"THE STAFF-Firstly the majority of staff are friendly and hard working the main 3 entertainment staff Alessandro, Lorenzo and ‘Shakiro’ are great and full of life. The bar staff are great with particular standouts, Nor, Jose (bearded) and Marc to name a few. The waiting staff are also very friendly and hard working with Miguel and Asia attentive standouts. Unfortunately this is not enough to warrant another stay here. This was our 3rd year here and we have seen the Hotel drop in quality each year.
Year 1 we were superior blue bands and the last 2 visits we’ve been excellence.
THE FOOD-for vegetarians this is a particular sticking point. We accept certain level of make do especially in other countries however the range of foods are just poor here. That said the 1 time we had a meat substitute was in the ocean blue restaurant, never was there any in the buffet. Year one there were more variety of dishes and we didn’t even have access to excellence then. Now every meal is just 5 different ways to eat a potato and a myriad of foods coated in white sauce. Most every dish is overly greasy for no reason. The excellence service at breakfast can be hit and miss but mostly miss with someone taking your drink order but not returning for your food order. The ocean blue restaurant is nice enough, food is of a higher standard and service is good however there are little opportunities to use this and if you aren’t excellence you can only visit it once in your trip (on a stay of 7 days).
THE ROOMS-aren’t huge though they are kept clean and neat by the staff to a very high standard. That said the beds are far too hard and these are in the excellence room. I am not some mattress diva but when you wake half a dozen times in the night every night from aching and have change positions to get back to sleep it’s a definite problem. Aircon is noisy and not very strong, only giving any half decent level of cooling if left on the entire day. The hotel views are great to be fair. The mountain backdrop and sea are a plus but only if you’re lucky enough to be high enough. Shower towels have been downgraded to child size and you may only have 2 which when one of you has long hair makes for some inconvenient sharing. The rooms sunbeds on floor 10 are pointless, it is nice to have SOME shade but there is a non removable canopy above the sundeck that would stop anyone from private sunbathing. Not something we require but something to be taken into consideration for others.
THE SUNBEDS-we have found sunbeds to be the easiest for us but only because we actually like the shade. If you want the sun on you, you have to get up and race your towels to the beds regardless of which area you lay in. The beds are comfy enough but are never washed down as proven by when we accidentally got suncream on one a couple of days into our stay and it hasn’t been cleaned by the time we’re leaving.
THE BARS-these are good. Well stocked and well served with experienced staff and kept exceptionally clean much like the restaurants.
THE AREA-this is another plus. The area is quiet and has very little in the way of trouble that we’ve seen. However you pay the price for this in other ways as every trip worth doing is hours away by transfer.
THE ENTERTAINMENT-sadly this is a major low point. On our first visit entertainment started earlier and was of a higher standard. Now it starts later and is substandard. The team are trying their best but on the nights the main 3 are off the ones filling in make little to no effort to entice the crowd into participating and most entrainment has the atmosphere of a wake as a result. It also does not help that the adjacent Iberostar hotel has stepped up their entertainments package and are not only more lively but of a better standard.
FINAL THOUGHTS- the hotel has lost its way. Obviously the renovations are not cheap and for the betterment of the hotel as a whole, however the way it comes across from the patrons perspective is that the hotel has CUT entertainment, CUT staff, CUT kitchen budget and are getting far more income from the increased number of superior and excellence rooms but making us have a poorer experience as a result.
This is a running theme with recent reviews (except the false ones people add as part of the entertainment prize draw of a free spa visit) and with other people we have talked to whilst staying here. It is unlikely we will return which is sad as we love the area and staff as a whole. I hope this does not prompt the usual false apology and promises to do better message from the management as it just rings hollow when you can see previous reviews having the same response and clearly nothing has been done. Please if you have any hope for retuning custom and the future of the hotel, take onboard these comments and make positive improvements."
