"This is a five-star hotel in name only - and, more tellingly, one that when things go wrong reflexively blames the guest rather than fixing the problem. We booked two nights directly (mid July, ~€300 / night for the room plus ~€300 for round-trip airport transfers) expecting the property advertised online. What we found was a large package-tour operation, predominantly UK guests, where the gap between the marketing and the reality was wide and the handling of complaints was as bad as the complaints themselves.
The sea view set the tone. We booked and paid for a "Superior Room Balcony Sea View" — our confirmation described it in exactly those words, with "large balconies with sea views" and no mention anywhere of "partial" or "lateral."
The hotel appeared to be full when we arrived, and what we were actually given was what seemed to be the last, worst room in the house: above the pool, with no meaningful sea view (see pic). Only after we complained and having been told this a "sea view" did the qualifier "lateral sea view" suddenly appear — a term nowhere in the booking we'd paid for. Tellingly, that same room category is openly listed as "partial sea view" on some tour-operator sites, so the hotel plainly knows the difference; it simply sold us the upgrade and delivered the lesser room. When we complained at the front desk another guest overhead our complaint and said they had the same issue.
We pressed repeatedly, were told the manager was unavailable, and were eventually moved to a club room, by someone who appeared and was acting in a managerial capacity, that genuinely had a sea view — then told to pack up and move back after a single night. When we asked for a second room key we were told to come back tomorrow, because "guests lose too many keys."
The air conditioning was the low point. In 32°C heat the AC in the larger room was weak, sitting at 25°C and higher. A brief power cut that evening took out the lift — minor in itself. The real problem was that the AC in our room genuinely didn't work to the point of being able to sleep comfortably, yet the hotel would not own it. My uncle and aunt's room and our friends' rooms all cooled perfectly well once the power was back, so the fault was specific to our room. We couldn't sleep, and asked twice for a technician. Instead of a fix, we got a shifting series of explanations over the next 24 hours, each contradicting the last:
- "We'd left the door open, so the AC couldn't work."
- "It was the power cut's fault" — though every other room in our party cooled fine afterwards.
- "We'd set the temperature too low on the thermostat." - rumor has it that the AC is centrally controlled.
- "24–25°C is simply 'normal' for our rooms and to be expected."
Once we were finally moved, staff conceded the new room was cooler and more pleasant — which rather undercut all of the above.
The complaint handling was worse than any single fault. Staff repeatedly talked over me and I had to ask several times just to finish a sentence. When I asked about a discount, I was told they'd raise it with the manager. What followed was contradictory: one staff member said they hadn't, another said they had and that none would be given because we'd had a night in the club room (without functioning AC) — and in the end, nothing came of it.
Then the steady nickel-and-diming. No water available in the lobby, next to a sign banning outside food and drink. More concerning, no water in the gym either — it was warm in there, and for a hotel billing itself as 5-star to offer no drinking water in the gym while also banning you from bringing your own is close to unacceptable. TV signal unreliable during the World Cup. Bar prices steep — an Aperol Spritz at €14 versus €5–9 in town.
To be fair, the good things in the hotel are real: the location is excellent, directly across the road from the beach and the promenade; the rooftop terrace is lovely, with views over the town; and the breakfast buffet is solid.
For context: I've spent years in hotels and hold lifetime status with Marriott. I rarely complain — I know hospitality is a hard business. But this felt like a hotel with a captive, largely non-repeating package-tour audience it can afford to leverage: minimise cost, and when a guest complains, deflect, blame the guest, and eventually disengage.
And this isn't just our bad luck: the other recent reviews here flag the same things again and again — "not a 5-star hotel," partial or "lateral" sea views, steep bar prices, and the ban on bringing your own food and drink. When this many independent guests report the same specific problems, it stops looking like misfortune and starts looking like how the place is run.
I wanted to like it, but I can't recommend it.
One last note: I see from other reviews that management tends to reply by rebutting the guest point by point. I'd gently suggest the more revealing response for management would be to reflect on why so many guests report the same problems."
