We visited the hotel in June 2009. I made reservations through internet, got confirmation. requested pickup service from the airport, but for some reason never got response from hotel.
We traveled from Alaska, arrived after 2 days of travel. since we hadn't heard from the hotel about airport pickup, we found the shuttle and took it to the hotel. by the time we checked in we were exausted. then the reservations manager descended upon us creaming at us why we didn't take the cab that was waiting for us at the airport. He just started screaming at us, didn't even bother to ask why. I was very tired and frustrated by now, trying to explain to him that I had not received a response on my inquiry. He kept yelling at us that now the driver was waiting outside the hotel to get paid for his trip. I was very tempted to tell the reservations manager to shove it, but I felt sorry for the maltese driver who is just trying to make a living.
the taxi ride would have cost us about $34 one way, while the shuttle bus cost us half that for the round trip. The reservations manager should have made us aware of the options. I had a feeling he gets a commission for arranging the taxi.
when we got finally up to our room, the air conditioning wasn't working, neither was the fan. the maintenance man was the only friendly staff we met at the hotel the entire time we were there, the rest were either indifferent, or just plain rude. the room was spacious, overlooking the pool,clean, so was the balcony and the bath. this is probably the only part of our 10 day trip that was positive. We used the bath and balcony to clean and dry our dive gear.
there was no literature in the room explaining that a fee was required to use the safe and the refrigerator. No one advised us about the fact that you could buy minibar supplies for 12 Euros to get the refrigerator turned on for the entire stay, compared to have to pay for the more expensive refrigerator fee. We were annoyed that we had to pay for these services at all.
We had booked with half board, so when we went to dinner the first night we were turned back because we were wearing shorts - no one had advised us there was a dress code. After changing and entering the dining room, we observed several people who wore shorts and tank tops - we were very upset and felt discriminated against. My husband got his drink after he had finished his meal. My wine was low quality.
The food was the worst I have ever tasted anywhere. the resort should be ashamed to put something like it on a buffet, not to mention in a so-called 4 star resort. The vegetables were canned, the meat overcooked, the even commited the sacrilege of smothering mussels in lard! We had requested the 2nd seating for dinner - definitely a mistake, a lot of the dishes were empty and not being refilled, what was there was often cold. At breakfast, the coffee out of the machine was brown water if you got the machine to work, same applied to the juice machine - you either got sirup or water. We also observed unsanitary service practices in the dining room: a couple was seated at a table that was set for 4 and the extra silverware was left on the table. Once the couple left after dinner, the waitress took the silverware and put it back into their silverware drawer, including the napkin! She would have no idea if the guests may have used that flat ware or napkin.it makes you wonder what else is happening behind the scenes. When experiencing such disappointing culinary fare and restaurant practices - I found the dress code ludicrous.
the information in the room provided a hotel extension for laundry service. when we called it no one answered. My husband had to go to the front desk to find out how it works. We were told someone would pick it up (which they did) and it would be delivered the next day. We waited the next day and when the laundry did not appear the following day we called the front desk and got the snippy answer it wasn't delivered because we have to be in the room to receive it.
Because of our dive schedule, we spent very little time in the hotel - that was our only saving grace. If the dive shop hadn't been right outside the hotel (that's why we booked it in the first place), we would have looked into moving somewhere else. The dive shop by the way was great.
I noticed that the pool area is only cleaned once a week - gross! I didn't use the pool at all.
Make sure to check your bill at check-out. They tried to charge us for dinner although it was included in the package we had booked. it took over half an hour to get the bill fixed, and we were running late to get to the airport.
All together, the worst experience EVER! I have worked in the hotel industry for over 12 years and I cannot imagine how they can get away with running this resort like this. I can't see why anyone would ever return for another visit. This hotel and it's management are a disgrace for the industry.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
