"first morning at the hotel set the tone for what would become one of the most disappointing hospitality experiences I’ve ever had. I had paid about €24 per person, per day, for breakfast during our 7-day stay—an amount that, by any reasonable standard, should guarantee at least a basic level of quality and consideration. To my surprise, the breakfast selection was shockingly poor, and not a single item was suitable for my wife, who is gluten, sulfate, and dairy-protein sensitive.
We’re not demanding guests; we never expect special menus or gourmet alternatives. A few eggs and some vegetables are more than enough for us. Yet, to my astonishment, the only eggs offered were the processed, powdered, industrial kind—those relics of cafeteria history that no one with a hint of culinary self-respect still serves. No real eggs, no vegetables, nothing remotely fresh.
When I spoke to reception, I was assured they would provide proper eggs, tomatoes, and cucumbers the next morning. What arrived instead was a plate of two scrambled eggs and a lonely slice of gluten-free bread—nothing more. When I inquired about the promised vegetables, I was told, quite matter-of-fact, that they “don’t have any.” At a hotel with room service, no less.
My conversation with the receptionist that followed could only be described as surreal. Her robotic indifference and complete lack of empathy were astounding.
Lady: we got your wife eggs and GF bread sir
Me; that's hardly enough, couldn't you possibly get a piece of tomato and cucumber for her breakfast? It's not like we're asking for something extraordinary!
Lady: we got her eggs and GF bread. There are other things she can eat
Me; no, there's nothing else she can eat, all I'm asking for is a cucumber and a tomato for the 24 euros I'm paying on a daily basis.
Lady: she can have fruits
Me; are you serious right now? You're not willing to help with something so basic and fundamental?
Lady: we got her the eggs, were helping.
Me; listen, 2 eggs are hardly considered a breakfast. All I'm asking for is that you get her some vegetables to go with it. Charge me if you must.
Lady; there are other things available for her to eat
Me; like what??!!
Lady: like fruits and milk
Me; she's allergic to milk!
Lady: lactose free milk
Me; she's allergic to all milk protein not only lactose
Lady: she can have fruits
Me; are you kidding me right now
Lady: sorry we can't help.
The suggestion that my wife could simply “have fruits” instead of a proper meal was the final insult to logic and hospitality alike.
This wasn’t merely a case of poor service; it was a complete collapse of human decency in customer care. The staff member’s dismissive attitude reflected not only personal indifference but also a glaring failure in management and training. One has to wonder how someone so lacking in basic courtesy and understanding of hospitality could ever be placed at a hotel’s front desk.
I eventually gave up, took my wife to a nearby brunch café, and gladly paid over €35 for a real breakfast—every single day for the rest of our stay. I refused to set foot again in that soulless dining room or to plead for a slice of cucumber from an establishment so bereft of compassion and professionalism.
By the time we checked out, I felt relieved—almost liberated—as if leaving a place that drained all sense of civility and warmth. As someone who has traveled extensively and worked in hospitality management myself, I was appalled by the conduct of the staff and the utter absence of service culture.
This hotel is not just poorly managed; it is fundamentally misguided in what it believes hospitality means. The lack of empathy, the robotic responses, and the refusal to address the simplest of requests all expose a level of incompetence and indifference that no amount of decor or branding can conceal. It’s a place where the concept of service has gone to die—quietly, unnoticed, and unmourned.
PS: And this is not to mention the hotel’s location— not too close the city’s interesting areas, making every outing an inconvenient journey. Moreover, the website’s proud claim that all rooms have been “fully refurbished” borders on deception. Our shower sprayed water in every possible direction except the intended one. The stall itself was uncomfortably small, and the experience was made worse by the wildly unstable water temperature. Be prepared for a potential brain stroke, as the water unpredictably switches from scalding hot to icy cold and back again, entirely on its own terms."
