"We’ve just returned home from our stay at Maripins and, on the whole, we had a fantastic time.
The rooms were very clean and modern, with comfortable beds, and the food selection was once again really good. The location was ideal too, with plenty to do within walking distance in either direction. We also made use of the local train and travelled into Barcelona for the day, which was incredibly convenient.
Unfortunately, there was one major downside to our stay, and sadly it really did affect our overall experience: the night-time bar staff.
From our very first evening, we found the attitude of some of the evening bar staff to be rude, dismissive and unnecessarily confrontational.
On the night we arrived, we had just missed the all-inclusive drinks cut-off, so we were more than happy to purchase our drinks. My grandparents asked for a cup of tea, which seemed to cause considerable irritation to the bar staff, who had apparently already cashed up. This was at around 23:45, despite the bar remaining open until 01:00. After some difficulty communicating, we eventually managed to order and pay for our drinks.
The following evening, the bar was extremely busy. There were six people in our group, so I went to the bar and ordered six drinks — three beers and three orange juices. The bar manager became extremely angry with me, shouting that the hotel policy was “one drink, one person” because the bar was busy and there was a large queue.
He continued to tell me that our group could be banned from using the bar if we didn’t follow this policy. I had absolutely no issue with following the hotel’s rules. Although I felt his reaction was completely disproportionate, I accepted what he had said and from that point onwards, every member of our group went individually to the bar to order their own drink.
What became particularly frustrating was what happened the following evening.
While watching the entertainment, we noticed the same bar staff happily making exceptions to the very policy we had been so firmly instructed to follow. Two women from a hen party were served around 15 cocktails between them, with the bar even providing a tray so they could take the drinks back to their table. A Spanish party of four were also served more than eight drinks at once.
Meanwhile, our family group continued to follow the “one drink, one person” rule exactly as we had been instructed.
This actually resulted in a much longer queue, because six people from our group were now having to individually queue for their drinks. Rather than simply serving us, the bar staff appeared increasingly irritated by our presence. There were occasions where one of us would be standing at the bar waiting to be served while the member of staff would deliberately leave us waiting, while talking in Spanish to their colleague and looking towards our group.
It felt petty and completely unnecessary.
What made the whole situation even more disappointing was that our group genuinely caused no problems throughout our stay. We were there as a family, enjoyed ourselves, and even made an effort to help the staff by clearing our own tables and returning cups to the bar during the day.
We simply couldn’t understand why we appeared to be treated so differently.
It’s a real shame because, aside from this issue, we genuinely enjoyed Maripins. The hotel itself has a lot going for it — the rooms, food and location were all excellent and we would otherwise have had nothing negative to say.
Unfortunately, the attitude and inconsistent treatment from some of the evening bar staff left a very sour taste and ultimately overshadowed what should have been a fantastic family holiday.
I really hope management takes this feedback seriously, because with a more welcoming and consistent approach from the evening bar team, Maripins has the potential to be a really great hotel."
