"This was our 8th visit to KJ, which probably says more than anything about how much we love the hotel. We also recognised lots of familiar faces among the guests, including people we’ve seen on previous visits – another sign of how many loyal returning guests the hotel has.
The staff remain the biggest strength. Every member of the team, from the restaurant staff to housekeeping, works incredibly hard to make guests feel welcome. ( Andre, Tarek, Osama (1+2) along with Dennis, Assam and Bogdun and our cleaner need special mentions). We also witnessed a few medical incidents during our stay and the staff responded quickly, calmly and compassionately. They really do deserve enormous credit.
However, as returning guests, I do feel there is a noticeable difference between the hotel now and a few years ago. Some areas and rooms are looking tired and really do need some TLC. In our own room, for example, there was a broken window, a door handle that was not working properly and an iron that constantly leaked. These may sound like relatively small things, but when you add them together, they give the impression that some maintenance has been allowed to slip.
I’m sure regular guests know the hotel well enough to feel safe and simply work around these things, but if this had been our first visit, I think I would have been much more concerned. When you are paying for a hotel of this standard, you expect the basic fixtures and equipment in the room to be properly maintained. Hopefully the planned refurbishment will address these issues.
One change I particularly hope they reconsider is the water around the pool. The chilled bottled water that guests used to be able to help themselves to from the fridge has been completely stopped. Instead, filtered tap water is provided in reusable containers with plastic cups. Unfortunately, several of us noticed an unpleasant smell from the water/cups – honestly, it reminded us of wet dog. We completely support the sustainability objective, but there must surely be a better way of providing chilled, fresh-tasting drinking water.
We also missed some of the lovely little touches from previous visits, such as the bottle of fizz on arrival and the small local treats in the room. They aren’t necessities, but they were details that made the stay feel special.
On the sunbed situation, I have to say I see this slightly differently to some reviews. There are enough sunbeds for guests, although the popular ones obviously go quickly as some are in the shade all day. I’m quite happy to get up early and choose the particular sunbed I like. If someone is actually using the bed, I don’t think they should be criticised for getting there early. For me, the bigger issue is beds being left unattended for hours.
Despite these points, we still had an enjoyable stay and would absolutely recommend KJ. We won’t be returning next year for the first time in many years, partly because of the refurbishment, but we’ll be watching with interest and may well return once we see what the refreshed hotel is like.
It isn’t quite the hotel it was a few years ago, but the people who work there remain its greatest asset. Hopefully the refurbishment will bring the physical side of the hotel back up to the same standard as its fantastic staff."
