"We stayed from 17th July to 24th July and overall had a good holiday, but there were several areas where the resort could improve.
Check-in was quick and straightforward. However, because everything is done on screens and this was our first stay, we were given very little information about the resort. We ended up discovering facilities and areas ourselves throughout the week, which could have easily been covered during check-in.
We really liked the credit system. It gave us the flexibility of half board without being tied to eating in the hotel every evening. We could use our credit on lunches and drinks instead, which meant our money wasn’t wasted if we chose to eat out.
That said, we also found the system a little misleading. Each couple received €420 credit for the week. As we arrived later in the day, we ate in the buffet on our first evening. We quickly discovered that the buffet was actually more expensive than the à la carte restaurant, despite offering a much more limited selection. At around €30 per person, we didn’t feel it represented good value and realised we could have eaten à la carte for almost half the cost.
To make matters worse, the bill for our table of four was accidentally charged entirely to our account, meaning around €140 was taken from our credit on the first night to cover our friends’ meals as well. Although this was eventually balanced between us, it immediately made us question how worthwhile the credit system really was.
By the end of the week, we found the best value was using our credit on lunches and drinks throughout the day and then eating at local restaurants in the evening. Between the four of us, we still had around €120 remaining on our final day, which we used in the buffet simply to use up the remaining credit. Also worth noting, it was quite easy to keep our evening meals below €120 each night outside the hotel between 4 of us. Non of the meals out cost us more than the buffet did!!
The relaxation pool, which was right outside our room, was fantastic. It genuinely felt like we were staying in an adults-only resort without paying the extra cost. Unfortunately, throughout the week children would occasionally discover the quieter pool, climb on the rocks and jump into the water. This wasn’t monitored by staff, and it was often left to other guests to ask them to move elsewhere.
Finding four sunbeds together in the middle of the day could sometimes be difficult, although by around 4pm plenty became available again.
Unfortunately, our experience with the lifeguard wasn’t particularly positive. On one occasion, one of our friends was spoken to quite abruptly for having a glass by the pool. We completely understand that glass shouldn’t be poolside, but the drink had been served by the bar in a glass despite us saying it was for the pool. We felt this issue should have been addressed with the bar staff rather than the guests.
On another occasion, at around 5:40pm, I had fallen asleep on my sunbed when the lifeguard began dragging and stacking loungers immediately beside me. It woke me quite suddenly, and no apology was offered. He continued stacking loungers around guests who were still relaxing, giving the impression the pool was already closing and many guests soon packed up and left. While we understand preparations need to begin before closing, doing this over an hour beforehand felt unnecessary, especially as the pool area itself often remained quite dirty and very slippery when wet.
The towel exchange system was by far the most frustrating part of our stay. We paid the €20 deposit at check-in and collected our towels from reception. When we wanted to exchange them, reception first told us this could only be done by the lifeguard between 7:30am and 10:30am. The following morning we returned at 9am only to be told it was actually between 10am and 1pm. There is no information stated anywhere about when the towels can be exchanged.
As we had an excursion booked, we waited until 10am before spending time walking around the resort trying to find the lifeguard, only to eventually return to reception. After asking them to direct us because we’d spent so long looking, we were told he hadn’t even arrived yet. We were repeatedly told only the lifeguard could exchange towels. After several minutes of discussion, it suddenly emerged that reception could actually exchange them after all. We paid the €2 fee and the receptionist simply reached under the desk and handed us fresh towels. The whole process felt completely unnecessary and could have been resolved in under a minute.
Breakfast was another slight disappointment. While the food was nice enough, it was exactly the same every day. There were several different egg options, but no baked beans or sausages, making the selection feel quite limited after a few mornings.
A special mention goes to Dianna, who greeted us most mornings at breakfast and again when collecting lunch. She was warm, welcoming, professional and genuinely friendly. She made us feel valued as guests and was the only member of staff we regularly had proper conversations with. She is a real credit to the hotel.
The rooms were perfectly adequate for the price we paid, although there were a few issues. In both rooms, the shower leaked into the toilet area, which became frustrating over the week. We chose the reduced housekeeping option, so our room was only cleaned twice, but the floors were incredibly dirty and our feet were black most evenings. We’ve experienced this in other hotels abroad, so it may not be unique to this resort, but it’s still something that could be improved.
The recycling bin system also seemed impractical. While we appreciate the environmental effort, the bins were far too small to separate waste properly and there was no information explaining which items belonged in each coloured section. It felt like housekeeping would have had to sort through it all anyway.
The bedroom air conditioning also wouldn’t cool below 24°C, which made the room quite warm at night as we both tend to get hot when sleeping.
On our last night, with an early flight in the morning. We headed to bed around 10pm. The Band that was playing continued past 11pm and was incredibly loud and could be heard clearly inside our room which was the other side on the pool. This made getting to sleep incredibly difficult.
Finally, the bars were clearly understaffed. It wasn’t unusual to queue for 20 minutes just to get a drink during the day, and even longer if someone ahead was ordering cocktails. The staff worked hard, but they simply didn’t have enough people serving, which resulted in long waits throughout the holiday.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay and had a lovely holiday. The resort has plenty of positives, particularly the relaxed atmosphere, the flexibility of the credit system and the excellent service from Dianna. However, with clearer communication, better staffing, improvements to the towel exchange process and a few operational changes, the overall guest experience could be significantly improved.
If we returned we would definitely consider staying earlier in the year, and booking a room with the private balcony."
