"We arrived after midnight, the first impression was the hotel was stunning. Unfortunately for us, that's about where it ended.
Firstly, the car park was full with some inconsiderate drivers taking two spaces and limo taxis blocking entrances and exits, one driver was even asleep. It wasn't a good first impression.
After driving round for 10 minutes trying to find a space, my husband dropped me and the grandchildren at the reception to check in while he continued to try to park.
Raphaella (sorry, I've probably not spell this correctly) on reception was absolutely wonderful, I have to say. She was friendly, helpful, told us where we can park for free if the car park is full and what to do to avoid getting fines. Despite the advice, I was tired from travelling and this was not a good start.
THE LOCATION:
Right opposite Nissi Beach the location couldn't be more perfect. Stunning sea views greeted us every morning. The hotel shop is fantastic with reasonable prices. We got most of our souvenirs and gifts from here. It stocks absolutely everything from food to wines, gifts to clothing and fresh food and fruits.
Being B&B we found the Zorbas bakery, just a short walk on Nissi Avenue, a godsend. Freshly made up sandwiches, salads, cakes and pastries were perfect for lunch.
If you hire a car or book a taxi, the road from the hotel onto Nissi Avenue is horrendous. It's constantly busy, with it being the car park to Nissi Beach, and the main Nissi Avenue is just standstill traffic. But if you want to be near one of the best beaches you have to expect it I guess.
THE ROOMS:
I'd requested no bunk beds on special requests. I know this isn't guaranteed, but we walked in to the room, and he first thing we saw were bunk beds. The room was not big at all, not for 2 adults and 2 children. We literally dumped the cases and got into bed. The pillows were horrendous. Massive thick pillows that were really hard. I had little sleep because of neck pain.
The beds were comfy apart from that. The bunk beds, while I didn't want them, were comfy, although the top bunk is right under the aircon fan.
The bathroom was a good size, two sinks, two showers either end. But that shower floor, it's slippery. You only get one bath mat so have to use towels to stop you falling. After not even one day one of the showers broke, it wouldn't hold but we had others so just left it. Also the TV stopped working after 2 days.
A five-star hotel with no blackout curtains and curtains that don't fully seal the window is just incredible. We had to block the curtains with chairs so they stayed in place, but even then the light coming through in the morning around 5am was painful. I've never stayed in a hotel that didn't have blackout curtains, and for 5-star, this was just unacceptable. It's all nice that they open and shut at a push of a button, but there's not much difference between open and shut to be honest.
The balcony was a nice size, and our room overlooked the car park and sea with stunning views. I just love waking up to the sea and the view was just spectacular. The Nissi Beach bar opposite played loud dance music but I like that, however I can see how others who don't will be irritated by it.
There was nothing to dry swimwear on the balcony so we had to buy our own washing line and pegs. Nothing major, but you shouldn't have to go out and buy a washing line as the first port of call. There were a couple of rails either end, but when you've got swimwear for four people along with towels, you need a little more than that. And there was only two chairs on the balcony for a family of four.
MAIN RESTAURANT FOR BREAKFAST:
We were bed and breakfast only and after what I witnessed I'm glad I only had to visit that restaurant once a day. It was absolute carnage. We were greeted at the door to give our room number and taken to a table by an extremely unfriendly woman. She just walked off ahead, pointed at a table and when I asked to go in a different area she rolled her eyes. This wasn't the only time we experienced her unfriendliness. She really needs to smile, engage with guests more, or find a different job role if she can't manage it.
Chefs replenishing food quite understandably had frustrated looks on their faces, irritated by the amount of people in their way when carrying trays of food. I understood how they felt.
I know the ignorance, rudeness and entitlement of guests is not the hotel's fault but wow, I've never experienced anything like it. A woman touching every piece of cake before she chose the shape she wanted, a man and his son walking in, hand straight in the nuts and into his mouth. Disgusting vile man. Kids, touching everything with fingers, pushing in, knocking you out of the way.
I gave up trying to get toast. When I finally fought my way through the toaster crowd I had to put it through 4 times and then gave up when it was still warm bread.
The amount of food wastage is incredible. One table, the wait staff didn't even know if they had gone. Full plates of watermelon, breads, cheeses, cakes and pastries all left. In times when people are struggling to feed their family, this was particularly horrible to witness.
Why people can't just take what they can manage is beyond me. They can always go up and get more if it's not enough for them, but the mountains of food left was shocking.
My grandchildren have beautiful manners. They've been brought up to wait their turn, but I ended up telling them to just barge their way through or they will never get anything. It wasn't natural to them to do that. I can turn manners on and off depending on the situation, and I can honestly say it was quite easy to become one of them.
I've never stayed in 5 star, and if this is what you have to deal with I won't again. It appears the more stars the hotel has, the more arrogance and entitlement of certain guests.
POOLS:
You can forget getting a sunbed. For the amount of money we paid, we couldn't even sit by the pools, literally had to dump our bags elsewhere. The pools were so busy, rude kids running past, pushing my two out of the way, swimming into you with no regard for anyone. The amount of hair was really off-putting, constantly entwined around my fingers.
People are also meant to wash their feet when they've visited the beach, but they don't, and the pool areas then become really muddy which is never cleaned.
Another bug-bear of mine was the slides, open for only two hours twice a day. The queues were horrendous, again kids pushing in. Why not leave it open all day, it would cut the queues down and stop it being such madness there. Even that, parents sitting on the steps of the slide pools and not being told to move. Kids coming down the slides had to ask them to move. Can they not see they are blocking the way!!
I lost track of how many floats rammed into me by adults. No apologies, it's ok, I'll move.
OVERALL:
I was wowed by the pictures of Adams, the pool areas looked just stunning, but by 9am it looks nothing like that, it just looks chaotic and far from the relaxing experience I thought I'd be getting.
Raphaella was lovely and helpful and perfect for front of house. We also had such lovely cleaning staff who always greeted us with a smile and politeness each time we saw them. They are a credit to this hotel and are often overlooked.
For what it cost me for just B&B at Adams I have had all inclusive at other hotels, and have had a much better experience with friendly staff and guests with manners."
