Cap Vermell Grand Hotel

"I hadn’t read the more critical reviews until I returned home. Unfortunately, they matched our experience of the hotel. The service levels were very uneven, many of the staff seemed to view guests as an irritation. The service was particularly poor at breakfast. We frequently waited over 15 minutes for anyone to take our coffee order although we were generally given water sooner. Strangely, you didn’t seem to be allowed to serve your own water. It would then take another 10 to 15 minutes for the coffee to arrive. The a la carte items were similarly slow. One day, my husband gave up waiting after over 30 mins had elapsed and everyone else around us had received their orders sooner. I wasn’t eating that day as I felt under the weather. But our worst experience was one of the mornings when it was raining. We were sitting outside but we weren’t bothered because we had a large umbrella above our table. I popped into the breakfast room to get some buffet items. When I came back outside, my husband was sitting in the rain. It transpired that a large Spanish family had requested another umbrella and, without saying a word to my husband, one of the waitstaff had taken the umbrella that was sheltering our table and given it to them - and despite the Spanish family’s protestations. It is sadly relevant to say that we are a mixed race family and my husband is Black . He was the only Black person at breakfast at the time. I complained and asked the relevant person whether she recognised how rude she had been. Her response was to usher us inside and to give us a take away item to take up to our son. This is in itself an illustration of the uneven service. On the first day, we were told we could take up an a la carte item to our son who had remained in the room. The second day, we were told that they had made an exception and no other requests could be accommodated. Strangely enough, the day the breakfast service plummeted to new levels (some would call it a microaggression, I would call it racism), we were permitted to have another takeaway breakfast item. The cleaning of the room and the maintenance of the resort was similarly uninspired. There were tiny beads which remained on our balcony from the day we arrived to the day we left; one day the housekeeper decided that we should not be permitted to keep any of our belongings on the bathroom counter and shoved them all into the alcoves where they couldn’t be seen; and there was the same litter on the paths throughout our stay. The hotel has a gym onsite and guests can also use the country club just outside. On successive days, there were no towels and, on the last day, no water. The reception staff seemed perplexed when i requested towels and water and asked whether I wanted them now. On the plus side, the room was large, if in need of refurbishment, and the food at the Balearic restaurant in the evening was good and very good at Roka - which I understand has closed. Overall, the “holiday” felt like work. To improve, it needs the active involvement of senior management and supervisors with an eye for detail."

"I stayed at Cap Vermell from July 14–18, booking two rooms via the Amex Platinum Fine Hotels & Resorts program. One room checked out on the 17th. Based on the hotel’s 5-star rating and its inclusion in the FHR program, I expected a luxury experience—but what I encountered was one of the worst hotel stays I’ve ever had. From the moment I arrived, I was met with indifference. I had booked a room that, per the hotel’s own listing, accommodated three guests. Yet when I requested an extra bed, I was quoted €100 per night over the phone—only to be charged €150 per night at checkout. Check-in was equally frustrating. I arrived at 7 PM and was told my upgraded room would be cleaned for me. I wasn't given access to the room until 10:30 PM—and no courtesy was extended while I waited. Not even a drink or an apology. The room's air conditioning never worked properly. I made multiple complaints. Twice, I was told someone was coming—only to receive a call 10 minutes later saying no one would be arriving and the issue would be “handled from the outside.” It wasn’t. When someone finally showed up, the unit banged loudly all night, keeping us awake. The next day a technician came, said he needed a ladder, and never returned. The room remained hot. Customer service was consistently dismissive: - I needed help securing a taxi after dropping off my rental car. The staff didn’t know how to help—I had to find my own taxi company. - My friend asked for an outlet adapter and was told if she didn’t return it, she’d be charged €10. I’ve traveled all over Europe and have never seen a hotel nickel-and-dime guests like this. - The $100-per-room FHR credit was essentially unusable due to unnecessary restrictions. Out of $200 total credit, I could only use €80—despite a bill over $1,200. - I asked a golf cart driver for a ride to reception and was met with an attitude, as if I was putting him out for asking to use the cart on a massive property. - For a 4:30 AM taxi, I was told I needed a 4:00 AM golf cart because it would be “very busy.” At 4 AM, the place was completely deserted. - A friend of mine wanted to book a spa treatment. She was pointed in the general direction of the spa (no offer of a ride). When she got there, it was empty. A sign said to go to reception. At reception, no one could help her. To make matters worse, every time Amex called the hotel on my behalf, the hotel would tell them lies, including that I only called about the air conditioning one time. I even sent an email as the hotel instructed—and no one responded. This hotel might have the physical structure of a luxury property, but the service and hospitality are shockingly poor. I felt unwelcome the entire time, and staff made it seem like every request was a burden. I never write reviews—but I couldn’t stay silent about this one. Cap Vermell has a long way to go before it can live up to the 5-star rating it claims."

"Very disappointed with this hotel, we wouldn’t stay again and would not say it was worth what you pay per night. The pool bar is located at the children’s pool, with just roughly 10 seats available. It’s noisy, and we waited 40 minutes for food due to a problem with the gas. The adult pool is small and has around 20 sunbeds in total which is not practical based on the size of the hotel. We went to Roka for dinner. Food was great but the service was a real let down. Having to ask for numerous things several times. This felt like a shame considering we have been to many Roka’s worldwide and not had this issue. Our room smelt unpleasant and damp and the phone to call reception didn’t work so we wasn’t able to organise buggy’s to get us from A to B (very needed at a hotel of this size). Also something to watch for, small steps outside the front door and on pathways which I stubbed my toe on twice. Not at all visible unless you are literally looking at the ground. Breakfast was chaotic and understaffed. Coffees took 20 minutes to arrive after chasing the staff twice as to where these were and the food took 40 minutes, with items then missing when turning up. Would not recommend this hotel to any couples, or even families."