"We had quite a mixed experience during our stay. There are definitely some really nice aspects to the hotel, particularly the pool and private beach areas, location, entertainment staff, housekeeping and surprisingly the air conditioning, but unfortunately there were also quite a few problems that let the experience down.
The room & arrival
Our stay got off to a pretty rough start. When we arrived, the fridge in our room wasn’t working, so we couldn’t even have a cold drink after travelling. We reported this and were offered the use of the fridge at the pool bar while ours wasn’t working, which we appreciated as a temporary solution. However, it was quite inconvenient having to go to the pool bar every time we wanted to get one of our own drinks rather than simply being able to use the fridge in our room. This lasted for around two days before our fridge was eventually replaced, and once it was replaced we didn’t have any further problems with it.
The air conditioning wasn’t on when we arrived either, so the room took quite a while to cool down.
However, once the air conditioning got going, it was absolutely brilliant. In fact, this is probably the best air conditioning we’ve ever had in a hotel room. It got so cold that at night we actually had to turn the temperature up to make the room warmer! So although it wasn’t on when we arrived, the actual air-conditioning system deserves a lot of credit.
There was no telephone in the room, although this didn’t really bother us as we wouldn’t have used it anyway.
More concerning was the cleanliness on arrival. One of our towels was dirty and had to be changed, and the shower was filthy. At that point, after travelling and already having a few problems with the room, I just wanted a shower, so I ended up cleaning it myself using one of the hotel’s towels and some of the hotel’s shower gel.
That said, the housekeeping during the rest of our stay was good. Rooms were cleaned daily, and we really liked that housekeeping tended to come around midday rather than very early in the morning. It meant we didn’t feel rushed to get up and leave the room first thing just because we wanted it cleaned. This is a small detail, but something we really appreciated during our stay.
The safe was also already locked when we arrived, meaning we couldn’t use it until someone came over to sort it out.
We were only given one room keycard at check-in, which wasn’t particularly practical for two people. I asked for another and was initially told that, for safety reasons, they only provide one keycard. However, they did give us a second one when requested, so it was sorted in the end.
We were also under the impression that we would have a balcony. To be fair to the hotel, we hadn’t pre-requested one, so we accept that was our mistake. However, our outside space was essentially just a table outside the room. With other guests regularly walking past, it didn’t feel particularly private.
We also had a few insects getting into the room during our stay. Obviously insects are to be expected to some extent in a hot country, but I would definitely recommend bringing some insect repellent/bite spray with you.
Noise
The first night was difficult because karaoke/music continued until around 1am, and we struggled to sleep because of it.
Strangely, this wasn’t really an issue for the rest of our stay. On the other nights the music seemed to finish at around 11pm, which was much more reasonable. It may therefore have just been the particular entertainment scheduled for that night, but it’s worth being aware of if you’re hoping for an early night.
Staff
Our experience with the staff was mixed. Some were absolutely lovely, while others unfortunately gave the impression that they didn’t particularly want to be there.
The entertainment staff deserve a special mention, particularly Leo and Marie, who were brilliant throughout our stay. They regularly came over for a chat and encouraged people to get involved with the activities without being pushy. I tried water polo for the first time because of them and absolutely loved it. They were both really friendly and genuinely added something positive to our holiday.
Another person who deserves a special mention is Will, the bartender. He was one of the best members of staff we dealt with during our stay. He was extremely polite, friendly and attentive. In fact, he was the only member of staff who consistently approached us to ask if we would like a drink, including when we were sitting in the restaurant. That level of service really stood out to us and was very much appreciated.
Unfortunately, this also highlights where the restaurant service could be improved. Aside from Will, staff didn’t tend to approach the tables to ask whether we wanted drinks, so we often found ourselves trying to find someone just to order one. This was particularly noticeable at breakfast because there isn’t a coffee machine guests can use themselves; instead there is filter coffee which staff pour for you.
Finding a table could also be confusing. When asking staff, we were often simply told to “sit anywhere”, but tables weren’t always cleared and reset quickly, so it was difficult to know whether a table was actually free or whether somebody had just gone back to the buffet for more food.
Food & restaurant
Unfortunately, the food was probably our biggest disappointment. We found the selection very limited and, considering there are so many restaurants just outside the hotel, we ended up preferring to eat elsewhere. We only ate in the hotel restaurant twice during our stay and went out for our other meals, which we found considerably better.
There were also some strange omissions. There were no hash browns at breakfast, yet they appeared at dinner. There was no ice cream amongst the desserts either, and the dessert selection in general was quite limited.
At breakfast, we also noticed that once the orange juice had run out, it wasn’t replenished.
Another issue with the restaurant area was the amount of wasps. There were lots of them flying around while we were eating, and they would regularly fly at us and land on our food. We appreciate that the hotel can’t completely control wasps, especially when eating outside in the summer, but there were enough of them that it became quite annoying and made it difficult to relax and enjoy the meal at times.
Pool, private beach & facilities
The pool area is definitely one of the hotel’s strongest points. The pool itself is lovely and there are plenty of sunbeds. Although some guests still reserve them, we never found it necessary because there always seemed to be sunbeds available.
The private beach area is also a really nice feature and something we particularly liked. Even better, the sunbeds on the private beach are completely free for hotel guests. We’ve stayed at other hotels where you still have to pay extra for beach sunbeds even when staying at the hotel, so we thought it was a really nice touch that they’re included here. You can go down to the beach without worrying about paying extra just to use a sunbed.
One thing that could be communicated much better is the two complimentary drink vouchers given at check-in. The vouchers don’t make it clear that they are restricted to certain drinks or where they can be redeemed. We discovered that they could only be used for a spritz and only at the pool bar. This felt misleading and could easily be avoided by simply putting the restrictions on the voucher.
Communication could sometimes be difficult too. There were members of staff who spoke very good English, but with some staff we found it difficult to explain what we needed or understand each other.
Another thing to be aware of is the card transaction fee. We were charged around €0.50 each time we paid by card. It isn’t a huge amount individually, but if you’re regularly buying drinks or other things at the hotel, paying a fee on every transaction can become frustrating and add up over the course of a holiday.
Parking
We arrived by car and the hotel does have a car park, which is useful, but the process could be much clearer.
You have to check in before receiving the code for the car park, and it took us a while to work out where the car park actually was because it isn’t particularly obvious. A couple of temporary check-in parking spaces outside the hotel would make things much easier for guests arriving by car, especially as the area immediately outside is coned off.
Location
The location itself is lovely and there are plenty of restaurants and other places nearby. One thing to be aware of is that when leaving the hotel there aren’t really proper pavements in places, so you need to take care when walking.
We also occasionally noticed an unpleasant smell in certain parts of the hotel and outside. It wasn’t constant and seemed to come and go, but it was noticeable.
Overall
There are some genuinely good things about this hotel. We loved the pool and private beach areas, there were always plenty of sunbeds, and having free sunbeds for hotel guests on the private beach was a particularly nice touch. The location is good and the entertainment team were fantastic.
Leo and Marie deserve particular recognition for how friendly and welcoming they were and for getting guests involved with the activities. Water polo ended up being one of the highlights for me because of them. Will also deserves recognition for his excellent service. He was always polite and friendly and stood out as the one person who regularly approached us and offered us drinks rather than us having to find somebody ourselves.
The air conditioning in our room was genuinely the best we’ve experienced in a hotel, and the daily housekeeping being done around midday was really convenient and meant we never felt rushed out of the room in the morning.
Unfortunately, the cleanliness issues when we first arrived, the fridge taking two days to be replaced, other problems with the room, disappointing food, wasps around the restaurant, inconsistent restaurant service and some of the smaller charges and communication issues prevented it from being the experience we had hoped for.
A lot of the problems seem like things that could be relatively easily improved. Better attention to room cleanliness before guests arrive, improved food and restaurant service, clearer information about the complimentary drink vouchers and parking, and a few improvements at check-in would make a significant difference.
There is definitely potential here, and we did have parts of our stay that we really enjoyed. There are things the hotel does very well, and staff members such as Leo, Marie and Will genuinely made our experience better.
Overall, our stay had some great moments, but there were too many issues for us to give it 4 stars. With some relatively straightforward improvements, particularly to the food, restaurant service and room preparation, this could easily become a much better experience.
So overall we decided 3/5 is fair from our experience"
