"Well… where do I even begin?
What should have been a lovely birthday turned into one of the most disappointing holidays I’ve ever had. I’m actually still here as I write this, and frankly, I’m dreading the journey home.
Let’s start with the Alua Sol Carolina.
The hotel itself is beautiful, the rooms are clean, and the housekeeping staff work incredibly hard. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives largely end.
The welcome — absolutely appalling
On arrival, I was dealing with a member of reception called Mari, and the customer service was quite honestly disgraceful.
I had booked three rooms — one for a couple and two single-occupancy rooms. I had all the booking references and documentation with me and showed everything to her. While she was showing me something on the computer, I put my finger on the screen to turn it towards me because I couldn’t see what she was trying to show me.
She immediately started shouting at me and behaving as though I had been aggressive towards her.
I hadn’t.
She eventually realised she had completely misjudged the situation and did apologise, but only after an unnecessarily long and incredibly uncomfortable exchange. Another customer actually asked whether there was someone else who could check them in because of the delay.
The tutting, eye-rolling and attitude were utterly unacceptable. That is not how you greet paying guests.
The food — quite possibly the worst part
The all-inclusive food was absolutely substandard.
It may look as though there is plenty of choice, but appearances are deceiving. Breakfast was ok, I only ate it once but the lunch and evening meals were awful. Much of it was fish-heavy, and unfortunately the fish itself was often tasteless and unappealing.
The meat was even worse. Almost every piece I tried was cheap, chewy and full of gristle, to the point where it was genuinely inedible.
The “butter” wasn’t proper butter either — it appeared to be margarine sitting in water and tasted greasy.
The soup seemed to consist of vegetables that had already appeared elsewhere on previous days. The ice cream was practically liquid. There were very few decent chicken options.
Two members of our party don't eat red meat or fish, and they were left with virtually nothing suitable to eat. My 22-year-old daughter ended up essentially living on chips — and even chips weren't available every day.
I ended up eating bread and salad.
After three days, we simply stopped eating in the restaurant because we couldn't face it anymore.
For an all-inclusive holiday, that is frankly ridiculous.
The spa.
Lovely and calming. Please remember to ask 30 minutes before using sauna or steam as it takes a while to heat up. However the sign says it’s open until 2200 and reception disagreed. It’s until 2000 so I’d planned a relaxing evening and it was a no….
The rooms
The rooms themselves are lovely and very clean, and the housekeeping staff deserve credit for keeping them that way.
However, despite the excellent cleaning, basic items were repeatedly missing — glasses, milk, tea, coffee, sugar and sweetener. It shouldn't be necessary to keep asking for the basics in a hotel room.
I was fortunate enough to have a sea-view room, and I have to say the view was absolutely stunning. It's probably the highlight of the entire stay.
Entertainment
The entertainment staff themselves were friendly and worked hard, and the bar staff — both downstairs by the pool and upstairs in the foyer — were also great.
Unfortunately, the actual entertainment was another matter.
I watched the Queen tribute and, frankly, it was laughable. I genuinely couldn't believe it was being presented as an evening's entertainment.
Location
Be warned about the location if you're expecting somewhere with a bit of life outside the hotel.
There is very little around the hotel. No real selection of local bars, very few restaurants and only a couple of small cafés and one restaurant nearby, which aren't exactly cheap. There is a small ‘supermarket’ across the road which is sparsely stocked.
You need to get the bus into the nearest town if you want any better choice.
So if you want to leave the hotel and have a wander around somewhere with plenty going on, this is probably not the place for you.
One shining exception — Paco
I do want to give credit where it's genuinely deserved.
One evening I needed some salt because, by that point, I was reduced to eating cup-a-soups because I couldn't face the restaurant food. I went downstairs and spoke to Paco, the night receptionist.
What an absolute diamond of a man.
He was kind, helpful, friendly and genuinely went out of his way to help me. Paco is the real star of the Alua Sol Carolina and should be treasured.
Thank you, Paco, for showing some genuine kindness when I really needed it.
And then there's Jet2…
Unfortunately, the disappointment didn't end with the hotel.
I travelled with Jet2, and their customer service has been equally frustrating. My flight seats were changed three times, and we're travelling with a new airline that I found extremely cramped and uncomfortable. As a disabled person who books seats early, this was not only an inconvenience but genuinely painful being put in uncomfortable seats.
I’ve travelled with jet2 at least twice a year for a long time and my parents even more.
After this experience, we have all already agreed that this will be the last time we travel with Jet2.
Overall verdict
I've spent a large part of the holiday struggling to find food I could actually eat, dealing with unacceptable customer service and feeling completely cut off from anywhere with any atmosphere.
Yes, the hotel is attractive. Yes, the rooms are clean. Yes, there are some genuinely lovely members of staff.
But a pretty hotel and a nice sea view don't compensate for poor food, poor service, limited surroundings and an all-inclusive experience where you can't actually rely on being able to eat the food.
Would I recommend the Alua Sol Carolina? Absolutely not.
Unless your idea of a great holiday is being stuck in a fairly isolated location, eating endless fish, gristle, bread and salad, I would seriously think twice before booking this place.
For me, it was a very disappointing holiday — and a particularly disappointing birthday.
Rather than looking forward to my next visit, I'm counting down until I can go home.
Alua Sol Carolina — management, I would genuinely like a response to this review.
How is it acceptable for an all-inclusive hotel to provide food of this standard, leave guests with so few alternatives, and have staff treat customers in the way I experienced?
Potential guests: please read the reviews carefully before booking. I certainly wish I had."
