"OUR EXPERIENCE – PLEASE READ BEFORE BOOKING DO NOT BOOK HERE !
I have taken some time to write this review because we genuinely did not want to leave a negative review. Throughout our stay, my partner and I were understanding, polite and respectful towards the hotel staff. We understood that not every issue was necessarily the individual staff members’ fault and we tried to deal with everything reasonably while we were there. In fact, despite the problems we experienced, we genuinely liked the hotel and the staff initially and were even considering returning in October. Unfortunately, the way our complaint has subsequently been handled has completely changed our opinion.
When we arrived at our original room, there were a number of cleanliness and condition issues. We found hair in the bathroom, floors which had clearly not been properly swept or mopped, dirt and debris around the bathroom areas, staining and significant dirt around the bath/shower area, damage to the bathroom tiling and only some of the kitchen utensils we expected to have available. We photographed these issues and have included the photographs with this review. We were not expecting perfection, but we were expecting a reasonable standard of cleanliness and maintenance for a 4 star hotel that cost me £1200.
There was also an extremely unpleasant incident involving other guests where vomit ended up on my partner. This made me physically sick and was extremely distressing and unpleasant for both of us. The hotel’s response has since stated that there was “no evidence” of sickness/vomit on our balcony. I find this response particularly frustrating. The fact that evidence may not have been present when somebody subsequently inspected the area does not mean the incident did not happen. We were there, we experienced it and my partner was physically affected by it. We have retained the photographs we have and are including the evidence available to us. They also sent a cleaner with a bucket of disinfectant the day of it happening yet they apparently have no evidence ….
The most serious incident of our entire stay, however, was what happened involving a projectile/pellet. While my partner was sitting on our balcony, a projectile/pellet was fired towards the balcony area and struck objects in the vicinity of where he was sitting. We were extremely concerned that someone had deliberately fired it towards him. The incident was frightening, particularly because my partner was sitting there at the time. Following this incident, my partner no longer felt safe sitting on the balcony or remaining in the original room.
The hotel offered us another room and we accepted. However, I want to make this absolutely clear because the hotel’s response has given us the impression that the reason for our move has been misunderstood: WE DID NOT MOVE ROOMS BECAUSE WE WANTED AN UPGRADE. WE DID NOT MOVE ROOMS BECAUSE WE WERE SIMPLY UNHAPPY WITH THE ORIGINAL ROOM. WE MOVED BECAUSE MY PARTNER FELT UNSAFE AFTER A PROJECTILE/PELLET WAS FIRED TOWARDS THE AREA WHERE HE WAS SITTING. We made this very clear to staff at the time. Had this incident not happened, we would have remained in our original room. The room move was therefore not a resolution to this incident; it was something we felt we had to do because my partner no longer felt safe.
Another issue concerns the hotel’s spa/wellness facilities. The hotel has told us in its response that there was no advertising for a spa, apparently implying that our complaint regarding the facilities was untrue. However, we have retained photographs of the hotel’s own guest information provided to us. The hotel’s own guest information contains a specific “Sauna” section stating that “Sauna is available between 10 am to 7 pm” and that it is “Located on floor -1.” We have photographed this page and included it with this review, along with photographs of the hotel’s gym and sauna facilities that were originally on booking.com before the hotel removed them following my complaint and then said we are lying. Therefore, while the hotel may dispute the terminology of “spa”, we certainly did not invent the existence of wellness facilities. The hotel’s own guest information confirms that a sauna facility existed and was presented as available to guests, the book in the room also has a lot of other lies that I will also point out in this review !
There was also another incident involving the condition of the hotel’s pool/fake grass area. While I was walking across the artificial grass, a piece of glass became embedded in my foot and cut me. I had to remove the piece of glass myself, which was extremely painful, and I then had to clean and wrap my foot for the remainder of the holiday. I have photographic evidence of the injury and have included this with the review. We found it extremely concerning that there was broken glass in an area where guests were walking, particularly around the pool facilities where people may be barefoot or wearing minimal footwear. This was not simply an inconvenience — I was left with an injury which affected me for the remainder of our holiday.
What has disappointed us most is not necessarily that things went wrong during our holiday. Things can happen, and we understand that some situations may be outside of the hotel’s direct control. What has really upset us is how our complaint has been handled afterwards. We were understanding and respectful towards the staff throughout our stay and gave the hotel every opportunity to address our concerns privately and reasonably. Instead, the response we received disputed our account, stated that there was no evidence of certain incidents, challenged what we had said about the hotel’s facilities and presented our room move in a way which does not reflect the actual reason we moved. We moved because my partner felt unsafe. That distinction matters enormously.
We have decided to include photographic evidence because of the response we received. Rather than simply asking people to take our word for it, we are showing the evidence we have retained. This includes photographs of the condition and cleanliness of the accommodation, the bathroom, damage and dirt we encountered, the injury to my foot, the hotel facilities and the hotel’s own guest information regarding the sauna. We will also retain all correspondence with the hotel regarding our complaint.
And this is perhaps the most disappointing part: we would not return. Before all of this, my partner and I genuinely liked the hotel and its staff and were even considering coming back in October. Following our experience and, particularly, the way our complaint has been handled, we will now never return. If friends, family or other travellers ask us whether we would recommend this hotel, we will honestly tell them about our experience and why we personally would not recommend it.
I am now sharing our experience, together with the photographic evidence we have, across the relevant travel and review platforms and holiday/travel advice groups. This is not about trying to damage a business or exaggerate what happened. It is about giving future guests the information we wish we had, including the hotel’s response to our complaint, so that they can make their own informed decision. We genuinely wanted to resolve this privately and amicably, and we were extremely understanding throughout our stay. It is therefore incredibly disappointing that a holiday which started with us genuinely liking the hotel and considering returning has ended with us feeling that our experiences were dismissed and our honesty questioned. Our personal experience is that we would not return and we would not recommend this hotel."
