"Our Two-Week Family Stay – Honest Review
We have just returned from a two-week stay at this hotel as a family of four, and I wanted to leave an honest review based on our experience.
🏊♀️ Pool Area
The pool area is definitely the nicest part of the hotel. However, even here, there were some areas that could be improved.
The pool itself was clean, but the surrounding area was not kept particularly well. The floor regularly had sand blowing across it, along with rubbish, and during our entire two-week stay we never saw it properly cleaned. The poolside bins were also overflowing at the end of most evenings and were still full the following morning, often not being emptied until around midday. This attracted a lot of flies, which became quite unpleasant.
The sunbeds were also very dirty and could really benefit from a good jet wash.
There was a “lifeguard” on duty, although unfortunately we didn’t feel they were particularly attentive. They sat on plastic chairs towards the back of the pool area, where both pools couldn’t be clearly seen, and rarely moved. The only time we really saw them taking action was when someone had a football or a large inflatable in the pool, at which point they would get security to ask them to remove it.
The security guard was more visible in the mornings and did try to prevent people from reserving sunbeds. Tickets were placed on beds stating that they couldn’t be reserved and that guests had one hour to return. However, this didn’t seem to be enforced consistently. We saw numerous beds with towels on them from around 7:30am until 3pm, despite nobody using them during that time.
🍽️ Food & Drink
Breakfast was definitely our favourite meal of the three. There was a good selection including cereals, fruit, pancakes, pastries, sausages, eggs, bacon, beans and more.
Lunch was okay, with options such as meat, pasta, rice, chips and pizza.
However, we found that the food served at lunch was generally repeated again at dinner that evening. After staying for two weeks, this became quite boring and repetitive.
There is a poolside snack bar, which mainly served chips, bread rolls and cold meats. There is also a fast-food section offering hot dogs, burgers and chicken burgers. Unfortunately, we didn’t rate the chicken burgers at all – they were very sloppy – and the standard burgers weren’t much better. The hot dogs were probably the only option from there that I would have been comfortable giving my children.
When we arrived we were asked would we like to book in for the all inclusive Chinese’s, bbq and Italian restaurant. We did and this was a waste of time the food was just what was served in the main restaurant.
As mentioned in quite a few other reviews, you have to pay €1 for a cup. However, you can return your used cup to the bar and receive a fresh one for your next drink. We used this system for cocktails and alcoholic drinks, but brought our own metal thermal cups for soft drinks, which were self-service for al inclusive however no ice creams where included you had to pay for these behind the bar.
The drinks being self-service was a positive, but the queues at the bar were still consistently long, often around 10 minutes. There simply didn’t seem to be enough staff, especially considering the size of the pool area, and having only one bar serving such a large number of guests made this even more noticeable.
They have on other bar open of a night which is the sports bar however this isn’t stated but you have to pay at this bar it isn’t included in your all inclusive again it’s ridiculous the amount of people staying and only one all inclusive bar.
🛏️ Rooms
The rooms are very dated and could definitely do with modernising, but I can’t fault the maids. Our room was kept clean throughout our stay, our bedding was changed several times, fresh towels were always provided and the bins were regularly emptied.
I requested a travel cot before arriving and this was provided, with a mattress placed inside, which we appreciated.
One major issue for us was the air conditioning. The hotel advertises air conditioning, but in reality it is more like a fan built into the wall and the air isn’t cold. This was particularly difficult for us travelling with a baby, especially during the hot weather. We were told by the hotel that all of their additional fans had been rented out, which really highlighted how inadequate the existing system is.
If you’re travelling with young children, I would also be aware of the layout of the rooms. Ours was separated by a low ledge and two steps, which was a big concern with a baby who has only just started walking. We had to use suitcases to block off the ledge and stairs whenever he was walking around, as otherwise there was a genuine risk of him falling and hurting himself. In our opinion, this isn’t particularly child-friendly.
🎤 Entertainment
Unfortunately, this was probably the biggest disappointment for us.
During the day, the animation team would come around the pool, do a short dance and tell guests about the activities taking place. However, the majority of the activities appeared to be aimed at adults, with very little available for children during the day.
The kids’ club is located underground, around the corner from the restaurant. At other hotels we’ve stayed at, our daughter has been able to attend kids’ clubs while we sit nearby in a shaded area where we can see her. This wasn’t possible here. You simply leave your child at the entrance, sign them in and they play around the corner, with no windows or visibility for parents. Because of this, my daughter didn’t attend the kids’ club at all during our stay.
The evening entertainment wasn’t much better. The children’s disco started at 8:30pm in the only bar open in the evening. The area is underground, crowded and very warm, with nowhere near enough seating for the number of guests.
After the kids’ disco, the entertainment varied, but unfortunately our children found much of it boring. One evening there was opera singing, which obviously wasn’t particularly entertaining for young children.
A lot of the seating also didn’t have a good view of the stage, and once again the queue for the bar was very long due to there only being one bar open.
The hotel really needs to consider having more than one bar open at a time. There are so many areas around the hotel that could potentially be used as outdoor bars or additional seating areas, but unfortunately they seem to be going to waste.
There is also an underground arcade, which was a nice idea, but it was constantly overcrowded because there simply wasn’t enough other entertainment for children in the evenings. They have an outdoor mini golf which was good and you just get your clubs from reception.
🌴 Hotel Grounds
The hotel grounds have so much potential but really need more attention when it comes to cleanliness and maintenance.
As mentioned, the pool area is lovely but is unfortunately let down by the lack of cleaning.
The children’s park was another disappointment. The hotel advertises having a children’s play area, but we found it to be in quite poor condition and, in our opinion, not particularly safe for young children. The equipment is mainly wooden and some of the wood was split, while the metal slide became extremely hot in the sun.
The hotel has a waterfall running underground by the restaurant however this was only on once during our stay.
The lifts were a big problem also. Constantly not working or breaking which was not great when you have a pram.
We didn’t see any children using the park during our stay. Instead, most families seemed to take their children across to the beach park on the promenade, which was much nicer.
📍 Location
The location of the hotel is definitely one of its biggest positives.
It’s right on the beach promenade, next to the park and a small shopping centre which has a Spar. There are also lots of local restaurants, including Indian and Chinese restaurants, kebab shops and bars.
Hotel is very close to the airport and you will see planes landing and taking off during the day. My son absolutely loved this and it was the highlight of his holiday. This did not disturb our sleep as the last flight is around 10pm.
During our second week, we actually ate out most evenings and went for walks and drinks because we found the hotel didn’t offer enough in terms of evening entertainment.
Walking along the promenade, we noticed several other hotels with lovely outdoor bars and much more going on in the evenings, and these are hotels we would potentially consider for future trips.
⭐ Overall
Overall, I think this hotel has so much potential, which is what makes some of the issues even more disappointing.
If we had been offered it as a cheap last-minute week away, I think it would have been okay and we probably wouldn’t have had as many complaints.
However, considering what we paid for a two-week family holiday, we didn’t feel it represented good value for money. There are some good aspects – particularly the location, clean pools and hardworking housekeeping staff – but there are also several areas that really need improvement.
For us, the biggest issues were the lack of proper air conditioning, limited children’s entertainment, lack of evening facilities, queues at the bar, cleanliness around the pool and the condition of the children’s play area.
It’s a shame because the hotel has a fantastic location and the potential to be a really great family resort if more attention was given to maintenance, cleanliness, entertainment and facilities.
💡 Tips if you’re staying here
• Bring your own reusable cup/thermal cup for soft drink refills.
• Visit the beach park early in the morning or around 8pm – it’s much cooler and quieter for children.
• We recommend trying Fu Gui, Pride of India, Kebab House and O’Shea’s Bar at the local shopping centre.
• Pool shoes are a good idea as the floor gets extremely hot and there were areas where the flooring was crumbling, which could potentially cut your feet.
• If you can, take a portable fan with you – the hotel’s “air conditioning” isn’t particularly effective."
