"⭐ 1 STAR – An incredibly disappointing experience
From the day we arrived, we experienced problem after problem at this hotel, and unfortunately it eventually reached the point where we felt we had no option but to check out early.
On our first day, the behaviour of the pool lifeguard immediately made us uncomfortable. Within the space of around an hour, we watched her jump into the pool more than six times, on one occasion leaving a child crying. She was repeatedly shouting at parents who were actually in the pool holding and supervising their own children.
Her manager told everyone around the pool to go and report her as she’s crazy. His words not mine.
She then approached my cousin and told her to watch her child, despite my cousin being right beside him. After this incident, several other guests approached us independently and told us that they felt the lifeguard’s behaviour had negatively affected their own pool experience during their holidays too. The atmosphere around a family pool should be relaxed and enjoyable, not one where parents feel they are constantly going to be shouted at.
Unfortunately, the uncomfortable atmosphere wasn’t limited to the pool.
At breakfast, we were having a pleasant conversation with a waiter who was being extremely hospitable towards us. A manager came over and began shouting at him in Greek to hurry up, directly in front of us. The manager then continued shouting at him from the other side of the restaurant. It was incredibly uncomfortable to witness and completely unprofessional.
We were also asked to move hotels for one night because our room had been double-booked, which is something I have never experienced before.
The final straw came when we woke at approximately 7:10am with no air conditioning. In temperatures of around 37°C, our room quickly became unbearably hot, particularly as we were staying with two young children.
Throughout the day, we contacted the hotel approximately seven times asking for the air conditioning to be fixed. Each time we were told someone would come straight away. Nobody did.
By approximately 4:30pm, we went into the bedroom and discovered a large leak coming through the ceiling, with pieces of the ceiling having fallen onto the bedroom floor.
This was not what I would describe as a small drip or a minor cosmetic issue. The affected section of ceiling visibly appeared to be pushing down, which was extremely concerning, especially with our children staying in the room.
What happened next was almost unbelievable.
Whilst we’re still waiting in the room a woman came to our room offering us 2 portions of bananas as a gift from the hotel which we kindly refused as all we wanted was for maintenance to come to the hotel. After spending the entire day trying to get someone to attend to the air conditioning, once the ceiling started coming down, someone suddenly arrived very quickly and filled/plastered over the damaged section of ceiling.
This left mess over the bedroom floor, but more importantly, from what we witnessed, the visible ceiling damage had been patched while no fixture of the water leak was fixed. Given that the ceiling had already started crumbling and appeared to be pushing down, we were absolutely not comfortable putting our children back into that bedroom.
At that point, enough was enough.
The hotel offered us another room, but after everything that had happened, with two young children and only four days of our holiday remaining, packing our entire room and moving yet again was not a reasonable solution for us.
We were then offered a refund if we checked out, but only on the condition that we signed a disclaimer. We packed all of our belongings and went down to reception expecting to leave. However, after reading the disclaimer, I was not comfortable signing something that I felt removed responsibility from the hotel.
The manager wasn’t even present at the hotel throughout this situation. My husband spoke to her over the phone and was essentially told: sign the disclaimer or don’t receive the refund. She then hung up on him.
During this same situation, while we were understandably concerned about a damaged ceiling in a room containing our two young children, the manager also told us not to be “dramatic.”
I cannot understand how raising concerns about a ceiling that had leaked, visibly pushed down and already dropped material onto a bedroom floor could be dismissed as being dramatic — particularly when a five-year-old child was sleeping in that room.
We were also told that we would have to come back another day to receive the refund, which was extremely inconvenient and added to the frustration of an already stressful situation.
What I found particularly concerning was the manager’s behaviour throughout this situation. She refused to give us her name, would not come to the hotel to speak to us face-to-face and, after hanging up on my husband, threatened us with the hotel’s legal team if we refused to sign their disclaimer.
At that stage, we felt our hands were completely tied. We needed the refund in order to secure alternative accommodation for ourselves and our two young children for the remainder of our holiday. We therefore felt we had very little choice but to comply if we wanted our money returned and somewhere else to stay.
The threatening and abrupt way this was handled should, in my opinion, be looked into by the owners of the hotel. A serious complaint involving a family, a leaking ceiling and a room without air conditioning should have been handled calmly and professionally — not with threats of legal action, refusal to identify yourself, telling guests not to be dramatic and hanging up on a paying customer.
What made this interaction even more unacceptable was the way our five-year-old daughter was brought into it. After seeing the leak and pieces of ceiling on the bedroom floor, she told reception staff herself that she was scared the ceiling was going to fall on her head.
Instead of showing any understanding towards a frightened five-year-old, the manager accused us of coercing our daughter into saying this and called my husband an awful parent.
I found that accusation absolutely appalling. A five-year-old had just seen part of the ceiling on the floor of the room she was sleeping in and expressed that she was frightened. To respond by attacking her parents and suggesting that we had coached our own child to say she was scared was completely inappropriate and, in my opinion, an extraordinary way for a hotel manager to deal with a legitimate complaint from a family.
Regardless of any disagreement over a refund, there is simply no justification for speaking to guests that way.
There were other issues too. The pool steps actually sliced my father’s finger open, raising further concerns about the maintenance and safety of the facilities.
The general standard of customer service was also extremely disappointing. With the exception of Andy and Mahmoud in the dining area, who were both lovely and hospitable, we found many members of staff unfriendly and unwelcoming. Smiles and basic conversation seemed rare, and on occasions when we tried to speak to staff, we were met with dismissive behaviour, including having a finger put up towards us while we were talking.
I do want to specifically mention Stella on reception, who was probably the one genuinely positive experience we had at this hotel. She was helpful and pleasant, and I wish the overall customer service had reflected the standard she provided.
What makes this even more disappointing is that this experience has not just lost the hotel our custom. Two families in our group left as a direct result of how the situation was handled. I also personally know around nine families in the UK who have stayed at or considered returning to Sandy Beach, and after hearing about our experience and the way management treated us, they have told me they will not return.
I genuinely think the owners need to consider how much damage one manager’s attitude and handling of complaints can do to the reputation of an otherwise established hotel.
I don’t leave a one-star review lightly, particularly when it involves someone’s business. But between the lifeguard’s behaviour, witnessing staff being shouted at, being asked to move because our room had been double-booked, losing the air conditioning in extreme heat, repeatedly asking for help that never arrived, the leaking and damaged ceiling, the way the visible ceiling damage was simply patched over, the unsafe pool steps, and finally the threatening and completely unacceptable way management handled our departure and refund, I genuinely cannot recommend this hotel.
A holiday is something families save for and look forward to. We should not have spent ours repeatedly chasing hotel staff to resolve problems, worrying about whether the ceiling above our children was safe, feeling pressured into signing paperwork in order to get our money back, or ultimately packing our belongings and leaving early.
For us, this was absolutely not the relaxing family holiday experience we paid for or expected."
