"We really wanted to love this hotel because there are genuinely some things it does very well. The location is quiet but still convenient, the rooms are extremely quiet and we never heard other guests, and the indoor and outdoor pools are both quite nice. The hotel itself also has a very peaceful atmosphere, and you rarely see many people around, which makes it feel calm and private.
Unfortunately, though, our stay was quite disappointing overall, particularly for a hotel marketed as 5-star. We chose it largely because of the very positive reviews, so I was surprised that some of the issues we experienced don’t seem to be mentioned more often. I’m sharing them simply so that future guests know what to expect.
There were a number of small room issues that, individually, wouldn’t have bothered us too much, but collectively they made the room feel less comfortable and well thought-out than we expected. There weren’t enough pillows, and when we asked for more, we were actually given fewer than we had requested. Both of the bedside lights didn’t work, and there were no convenient plugs beside the bed. There was one plug a little way away from one side of the bed, but unless you have a particularly long charging cable, it isn’t really usable from the bed.
The room itself is also very small. The kettle is cleverly stored in a drawer, but the design of the room means that once the kettle is pulled out, you literally have to climb over the bed to get to the other side of the room. It’s a clever storage idea that unfortunately doesn’t work particularly well in such a small space. The bathroom is similarly tiny, with the sink positioned extremely low. It’s certainly functional, but not what we expected from a 5-star hotel.
The toilet was another issue. It didn’t flush particularly well, and after flushing, the water tank seemed to take an extremely long time to refill before it could be used again. It became something we had to actively think about rather than simply being able to use the toilet normally. To add to this there was no toilet brush provided.
The minibar was also not fully stocked, and there was no corkscrew available to open the some of the wine bottles provided. Again, these are small things, but they are the sort of details you expect to be taken care of at this level.
Housekeeping was another minor frustration. On two mornings, a member of housekeeping came to the door at around 9:20am and woke us up. It seems that you need to remember to put the relevant sign on the door if you don’t want housekeeping to come around early, rather than there being any consideration that guests may still be sleeping at that time. Not a major issue in itself, but again, not something we would expect to have to think about on a relaxing hotel stay.
One of the biggest disappointments was the advertised 24-hour room service. This is mentioned both online and in the information provided in the room. On our first night, we called at around 10:20pm to order food, only to be told that room service wasn’t available because the kitchen closed at 10pm. As nothing else was open in town by that point, we ended up going without dinner. If the service isn’t actually available 24 hours, the information really needs to be updated.
Breakfast was another surprise. The hotel offers a continental breakfast for an additional charge, with the option to order from the à la carte menu as well. The continental offering was extremely limited for a 5-star hotel: bread (not even toast), spreads, fruit, pastries, ham, cheese and yoghurt, with nothing cooked. We ended up ordering from the à la carte menu because we genuinely wondered if that was the entire breakfast offering.
We also tried the bar one evening. The hotel describes it as a rooftop bar, but in reality it is more of a first-floor patio with no real view. As it was a lovely warm evening, we wanted to sit outside, but were asked to come inside so the waiter could provide better service. To be fair to him, he appeared to be serving the tables largely on his own, so the lack of service wasn’t entirely his fault. There was also a moment where he asked whether we wanted water for the table; I turned to ask my partner and, before we could answer, he had already walked away. The food itself was okay, although the portions were very small.
The swimming pool is one of the nicer aspects of the hotel, although even here there was a small issue. There is a jacuzzi section within the pool, but the button to activate it doesn’t work, so that section couldn’t actually be used during our stay. There is also no where to sit by the indoor pool apart from very small stones. It’s another relatively minor thing, but when you’re paying for a 5-star hotel, you do expect the facilities advertised and provided to be in working order.
I also found the general atmosphere from the staff a little disappointing. Everyone said the right things, but we rarely received a smile and interactions often felt quite cold or abrupt. I appreciate that individual staff members may have simply been having a difficult or busy shift, and I don’t want this review to unfairly criticise them personally. However, the overall level of service didn’t feel particularly warm or 5-star during our stay.
Ultimately, we really enjoyed the peaceful feel of the hotel, the quiet rooms, the pools and its location, and there are definitely aspects of the property that we liked. However, for the price and its 5-star rating, we expected a much higher standard of attention to detail, facilities and service. We have stayed in 3- and 4-star hotels that have delivered a considerably better overall experience.
I’m giving this review because I chose the hotel based on its excellent reviews and, having now stayed here, I’m genuinely surprised that some of these points don’t seem to come up more often. None of them would necessarily ruin a stay individually, but together they made this feel much more like a good 3- or 4-star hotel than the 5-star experience we were expecting."
