"Iniyial impression was good. Nora on reception greeted us and was lovely. We had been held up at the airport so were late arriving and the restaurant was closing. She arranged for us to be able to go into the all you could eat area and the manager didn't charge us as there was not much left for us to choose from.
Once we had finished there we went to the lift. Unfortunately it had broken down and someone was stuck in it. They were rescued within a few minutes of us reporting it and we were directed to the lift on the other side of the building which we used for the next 48 hours until it was fixed.
The room appeared clean (except for the table lamp rhat showered dust and fluff when we moved it)
The wet room was spacious and was equipoed with shower gel and body lotion. It was clean. There was a small rail near the toilet and one under the shower. Unfirtunately when the floor was wet it became akin to an ice rink so I found myself having to put towels down to be able to get from the shower to the hand basin or the door. A wetroom for people with reduced mobility should surely have a non slip floor, or at least rails to help get around the room.
There was a private party going on in the upstairs bar from which the bass of the music thrummed although thankfully it did stop just after midnight.
There was no information in the room regarding opening times of restaurants/bistro/bars etc. This would have been helpful and perhaps with a sample menu of the food available in each venue along with prices for comparison. As it was we went to the AYCE buffer breakfast which I believe was €22 per head. Standard fare and quite good choices but luke warm and served on a cold plate it was soon stone cold. We decided to go to the Bistro for our other meals which were more sensibly priced if not as much choice.
That day we got the shuttle bus back to the airport in order to visit the Panorama Terrace for plane spotting. We knew it cost €5 per head from the hotel to the airport and free to come back. I have mobility problems and have a wheeled rollator. I had read that the bus driver would assist with this but actually they offered zero assistance at all. Other passengers helped as my grandson who travelled with me was trying to deal with the rollator plus help me up or down a steep step.
That evening we decided to try a meal in the Bistro. We chose pizza which was advertised as being served before 6pm. We ordered at around 5pm but waited over an hour before it arrived. There is only one waiter working in the area trying to deal with all the tables, drinks and meals. We thought that maybe it was because we'd ordered pizza as we saw numerous burgers coming out whilst we were waiting. The following evening we decided to oder burger instead and indeed,it was just under the hour that we were served. On our final evening we went to the Vistro again and sat down at a laid up table at 5.15pm. By 6.15pm we hadn't even been asked for a drinks order. Once again, the one waiter was there struggling. The manager was wanderung around and occasionally looked at the tables of peoole waiting but didn't give the waiter a hand. Perhaps he or somebody ekse could have seen to the drunks orders leaving the waiter free to deal with the food. We decided to get a toasted sandwich instead.
There is a great lack of staff at this hotel, in all areas it seems. Our room wasn't serviced until late afternoon. In fact on our final day we were asked to go out of the room for a while to allow the cleaners to come in despite my asking if they would just empty the bins and change the towels. They insisted on changing the sheets. In fact on our return the bins had still not been emptied but the beds were pristine for our final few hours there.
There was a very state of the art coffee machine on the desk but no instructions on how to use it! Three pods. Four tea bags and a kettle. Only 2 small sachets of creamer though so you could only have one hot drink each per day in the room. More creamer would be more use than the lttle complimentary box of boiled sweets.
A seal had come loose on the outside of the window and every time the wind blew it hit the window. It was quite breezy on a couole of the nights and it rattled and banged like mad. I did report it to reception who offered for us to change rooms but by then we only had one night left so didn't want the upheaval. I'm not sure how on earth they will be able to repair it unless by a window cleaner if they have one as it is several floors up, but it will no doubt cause discomfort for other guests.
The pool. We visited the pool and found half of it was roped off for children's swimming lessons. The female changing room was small but clean and had plenty of lockers. However there was no area where one coukd change in private and as there were several small children in at the same time it was quite awkward, especially as there had been only small hand towels available in reception. After swimming it would have been helpful to have a small spin dryer as I have seen in other pools. There is nowhere to hang dripping wet swimwear in the hotel room so being able to spin it partly dry would be helpful. On our arrival there was nobody on reception and only small hand towels available. I had read that for a fee slipoers or flip flops could be purchased as these were mandatory. In fact all that were there were blue plastic shoe covers to go over outdoor shoes. There were two or three young men using the pool, sauna and steam room and a pervading smell of weed wafted out of the male changung room door on passing.
I'm sorry to be making such a negative review but feel that most of these things could be solved by having more staff and utilising the ones already there more effectively.
On the plus side the staff I did come across were very friendly, helpful and polite, especially Nora and Raquel on reception. The tour around the plane outside was really good. The hotel has great views of planes landing and taking off. The coffee in the Bistro was delicious. The check in and out was very smooth.
The hotel gets a lot of "excellent" reviews so I don't suppose the few like mine will get any result. It's a shame because it could so easily be a fantastic place to stay with just a little more thought.
I'm afraid I wouldn't stay there again or recommend it to others with the way it is at the moment."
