"Stayed here two years ago and absolutely loved it, which is what makes this return visit disappointing by comparison. We actually rated the hotel 5/5 after our previous stay, so my wife and I came back for 6 nights with our 2.5 year old expecting a similar experience. Unfortunately, a number of changes since our last visit, along with some basic service issues, meant this stay felt more like a 3/5.
This time we visited during half term, so the hotel was clearly very busy, but at times it still felt underprepared for the number of guests staying.
The rooms are still very good - clean, spacious and well equipped. However, housekeeping was consistently poor when it came to replenishing and servicing the room properly. On 4 out of 5 mornings there was something missing, including toilet roll, towels or bottled water, and on one occasion we were left with no toilet roll or towels at all. Glasses we had brought back to the room from the bar were never cleared away unless left outside the room, and the glasses provided in the room weren’t replaced with clean ones at all during our stay. Each time we had to call reception and wait for items to be brought up, which is a fairly basic standard you would expect a 5-star hotel to get right.
The main issue was that some facilities didn’t seem sufficient for the size of the hotel. By 9:15am on the first couple of days there were no sunbeds left around the family or kids pools, while there were still plenty available at the adults only pool. People reserve loungers very early and staff initially seemed reluctant to enforce the stated 30-minute unattended policy. On day 2 I complained (as I didn’t want my pregnant wife sitting on the floor all day) and staff then did a sweep of unattended loungers to free some up and by the following morning a significant number of additional sunbeds had been added. In fairness, this improved things noticeably for the rest of the stay and after that we didn’t really see people having to sit on the grass.
Another change we weren’t keen on was the new breakfast and dinner shift system. You now have to choose either the early or late sitting at check-in, and both meals have to follow the same schedule. I understand this helps reduce queues, and to be fair it does work well for that, but it removes a lot of the flexibility you want on holiday. Some evenings our toddler was happily enjoying the pool and it felt a shame having to pull him away just to get ready in time for dinner.
The à la carte restaurants were important to me as I’m gluten intolerant and wanted some alternatives to the buffet. Availability was extremely limited for both restaurants. We managed to get into the Italian at an early sitting, but Roastic, our favourite from our previous stay, had no availability at all on some days, and when it did the only option was 9pm, which is too late with a toddler.
Food for gluten-free guests was a bit disappointing for a hotel at this price point. There were always some options available in the buffet, but not a huge amount of variety. A lot of items were labelled as containing gluten when they could easily be sourced or prepared gluten-free, such as burgers, scrambled eggs, chips, crisps and ice cream. Allergen labelling was also worryingly inconsistent, for example the label on the moose at one pudding station saying not containing gluten, but the label saying containing gluten at the other pudding station. The gluten-free station only displayed bread, although staff did have packaged muffins and pastries available if you asked. The problem is you have no real idea what they do and don’t have available unless you keep asking, and even then staff often didn’t seem sure themselves. It would make far more sense to either just put these items out or at least have a list at the gluten-free station saying what additional items are available on request. However, what I did eat was always tasty, just a little repetitive.
The daytime snack setup also wasn’t ideal. Biscuits, cakes and ice cream are now only available from the marquee at the entrance of the hotel, which can be a long walk depending on where you are. There were also no gluten-free snack or ice cream options there apart from a Calippo ice lolly.
Pool bars during the day could also be inconvenient, especially around the kids pool. The main pool bar is a bit of a walk from the kids pool and the small drinks station at the kids pool only opened in the afternoon with a very limited selection.
The evening entertainment has also been moved into a large marquee at the hotel entrance on what used to be the car park. While the entertainment itself was fine, the setup felt like a downgrade from before. There weren’t enough seats (some even face away from the stage), and with only one evening bar open inside the marquee, queues could get quite long. It would have been nice if Shore or Salty bar remained open as quieter alternatives.
The entertainment during our stay was also very dance-focused, which made it feel quite repetitive after a few nights and not particularly engaging for younger children.
The walking in general became frustrating this time. The resort has always been spread out, but with daytime drinks from the bar and snacks, entertainment and evening drinks centred around the marquee, you end up walking far more than before.
To be fair, the hotel is still very good for families with young children. The kids’ pool is excellent and there are plenty of activities including a playground, mini golf, bouncy castle, trampoline and kids club for children over 4. The staff were all really friendly and there are good food options for children.
One other highlight was the spa treatment, which was very good.
Overall, this is still a decent hotel and there are definitely positives, especially for young families. However, compared to our previous stay it no longer feels like the same 5-star experience, and too many of the recent changes and operational issues made the holiday feel less relaxing and less premium than before. It’s not that we wouldn’t come back again, but we’ll probably explore other options next time to see what else is out there first."
