"The hotel building is beautifully designed. It looks top class and of course is brand new.
Our room was a suite with balcony. It was very spacious with a huge bed, separate lounge area, decent size bathroom with power shower, plenty of storage and loungers and chairs on the balcony.
First impressions were therefore very good despite the reception check in taking well over 40 minutes for not a large queue of guests.
The gardens are beautifully landscaped and the two pools are fantastic with walk in access and no 'haul yourself out' steps. Although, as others have noted, there didn't appear to be an adults only pool which was confusing.
The bar areas are also very attractive, and the bar staff are friendly and professional but the inside space is too small for the number of guests although maybe they will utilise outdoor areas more in the summer.
What the hotel needs to urgently address is the restaurant area, service and food. We were all inclusive and enjoyed the food at breakfast and lunch where the variety was excellent, but we look on dinner as a highlight of our day on holiday and unfortunately it really failed in that area. Food choices were poor and never hot enough unless freshly grilled. There was a different roast meat every night. My husband was delighted to see that it was roast beef on our last night, only to discover there was none left by 8.00pm! There was some labelling but that was inadequate. There seemed to be one or two chefs putting in an appearance, but I wouldn't consider it show cooking. We avoided some dishes as they looked pretty unappealing and then weren't sure for instance, how long some of the dishes had been sitting there or felt we had seen them the previous evening. On one occasion there was a selection of beautifully made appetizers/ canapés
in individual pots, but again no labelling. I correctly guessed at a smoked salmon mousse but there was nobody around to ask.
We have found previously on all inclusive holidays that when you enter the restaurant, you are asked for your room number, your board basis is therefore checked, asked if you would prefer to sit inside or outside and directed to a clean available table. This didn't happen. In fact some guests got their plate of food then wandered about trying to find a seat like in an M&S café! The dining room is too small (in the winter anyway) for the number of guests who wish to eat inside and too often tables weren't cleared for some time or we were moving our own dirty plates to one side. They were very short staffed and it wasn't a good experience.
As the hotel offers self catering, b&b, half board and all inclusive, it's difficult to see how they are monitoring guests coming and going and whether they are entitled to be having an evening meal or lunch, because we couldn't see much checking going on. They need at least twice as many staff as they have at present.
We booked the Italian restaurant on arrival, but having seen the menu we decided to cancel. I couldn't imagine that the lasagne or pizza would be any different from the ones on offer in the main restaurant. My husband would have liked the T bone steak, but this was €28 and drinks also have to be paid for. It seemed nonsensical to do so having paid extra for all inclusive and being able to enjoy free drinks the rest of the time.
I hope these teething problems are sorted because the staff seem keen to please and work hard and it is a lovely place with great accommodation. If not, the summer influx of guests could come as quite a shock. The hotel could be 5 stars but the food and staffing issues need to be addressed first."
