After a delay with our flight we arrived late at the hotel….10.30pm so were rather tired. There wasn’t a queue and we had a nice welcome and were given the rooms we had requested. Also requested were extra pillows and bed topper….these were also done. As we had missed our evening meal we were told that we could choose to take a lunch any day to make up for it.
The room was rather dated but clean. It could certainly do with a spruce up. The bathroom which had a rainfall shower plus an adjustable shower also had shower gel, shampoo and conditioner pumps. By the sink were soap and body cream pumps…the hair drier was also there. The bedroom had a very large comfortable bed with wardrobe, drawers, two chairs and several plugs and usb ports. There was a free fridge but no kettle…we took one with us! The safe was €15 per week plus a €10 deposit and was quite a tight fit for our iPads. The balcony had two plastic chairs a table and a folding rusty drier!
Our first breakfast seemed very noisy….the guests were loud and the clatter of dishes was too! This carried on all through our 2 weeks holiday, so not relaxing for us. There was a large choice of continental food plus eggs and bacon, pancakes etc. and a chef cooking omelettes. Help yourself to teas and coffees from a machine and walk back and forth with your cup for a refill! Glasses often ran out for juices and paper cups were provided! Lots of different breads but not everyone used the napkin provided to hold and cut it!
The first evening meal was more than disappointing. The soup was the best bit ….there were hardly any meat dishes out…just some pulled pork and chicken wings while the only thing the chef was cooking was some sort of fish! The rest of the fortnights evening meals were certainly not exciting…the meats on the whole were poor and tough, but we did have more variety ….including pizzas and pastas….and lots of fish. Desserts also were mainly the same just some mousse stuff with biscuits in (either as a base or plonked on the top) and a few other bits and pieces of cake, fruit, ice cream and more mousses. Several nights liquid/juice had run out of a mousse dessert and soaked the paper underneath so if you took a slice you got a load of wet soggy paper too!
Fran served us many times and he was very nice friendly and helpful .
We usually joined the 6.30 pm queue as that wasn’t a long wait once the doors opened.
The queues at breakfast were ridiculous. We were there at 8.30 which was just about ok but even then we often had a slight queue. By the time we left there was always a long queue at the door and once or twice it went down the corridor and up the stairs!
There was no dress code adhered to at the evening meal…..shorts and t shirts for all were acceptable.
Unusually….. prices of drinks at the evening meal weren’t displayed anywhere and the water was served in opened bottles saying it was filtered water! We didn’t like that and it was hardly ever chilled! We did get a bill half way through to check the prices! 1 litre water was €2.90 1/2 litre water €2.60 Small beer €3.40 white coffee €2.80
At check in we were given a wrist band and this was used as our room key and also to put charges for drinks etc on during our stay, which we found highly convenient.
For the pool towels you have to request tickets from reception to take to the pool guy at the pool. Loungers were pretty old and dirty and the best spots were taken by 9.30 , but more loungers were often available further away from the pool. There weren’t many chairs for those who couldn’t lay on a lounger… perhaps 5 or 6 at the most! The pool bar served drinks and food but at lunch time could get very busy and the outside area wasn’t big enough to seat everyone at that time. There wasn’t a menu displayed here so it was difficult to know what to order and of course the price. It was probably all on the App you are supposed to use ….but what happens if you don’t use Apps like us?! Music was very loud round the pool when water aerobics took place in the mornings and because it’s not a big area you can’t escape it by trying to get further away! One Friday afternoon the amplified music went on for hours and was so loud we left the pool and sat on our balcony overlooking the sea/promenade for some peace and quiet!
Our room was serviced every day by friendly staff. But we weren’t sure how often the floor was cleaned as my travel slippers were black on the bottom by the end of our holiday. The sheets were only changed once during our fortnights holiday and they were very worn with holes in!
The hotel certainly wasn’t full of old people …..there was a mix of families (predominantly Spanish) with various ages of children and many couples…. young and old. In fact some evenings children were running up and down the corridor until quite late and there were also families talking loudly in the corridor along with the usual banging of bedroom doors!
The last day….check out etc was rather a shambles! We had lunch booked as we missed our first evening meal….. although the food was ok we were asked by numerous waiters why we there… were we A.I…..where were our wrist bands etc. so in the middle of our meal we had to try and explain it! Then came the retrieving of our luggage and the courtesy room! We had a time booked but there were so many people queuing to check in it took us ages and even when we got to the front we found the room wasn’t ready!
In summary……
The hotel has changed since our last visit some years ago and in our eyes not for the better! Of course the hotel was still in a really great position and did need a little TLC, but we think this was happening gradually.
But ……for us with the noise levels at the meal times, particularly at breakfasts ( from which there was no escaping) and the loud music round the pool we didn’t get the relaxing holiday we were hoping for. Also with the evening meals being so disappointing, mainly due to the quality of the meats and the poor repetitive desserts, we probably won’t return.
