"My family and I recently stayed at the resort from 2 July until 12 July, travelling with two other families. Overall, we had an enjoyable family holiday, and there were certainly some positives, but I wanted to leave an honest and constructive review because, in our experience, the resort does not currently meet the standard I would expect from a 5-star property.
Arrival and accommodation
On arrival, we were welcomed by the staff and began the check-in process. While speaking with the front-of-house staff member, we were told three times that if we wanted to upgrade our room, we should come back downstairs and they would “sort something out”. Given the late hour and the fact that we had three young children with us, I simply said we would see how the room was and headed off.
Unfortunately, when we reached our room, 1401, we immediately understood why the upgrade had been suggested.
The corridor smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and the carpets were visibly worn, with some of the edges damaged. The room itself also smelled of smoke and, in our opinion, was not suitable for a family with young children. It was also located at the very end of the resort, overlooking a grass bank and car park, with people able to see into the room relatively easily.
Our friends, who were travelling with us, were also allocated two rooms that were disappointing, including room 1501 directly above ours.
We ultimately paid £200 to upgrade for the remainder of our stay and moved to room 2362. Although this room was smaller, it had an ocean view and, importantly, did not smell of smoke.
However, even this room was showing signs of wear. On arrival, plugs were hanging away from the wall, the bathroom wallpaper had numerous marks and the standard of morning room cleaning was inconsistent throughout our stay.
Had this been advertised and priced as a 3-star or 4-star resort, I would have been much more accepting of this. However, when a resort is marketed as 5-star, I believe the accommodation should reflect that standard.
Food and dining
The food around the pool was good and was particularly convenient for us as a family with young children. We spent most of our days around the children’s pool and beach, so being able to get food there was a real positive.
We ate at the evening buffet every night. The quality of the food was generally good, but the dining experience itself became one of the most stressful parts of the day.
The buffet was extremely busy and felt chaotic, particularly around the entrance and the areas where people were collecting plates and food. We tried going at different times throughout the week, but it remained very busy.
With what appears to be a very large number of guests using the same dining area within a relatively short period, I feel the restaurant simply isn’t designed to handle the volume of people comfortably.
On one occasion, our young son was bumped into and ended up with a full plate of food over him. Unfortunately, the person who bumped into him didn’t even apologise. Obviously, this isn’t the resort’s fault, but it highlights how difficult and chaotic the dining environment could become.
Again, the food itself was good, but the overall dining experience did not feel like what I would expect from a 5-star resort.
The children’s pool, however, was very good, and there was plenty of space for sun loungers and all the equipment we needed as three families.
Kids’ club
Our children attended the kids’ club for around two hours on one day. The staff were lovely and friendly, but unfortunately there wasn’t a huge amount for the children to do, and they didn’t want to return.
I think this is another area where some investment and additional activities could really improve the experience for families.
Drinks and bars
The drinks and cocktails were generally very good, and we had no complaints about the quality.
Our main issue was the cocktail bar next to the children’s pool by the beach. During the busiest part of the day, when families naturally wanted drinks, there appeared to be only one member of staff serving. This resulted in queues of around 20–30 minutes at times.
With three families and several young children, standing in a queue for that length of time for drinks simply isn’t practical, so we eventually gave up and used the bar near the tennis courts instead. That bar didn’t offer the same cocktail selection, but the queue was considerably shorter.
One potential solution could be to introduce a self-service soft drinks station and beer tap, something we experienced at another resort previously. This would take some pressure off the bar staff and allow people to quickly get basic drinks without joining a long queue.
Overall
I want to stress that we did have a good family holiday. The staff were generally friendly, the food quality was decent, the pool and beach areas were enjoyable, and there are clearly some good foundations here for a really enjoyable family resort.
However, there are several relatively straightforward improvements that I believe could make a significant difference.
My main reason for writing such a detailed review is the fact that this resort is marketed as 5-star. If it were advertised as a 3-star or 4-star resort, I would have approached many of these issues very differently and probably wouldn’t have written this review.
Unfortunately, based on the condition of the accommodation, the organisation of the buffet, the queues at the drinks bar and the limited kids’ club offering, I don’t believe the experience currently reflects a 5-star standard.
I hope the management takes this feedback in the constructive way it is intended. There is a lot of potential here, and with some investment, better organisation and attention to the guest experience, I believe the resort could become a much better option for families.
Thank you to the staff who did make our stay enjoyable, and I hope some of these points can be addressed for future guests."
