"Our experience with Solana Hotel was extremely disappointing, particularly because most of the issues we encountered could have been avoided with clearer communication, transparency and better customer service.
We initially booked a Superior Room through Revolut because we wanted to use some points we had accumulated. The booking was pay on property, and at no point during the booking process was it clearly stated that the hotel would require a 50% pre-authorisation, which in our case amounted to approximately €750.
Had this requirement been made clear, we would simply have chosen an advance-purchase/non-refundable rate instead. I work in hospitality myself and understand how these policies and rates work. The issue was not necessarily the pre-authorisation itself — it was the lack of clear communication about it.
The hotel attempted the pre-authorisation without contacting us beforehand, and it failed because there were insufficient funds in that particular Revolut account at that time. We contacted Solana reservations, who told us that this was hotel policy and that it was stated on their website. However, despite searching the website ourselves, we could not find this policy clearly stated in relation to our booking. We also searched other online booking information and could not find any clear reference to this pre-authorisation requirement.
We therefore cancelled that booking and made another booking through Booking.com, again selecting pay on property. What was particularly surprising to us was that the alleged pre-authorisation policy was apparently not enforced on the Booking.com reservation. If this is genuinely hotel policy, it is difficult to understand why the requirement appeared to differ depending on where the booking was made.
Unfortunately, things became even more frustrating when we arrived.
Our Booking.com reservation was for two adults and one child. My Booking.com account had previously recorded my child’s age as two, so this was automatically reflected when making the booking. We genuinely did not think anything of this, as we had booked a room for two adults and one child.
At reception, the receptionist suddenly needed to speak to a manager. She did not clearly explain what the issue was and simply asked us to sit down, initially reassuring us that everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about.
She later returned and told us that we owed more than €500 because our child was older than the age entered on the booking and therefore attracted a higher rate.
As someone who works in hotels, I found this very confusing and simply asked for a breakdown of the additional €500. Was this for breakfast? An extra bed? Occupancy? What exactly was the additional charge for?
Unfortunately, the receptionist was unable to clearly explain how the additional amount had been calculated and instead repeatedly referred to “policy”. She also appeared to lack basic customer-service training and confidence when dealing with the situation. Rather than clearly explaining the issue and reassuring us, we were left confused about what we were actually being charged for and why.
I asked to speak to a manager.
The manager, Holly, was extremely unhelpful in her manner. Rather than trying to understand our concerns or find a reasonable solution, the conversation essentially became pay the additional amount or leave. We had already paid for the stay, and we were told that if we chose to leave, obtaining a refund would take approximately five working days and we would have to deal with Booking.com ourselves.
I explained how unhappy I was with the situation and said that I would leave a negative review. Her response was that she did not care.
At one point she told us to sit down and left us waiting for around 20 minutes. My husband eventually had to ask what was happening because the whole situation was causing me significant distress.
A male manager, Egin, then became involved. Unfortunately, the interaction initially felt more like an attempt to prove that we were wrong than an attempt to resolve the problem. He tried to explain the additional charge relating to children over three and wanted to demonstrate the policy to us on his phone. However, he repeatedly spoke over us while we were trying to explain what had happened from our perspective.
We explained that our family lives in Malta and asked whether our child could potentially stay with family instead. We were then asked to prove that we actually had family in Malta. My brother-in-law came down to the hotel and spoke with Egin and, interestingly, Egin’s attitude suddenly became much more helpful.
I asked whether there was anything they could do regarding the additional €500. The charge was then reduced to €400.
This left us wondering why a reduction was suddenly possible when the initial position had been presented to us as simply “policy”.
Ultimately, after my husband explained the amount of stress the situation had caused me, particularly as I am in early pregnancy and have previously experienced a miscarriage, the hotel upgraded our room.
We appreciated the upgrade, but honestly, it should never have reached that point.
Customers should not have to disclose deeply personal circumstances before staff decide to show understanding or flexibility. Everyone has their own circumstances and difficulties, and good hospitality should involve listening and trying to find a reasonable solution before a situation escalates.
The biggest issue for us was not simply the additional charge. It was the poor communication, lack of transparency, inconsistent application of policies and the attitude of management.
I would strongly encourage anyone considering staying here to make absolutely sure they understand every additional charge and every child/occupancy policy before booking, and to get everything confirmed in writing.
Unfortunately, based on our experience, we felt that the focus was far more on extracting additional money from guests than on providing good hospitality.
Very disappointing experience and, in our opinion, extremely poor management. We would not stay here again."
