Duva Aparthotel & Spa

"As always we were made very welcome by the staff at the Duva hotel. Our 4 visit so we knew the ropes and soon settled into our comfortable room. The pool and environment is always a pleasure to visit. Particular mention must go to entertainments director Luciano whose boundless energy always amazes us. Thanks again Duva"

"We have just returned from a 2 week stay at Duva on a self catering basis. Room We were given room 1905 on the top floor of Block C. We had requested (via Jet2 booking site) a high floor and quiet room. The hotel honoured this, although we could hear entertainment from the room but I think our block was probably situated furthest from this given we weren’t booked for Duvabitat or Premium rooms. It was quiet during the day and the entertainment finished by 11pm. There was some road noise as situated near quite a busy road but couldn’t hear this much with balcony doors closed. The room was nicely decorated and overall of a good size, however the kitchenette area, although well equipped, was very small with little workspace. We coped with it as we ate out in the evenings so just used for preparing breakfast and lunches, but it was insufficient for self catering as would have been a real struggle to prepare an evening meal, had we wanted to do so. Bathroom was a good size and shower powerful but temperature ran hot and cold intermittently and it was difficult to control the shower head, often resulting in a wet floor! Cleaners came every day apart from Sundays which was good with beds changed weekly and towels on demand. I do feel that the cleaning could have been slightly better in terms of outside area - whilst we were there we experienced some rain which left a lot of dust/sand build up on furniture, and it didn’t appear that this area was cleaned at all during our stay. The other slight criticism I have about the cleaning was that it was impossible to predict when they might come and service the room. Other hotels we have stayed at they have always come at similar times each day (and where this has been inconvenient we have been able to arrange a different time). We had a knock on our door as early as 9am one morning, whilst other days they didn’t come until late afternoon. Perhaps a different system, servicing rooms of half board/b&b clients earlier when they are likely to be at breakfast might work better? Cleaners were also quite abrupt and pushy when trying to get in to clean rooms. Beds were a nice size and comfortable. Air con worked well. We had an issue after stormy weather with our air conditioning leaking through the ceiling, but upon reporting to reception this was swiftly dealt with. Amenities The pool areas need some attention. We didn’t have trouble finding sunbeds even during peak August period and were largely kept clean, however some of the bottom of the pools (particularly the kids pools) were missing some tiles/ had been patched and were rough and uneven at the bottom. My daughter managed to cut her foot on the bottom of one of the kids pools. They are beginning to look a little shabby and could do with some renovation. Lifeguard attention was also limited - in the quieter pool I only saw a lifeguard there on one occasion. The shuttle bus is a helpful service given the location of the property. It is a good 20 minute walk to and from the port area, which is fine at night when the heat subsides but challenging in 30+c daytime, especially with a little one. The shuttle runs Monday-Friday 10am-12pm and again in the evenings 5-7pm. It would have been nice to have an earlier option returning from the beach (perhaps 2-3pm) and would have been good if it had been also running at the weekend, particularly as on Saturday there is no hotel entertainment. Entertainment Luciano is a lovely guy who works very hard to give kids the best possible time on holiday. Our daughter was a little too shy to participate in the mini disco this time round but enjoyed watching and loved the bingo! She was also keen to do some colouring and have it proudly displayed on the stage wall! It was also very kind of Luciano to come and say goodbye to us when we were awaiting our transfer. That personal touch makes a real difference and he is a credit to the hotel. I did find it slightly strange that the two entertainment ‘days off’ (although nightly entertainment is 6 days) were Friday and Saturday, particularly as the shuttle was also not running on Saturday so makes things quite limited. But I do appreciate that Luciano deserves a break! Food We opted to eat at the hotel buffet restaurant twice and at the on-site Italian restaurant, Giravolta, once during our stay. Unfortunately, these were a disappointment. The buffet food was okay, could find something to eat, but found the choice somewhat limited for the price that was paid. €11 for a 5 year old child to eat (with very limited options) to me seems extortionate when it doesn’t include drinks and kids meals were plentiful and cooked to order at the port for well under €10, often including a drink and ice cream. I expected more for the price that was paid. Giravolta was a real let down. The pasta in my carbonara dish was uncooked. I appreciate that real Italian pasta is cooked ‘al dente’, but this had barely touched the pan! I sent it back and this was met with apology, but came back just as raw as before! Overall In my opinion, this is a 3 star hotel not 4 star. I think that the 4 stars has probably been awarded due to the sports facilities available at the hotel, particularly for gym goers, tennis enthusiasts and cyclists, rather than for people enjoying a laid back, family stay. Staff are generally friendly (credit especially to Luciano). Reception staff were kind and friendly, sorted the leak problem quickly and efficiently and also went out of their way to post a postcard back to UK for us. Duva has a lot of potential, but I feel that the pool areas, food and cleaning need particular attention to bring this up to a solid 4 star hotel."

"We recently completed a 6-night family stay at Aparthotel Duva & Spa. Overall, the hotel itself is very clean and well maintained, but a few key issues impacted our stay—especially travelling with a toddler. Location & Transport: Taking the local bus from the airport was by far the cheapest option, though be aware that buses only run about twice an hour. Pool Area & Safety: The property features three lovely freshwater pools, but they run quite deep. Only one pool starts at a manageable 1-meter depth. While lifeguards are assigned to the pool area, their presence felt sporadic rather than continuous, which was a bit concerning given the deep water and having young children around. Dining & Service: The breakfast and dinner buffet options felt quite limited. The main disappointment, however, was the dining room management. We were repeatedly confronted about bringing our own bottled water into the buffet, despite explaining it was specifically for our 1-year-old child's sterile bottle needs. Having paid over €1,300 for our family stay, being repeatedly challenged over essential water for a toddler left a poor impression and really dampened our dining experience. "The poor attitude of the buffet manager was completely unnecessary and thoroughly ruined what should have been an enjoyable dining experience for our family.""