"Our first impressions of the hotel were very promising. When we arrived, there was only one staff member on reception, so with three or four couples waiting to check in, a few more staff would have been helpful. However, they were very friendly and welcoming, and we were even offered a glass of bubbly while we waited.
The reception area is huge and very impressive, especially with the waterfall feature. Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, so we had a look around the hotel while we waited.
We had requested a ground-floor room with a double bed, but were allocated a sixth-floor room with twin beds made up individually, although they were pushed together. Despite this, the room itself was very nice and the view was amazing, overlooking the rocky side of the beach.
Our room was cleaned daily, and the cleaner did a wonderful job. Tea and coffee were replenished each day, although the bottled water wasn’t.
The all-inclusive food had something for everyone, depending on your tastes and dietary requirements. There was a particularly good selection for anyone who enjoys fish and shellfish.
We never had a problem finding a sunbed, although finding one with a parasol was more difficult. The heated pool was actually quite cold, but it was large and welcoming all the same.
The entertainment team were around for most of the day and seemed to have something going on for everyone. We particularly enjoyed the evening entertainment, especially the singers. We did have three different saxophone players during our week, which felt like a little too much saxophone! It would have been nice to have a bit more variety with different instruments. That said, people were up dancing and enjoying themselves, and the entertainment generally lasted around an hour and 15 minutes.
The bar staff were absolutely run off their feet at times, but they remained happy, friendly and very good at their jobs.
If you stay for seven nights, you have the option to have a meal in either the Mexican or Italian restaurant. We opted for the Mexican. Unfortunately, this was the biggest disappointment of our stay. After waiting around an hour and 15 minutes for our main course, we called the waiter over, only to discover that he hadn't realised we were still waiting. We were told it would be another 10 minutes.
By this point, we felt we had been forgotten and, having seen other guests who arrived around an hour after us receive their meals, we didn't feel confident that our food would be freshly prepared. We therefore decided to leave rather than risk being served food that had simply been reheated.
We spoke to reception, who were very helpful. They looked into what had happened and asked whether we would be willing to return so they could try to rectify the situation. We declined, as by then the experience had already been spoiled. We were told that the manager would be informed the following day, but unfortunately we didn't hear anything further.
We completely appreciate that the restaurants can be busy, but the fact that other guests arriving much later received their meals before us suggests that something went wrong with our order. This is something the restaurant management should monitor more closely.
Location and surrounding area
The walk into town takes around 20 minutes, but there is a free shuttle bus if you don't fancy the walk. Alternatively, taxis are around €4, depending on the time of day.
The town itself has a few bars, restaurants and shops. We enjoyed it so much that we went back three times during our stay!
The beach is absolutely glorious. We even had camels on the beach one day, which was certainly something different!
The shopping centre next to the hotel also has far more shops than I anticipated, with restaurants downstairs too. It's definitely worth having a look around.
As for the hotel being on a flight path, I really wouldn't let that put you off. I've stayed in hotels where the planes have flown much lower, and during our stay they had absolutely no impact on our enjoyment.
Overall
Overall, we really enjoyed our stay. The hotel has great facilities, friendly staff, beautiful views, a lovely beach and plenty to do both in the hotel and nearby. There were a few things that could have been better, particularly our experience in the Mexican restaurant, but these didn't spoil our holiday. We would definitely consider returning."
