"We recently returned from a 10-night stay as a family of three with our 7-year-old son, staying in a Swim-Up Junior Suite.
Unfortunately, this is not a hotel I'd consider to be a genuine 5-star property. We've previously stayed at the TUI BLUE Sensatori in Fethiye and the former Sensatori in Crete, and both were on a completely different level. This hotel simply doesn't compare.
The biggest positive by far was our swim-up room. It genuinely made the holiday for us. The room itself was a little tired and the shower plug was broken throughout our stay, but neither issue really affected our enjoyment. Having direct access to the pool gave us space away from the overcrowded main pools and made relaxing much easier. If you're booking one, I'd highly recommend Room 006 as it has a great balance of sun and shade throughout the day.
The TUI BLUE App also deserves praise. Whenever we reported an issue, the response was quick and the staff were genuinely helpful.
Our son really enjoyed the Kids Club and was always happy to go, so credit to the team there. The Piano Bar was another highlight, with a lovely atmosphere and some very talented performers throughout our stay.
As for the restaurants, the Asian à la carte was easily our favourite. The food was tasty, although the portions were on the small side.
Sadly, that's where the positives largely end.
The hotel as a whole feels tired and in need of investment. More concerning was the overall cleanliness. The shared pools didn't feel particularly clean, with visible black mildew in the grout between the pool tiles. Around the buffet restaurant there was frequently food covering large areas of the floor. We raised this during our stay and, to be fair, standards improved for a couple of days before gradually slipping back to how they were before. It's simply not pleasant eating every day surrounded by food that's been left on the floor.
The buffet itself was probably the biggest disappointment. The food was average at best, I'd rate it around 5/10. There was very little variety across the 10 nights, quality was inconsistent and the children's buffet was usually only lukewarm.
There was also a rule stating that children under 10 should not serve themselves at the buffet, but this was almost completely ignored. On two occasions we watched children tasting food directly from the serving spoons before putting them back, and on another a parent actively encouraged their child to dip a finger into the chocolate fountain to see if they liked it. Not once did we see staff intervene.
The other restaurants were mixed. Green & Grill had nice starters and the steak was decent, although the advertised "T-Bone" isn't really a traditional T-bone as it doesn't include any fillet, it's essentially a sirloin on the bone. Unfortunately we were forgotten after our main course and eventually gave up waiting to order dessert.
The Italian was genuinely poor. My wife's carbonara was inedible, and after trying it myself I needed a slice of my son's pizza just to get rid of the taste. (Ironically, the pizza was very good.) My lasagne consisted almost entirely of layers of pasta with very little beef or béchamel sauce. It was one of the most disappointing restaurant meals we've had on holiday.
The evening entertainment also lacked variety. The entertainment team worked hard, but during our 10-night stay we saw exactly the same Monday programme repeated the following week - including the identical quiz with the same questions. Of the guest acts, Boy Band Evolution and the Take That tribute were enjoyable, but the Gran Circus Acrobat show was poor. Overall the entertainment was nowhere near the standard we've experienced at Sensatori Fethiye.
Finally, the towels became a surprisingly regular frustration. On four separate occasions our supposedly clean towels arrived dirty, and even when they were clean many were threadbare or had holes in them. Again, not what you'd expect from a hotel marketed as 5-star.
We raised our concerns with TUI during the holiday and received £200 compensation, which we appreciated. However, that doesn't change the overall feeling that the holiday simply wasn't worth the price we paid.
Without the Swim-Up Junior Suite, I honestly think we would have struggled to enjoy this holiday at all. The room elevated what would otherwise have been a genuinely poor experience into one that was just about acceptable.
Would I return? No.
Would I recommend it? Only if you can secure a swim-up room and go with realistic expectations. If you're expecting the standard of the Sensatori resorts in Fethiye or the old Crete property, you'll almost certainly leave disappointed."
