilling), and by the pool. Beeping trucks, drilling, cutting. It is dusty and dirty all around the hotel, and the grounds are a mess. There are exposed wires, many inaccessible areas, and workmen around all day.
- There is no hotel information available whatsoever. This is only accessible via the TV, but it doesn’t work. When we asked about this (for the second time), the receptionist shrugged and said ‘well we did only open on Friday’ and to ‘just call us’ - but how can we know what to ask when we don’t know?? Beyond that, the information given by receptionists is unreliable/incorrect.
- The advertised facilities (Wide-ranging wellness hub including, Turkish bath, sauna and fully-equipped gym) don’t exist. We asked about this at reception and the receptionist almost chuckled as she said ‘that won’t be ready for at least two weeks’… we also suspect that room service doesn’t exist as we heard someone asking for the room service menu and being convinced to instead go to the restaurant as it ‘would be better’.
- We literally had furniture delivered to our room while we were in it!
Other than the fact that the hotel is literally not finished or at all ready to be accepting guests, it is not a five star experience regardless (all their other many hotels in the resort are 4* so I wonder if they don’t really know how to do it):
- Staff are generally unattentive and uninterested. There are a few outliers but the most pleasant people are the cleaners.
- The ‘hot’ breakfast food is lukewarm at best, and plates are cold. Nobody wants cold scrambled eggs!
- You get one beach towel that you have to take to the pool with you, and you can only swap this for a new one between 16:30 and 17:30.
- There are really not enough sunbeds by the pool, and the one pool is small. There is plenty of space for more - I wonder if they are awaiting a delivery…
- The hotel is across two buildings, so to get to the restaurant you must walk across car park and the road. Currently this involves navigating construction, but won’t be pleasant even without this added extra. Looks like they are maybe building an underpass which would be much nicer.
- Trip hazards! Lots of slippery stone steps with unclear edges and small ledges in doorways. Be warned if you have any accessibility needs.
- To top it off, wifi is patchy and doesn’t really work in our room.
We have spoken to staff at reception multiple times and just basically had a shrug and a ‘sorry, it’s not finished’. Luckily EasyJet did refund us a small percentage of the total cost, but really it doesn’t make up for the fact the relaxing experience that we have been looking forward to, saved up, and taken annual leave for was ultimately missold to us by the hotel.
Two stars rather than one because the decor is actually really nice (see last pic), and the food at dinner was enjoyable (have salads, cured meats, and whatever the chef is cooking rather than the lukewarm stuff in the pots), and for the fact that it looks like it might be nice in a few months when it’s finished!!!
A suggestion to management: it would have a made a huge difference if, upon arrival, we received some sort of apology/warning about the state of the hotel and a gesture (e.g. chocolates, cava, a bar voucher, access to another hotel’s facilities…), along with a paper copy of the hotel information!! Instead we have just felt really let down - and I’m sure we won’t be the last.
A suggestion to prospective guests: if you are staying in the next few months, get in touch with your travel company and cancel!!!"
