"There were quite a few issues during our stay which unfortunately affected our overall experience.
The positives:
On our first day, a large flag was covering an entire side of the hotel and was draped across our balcony. We raised this and were moved to another room, where we were upgraded to a family room. We appreciated the upgrade and the effort to resolve the initial room issue.
Location:
The best thing about the hotel is definitely its location. It is excellent for access to the beach, public transport, bars, restaurants and shopping
The negatives:
The room and bathroom:
We had problems with mosquitoes in the room, and the mosquito net did not fully cover the door, making it difficult to keep them out. The bathroom had no ventilation and the shower area had stagnant water, which made the room very warm and, at times, quite unpleasant-smelling.
The beds were also extremely hard and uncomfortable.
The Wi-Fi was intermittent and had to be reset every time we wanted to use it, which became frustrating.
At 5pm, after returning from the beach, we found there was no towel in our room. Reception told us they had none available and asked us to wait 30 minutes. Considering the size of the two hotels and the fact that they were not at maximum capacity, this was very disappointing
Food and drinks:
Unfortunately, the food was one of the biggest disappointments. It was poor quality and there was very little variety. Every lunch seemed to have the same choices, with virtually no change throughout the stay. There were also clips with every meal, which wasn't particularly appealing.
Ice cream was only available at the sister hotel across the road, which was inconvenient.
The drinks menu was also very limited, with a poor selection and no cocktail list.
The microwave was also visibly unclean and remained that way for several days — potentially weeks — despite the issue being reported.
Entertainment and atmosphere:
There was no entertainment at this hotel, with all entertainment taking place at the sister hotel across the road. As a result, many adults from the sister hotel would come over for a quieter day, which could make the hotel quite busy.
There was also limited outdoor seating around the bar area.
We found some of the staff to be quite unsociable and, at times, not particularly welcoming. On one occasion, if you left your table to go and get more food, staff would clear away your drinks even when you had not finished them.
Sunbeds:
The sun loungers were hard plastic and not comfortable at all. Some guests were using inflatables/lilos on top of the loungers simply to make them bearable. It certainly didn't create a relaxing poolside experience.
Spa:
The spa was advertised to us by a woman during our second week, despite there being no one advertising it during the first week. When she spoke to us, she was also on her phone having a conversation with someone else, which didn't give a particularly professional impression.
Late checkout:
The late checkout arrangements were another major disappointment. We were told that we could not request an extension until 9:30am on our final day. The cost was £30 until 4pm or £40 until 6pm.
Despite having medical needs documented in writing by our GP and communicated through the travel agent, we were only allowed to extend until 4pm because we were told the room needed to be cleaned for 35 arriving guests. We felt this was handled very poorly, particularly given the circumstances.
There is no luggage storage facilities available. Luggage has to be left in the reception foyer.
One other thing worth noting is that we were told the hotel will become 13+ next year, with the food also moving entirely across to the sister hotel. This may change the overall experience considerably.
Overall, although the location is fantastic and we appreciated being moved and upgraded after the initial issue, there were simply too many smaller problems throughout our stay. For us, the lack of food variety, uncomfortable sunbeds and beds, poor ventilation, lack of entertainment, limited drinks selection and some of the service issues meant that we would be unlikely to return."
