"Stayed at the Don Miguel six times now and I can confidently say I wouldn’t stay again. The location is fantastic, however over the last two years the hotel has slowly but noticeably gone downhill and is now in serious need of refurbishment and a fresh coat of paint.
The beds are awful. The mattresses sag in places and feel like concrete in others, making them very uncomfortable to sleep on. Kettles have also been removed from the rooms and you are now expected to pay €15 as part of a tea and coffee package. I explained to reception that I only wanted to hire a kettle to make noodles, but this was refused and I was told I had to take the full package and return the following morning at 9am. The service here was really disappointing.
The pool bar service is generally very poor. We waited 35 minutes to be served despite there being fewer than eight people at the bar due to the poor weather. A lot of the pool staff simply stand around ignoring guests, which results in guests having to go to the bar and order for themselves. The young man working there was consistently rude and repeatedly ignored us. That said, Patricia on the pool bar runs a tight ship and you can really notice a difference in the level of service when she is present compared to when she isn’t.
The cleaners were okay overall, however when we first checked in the shower curtain smelled strongly of damp. The bedsheets were also dirty for two days in a row, with the maid simply making the bed rather than changing the sheets. I eventually had to strip the bed myself to get fresh bedding.
The fridge in the room is extremely small and barely holds anything. There is also a noticeable lack of plug sockets in the room, with one side of the bed having no access to plugs at all, which is a basic requirement in a hotel for comfort and convenience. Despite having the do not disturb sign on the door, the maid still knocked on two separate mornings, which defeats the point entirely. The heating didn’t work either and with the bad weather the room was constantly freezing, meaning we had to request an extra blanket. The pillows are also terrible and I woke up with a sore neck every morning.
The music played around the hotel is very dated and definitely does not give adult only vibes. It feels more like a retirement holiday hotel rather than a modern adult only resort. If you are under the age of 40, I would definitely avoid.
Due to a change in our original flight, we were due to stay an extra four nights. However, because of the condition of the hotel, the poor service and the overall experience, we chose to book alternative flights and fly home early rather than pay any more money to stay here.
We stayed here in July before returning in December and January and noticed all of these issues then as well. Unfortunately the company we booked through was unable to move us. It’s such a shame as the hotel is in a brilliant location, but too many problems have let it down. After six stays in 24 months, it’s sad to say it’s not somewhere I would return to.
If the hotel were refurbished and brought up to a reasonable standard both practically and in terms of customer service, with basic amenities like kettles returned to the rooms, I would consider staying again. However, with how run down the hotel has become over the last two years, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Many of the recent reviews raise the exact same issues, yet management responses are limited to basic apologies with no visible changes, meaning people continue to waste their money.
It’s not worth the money in its current state and desperately needs renovation, a return to basic amenities and a serious improvement in customer service."
