"Service: Very poor at front desk
We recently went to this hotel for an anniversary break in the sun. It was booked about 3 weeks before with Expedia.
10 days prior to our arrival we checked in on the app as recommended on the Facebook group.
When checking in on the app we were able to pre book one à la carte and one entertainment show, which we did.
I then emailed the hotel asking for a room on the highest floor if possible.
When they emailed me back, they confirmed my à la carte and show reservations too.
Upon check in at the hotel, the lady took our passport and credit card info etc and gave us our wristbands but told us we couldn’t use the room until 3pm. It was midday.
We could use the facilities though. So we had lunch and a drink and sat in the sun.
We went down again at 2:45pm and asked if the room was ready, we were told no it still wasn’t ready, so we waited a bit longer, then collected our bags and went to our room around 3:30pm.
Upon going into our room it was clear the room had been empty for a few days as it was dusty and hadn’t been aired at all.
So why they didn’t let us check in a tiny bit earlier made no sense, but oh well.
We were also overlooking a car park at the back of the hotel. It was only a 3 night stay so we didn’t say anything and continued to enjoy our day.
Next day whilst I was sitting in the sun reading, the hotel called me. They asked if I was at the hotel, and if I had stayed overnight. They stated I needed to come back to reception to show our passports again. A little strange but I agreed to go after lunch.
I tried to use the fast food restaurant at lunch but when entering our room number it didn’t work. It didn’t work the day before either, so I went to reception to show the passports and tell them the wristband wasn’t working. They apologised and said everything is sorted now.
That evening after eating at the buffet we went to the iMox show we had booked.
Upon scanning our wristband we were not let in, they said we had no reservation. We did.
They argued with us that we didn’t back and forth, they then said they HAD found a reservation but under someone else’s name and our room number. They eventually let us in to the show.
After the show I went to reception and they as met with the rudest front desk staff member of the trip, Adasat.
I am a calm and friendly person, so I approached him in that way and as I said hi he said “what?” And as I began to explaining about the missing reservation he spoke over me and said “Room number”.
I asked him to let me finish telling him the wristband wasn’t working at the fast food and now the show reservation wasn’t there so please could he check if our anniversary reservation was still booked for the next evening at the à la carte.
He said no, we have no reservations for you at all. I said I had prebooked them on the app and the lady at check in confirmed them too. I couldn’t quite believe how rude this staff member was. He told us there is nothing available for us, that we shouldn’t have even been able to book anything as we were only staying for three nights. He then disappeared into the back to bring out a scrap of paper which had written in felt tip pen how many dining and show reservations people are allowed when they stay. I repeated I had pre booked and definitely had reservations. He then took my phone off me and took a photo of his screen saying see…nothing. I couldn’t believe how rude this man was. Another man was on the desk over from him, not serving anyone and also didn’t come to help.
I was trying to find the email I had from them, but of course outlook wasn’t finding it when I needed it!
I said I would come back down in the morning to speak with the lady that checked me in.
As soon as I was back in the room, I found the email (of course!) so sent front desk an email stating what had just happened and proof that they had my reservations.
To this day two weeks later I’ve still not had a reply to that.
I also went on live chat with Expedia who confirmed I definitely have 3 nights booked and paid for in full.
Next morning me and my partner went to reception again, third time on our short break, to be met with another rude staff member. She had us down as staying for TWO nights, the plot thickens!!
We showed her our Expedia reservation which was definitely for three nights and told her we would like our à la carte reservation as prebooked. She said no, but we can pay for one if we want one. So once again we had to argue that we should already have a FREE à la carte reservation.
It was beyond a joke at this point.
She insisted we had only checked in the night before, stating we missed a night?! Absolutely bizarre.
We stay in probably 5 hotels a year for the past 20+ years for holidays and short breaks and this has never happened.
She went into the back for 15 minutes, and eventually came back saying she will book us an à la carte for free, but at a different time as they were “full”.
She acted as though she was doing us a favour and didn’t apologise once for the error the hotel has clearly made here. She was stern and unfriendly through out.
A very strange experience at a 5 star hotel.
Later that evening as we passed by the Asian à la carte prior to our booking we checked they had our new reservation, she said yes, but if we want to come at anytime we could as they weren’t busy at all. Ha! So front desk are just making things difficult for no reason at all it seems.
Food:
There is no way the buffet serves food of 5 star quality, I would class it as a good 3 star.
The trays of food are so tiny for such a massive hotel, and they are massively understaffed, so if a tray of food runs empty, it isn’t replenished again for at least an hour.
Desserts are mostly shop bought, things like toblerone cake and ice cream roulades, so they tasted decent.
Pasty selection at breakfast was excellent and lunch had the best spread of food for the day. My advice when eating at the buffet is GO EARLY and you’ll get the best selection, as it’ll be gone in 20 minutes as we found if we went back to get a bit more of the same thing.
Drinks: We tried about 5 cocktails over the trip and 2 of them were decent quality, the others tasted very acidic as they used cheap juices to make them.
I recommend the chocolate martini which was lovely and an amaretto sour.
The grounds: Absolutely gorgeous!
Clean and well landscaped with beautiful trees and flowers. Lovely to walk around.
Pools were quite cold but lovely to look at whilst I read.
Overall, massively overpriced at £700 for three nights with extremely poor service at front desk. Food ok at best. Look elsewhere for a true 5 star hotel."
