"Disappointing and painful at times. This hotel has unfortunately gone downhill since we stayed here two years ago and it falls short of five-star standards.
Most of the staff we encountered were lovely and clearly work very hard. In particular, the pool staff seemed to be doing their absolute best despite appearing understaffed and spending far too much time working in the sun. The problem, from our experience, is not the individual staff but the culture and the directives they seem to be working under. We had a strong impression that staff are being told to maximise revenue and make money from guests at every possible opportunity. Unfortunately, that comes through in the overall experience and hinders the guests’ experience.
The whole hotel experience now feels incredibly transactional, with a constant and very intentional push to spend more money. At times, it felt more like Las Vegas than a five-star hotel: every opportunity seemed to be designed to get you to spend a little bit more. Some of it is also just misleading and, frankly, quite gauche.
The chocolate, mixed nuts and crisps left on the tray in the room looked like they were complimentary (as they were placed by the free teas and coffee) but they were actually chargeable items. If something costs extra, make it clear. Don’t leave it there on the free-items tray hoping to charge people a quick €20 before they have even put their suitcases down. It felt very deliberate and completely at odds with what you expect from a luxury hotel.
The situation at the pool was particularly unpleasant. There was absolutely no sign saying that you couldn’t bring your own drinks to the pool, yet a member of staff came over and told us we couldn’t bring a single can of Coke. She was incredibly rude (shouting at us and proceeding to tell her colleague what happened in front of us) and actually embarrassed us in front of other guests (who were laughing and pointing). What made it worse was that plenty of other people were doing exactly the same thing by bringing bottled water, soft drinks and snacks from outside . If it’s a rule, put up a sign — something we reiterated to her as well — and apply it consistently. Similarly, if a guest is not supposed to bring external soft drinks, take them to the side and quietly explain - instead, we were shouted at by your staff who said there was coke in the bar and there was no reason for us to have our own can. At the same time, you are constantly pushed to order drinks through the pool service and encouraged to tip as you can’t simply go and order your own drinks from the bar. This means you have no real choice but to use the pool service. It feels like a very obvious and intentional way to encourage people to spend more money.
The coffee was another major disappointment. We normally drink coffee from the machines at the hotel when we stay but it was genuinely (almost purposefully) awful. The very minimum you expect from a five-star hotel is a decent coffee and some basic table service. You should be able to sit down at breakfast and have someone come to the table, ask what coffee you would like and bring it to you. That is hardly an unreasonable expectation for a five-star hotel. Instead, we ended up having to order and pay for coffee (which was charged at extortionate rates on top of the breakfast we had already paid for) at the bar every morning with other customers were also complaining about the coffee. There was mostly decaf available in the rooms too, which is hardly what you expect from a five-star hotel. Again, it just adds to the feeling that even the most basic things are designed to push you towards spending more.
The minibar was packed with paid items, to the point that we couldn’t even fit our own water in the fridge. Even the complimentary water was easily lost behind all the items you were expected to pay for. There were also none of the little extra amenities you would normally expect from a five-star hotel. No biscuits or other small complimentary touches, and none of the practical hotel essentials you often find in the room, such as a shoe-polishing kit or sewing kit. It may sound minor, but when there are so many opportunities to charge guests for things, you notice when virtually nothing extra is actually included. There were no real luxury gestures.
The restaurant was another disappointment. The dinner portions were extremely small and simply didn’t justify the prices being charged. We ordered a prawn pasta dish and it arrived with one single prawn. For the price being charged, it was honestly laughable. This isn’t about expecting enormous portions; it’s about expecting the food and the overall dining experience to feel remotely proportionate to the price. There was also very little incentive for hotel guests to actually eat at the hotel. At these prices, you would expect some recognition that guests are already staying there and perhaps some reason to choose the hotel restaurants rather than going elsewhere. Instead, it felt as though everything was simply another opportunity to spend more, without any particular added value for hotel guests.
The cleaning also left a lot to be desired. There were times when we were left without toilet paper or shower gel and had to go and ask reception. The quality of the bathroom products was also surprisingly poor for a hotel presenting itself as five-star.
There was also a stale smell in the corridors and the carpets looked dirty and tired, which only added to the general feeling that the hotel is no longer being maintained to the standard it once was.
Even the late checkout left a bad taste. We had already arrived late on our first day, through no fault of our own, so having to pay an additional charge simply to have a little more time before leaving (when the room was not required by other guests) felt particularly transactional. It was £80 for three extra hours for what is usually a goodwill gesture. When you are already paying five-star prices, these constant additional charges become exhausting.
The five-star performance of bringing your luggage upstairs or giving you a glass of water when you get there is not going to qualify you as five stars. It’s the overall experience that matters, and this simply doesn’t feel like a five-star hotel.
It was genuinely much better when we stayed two years ago. This time, it felt like the focus was far more on upselling and harassing guests for extra money than actually providing a luxury experience.
The constant little charges, restrictions and opportunities to spend more felt very intentional and tiring. The impression is that the staff are working from a directive that the priority is to generate revenue and make a profit, rather than to create a genuinely luxurious and special experience for the guest.
Frankly, the whole approach felt more Las Vegas than luxury: spend, spend, spend, at every opportunity. For a hotel charging these prices and calling itself five-star, that is simply not good enough."
