Actually the place would deserve 5 stars if one considered the settings, the sea, the room and the food. It’s really a wonderful resort, spotless, clean, gardens and flowers are very well looked after. Great views, crystal clear water, delightful little private coves of white quartz sand and turquoise sea, stunning swimming pool. We had a junior suite Mirtilla that suited us perfectly: large, nicely decorated in simple local character, great terrace with table, chairs and sun lounges. Great views of the sea and islands in front of us. The cuisine is very careful to dietary needs and the buffet is rich and varied.
So what went wrong?
In our consideration at least one star drop off the very minute we realized that this is actually a place where little kids are kings. Almost every child, alone, is adorable, hundreds –screaming and running freely everywhere - are a nightmare. We were looking for romance and relaxation but soon had to forget them both. The atmosphere being totally spoilt by 0-7 (the noisiest age) children shouting, crying, jumping, fighting, everywhere at any time: at breakfast, lunchtime, dinner, down to the beach, in the swimming pool (as far as I understood there was one pool for children and one for adults but they were firmly in control of both).Nobody put any limit: not the parents, nor the staff/management. Apparently the place is theirs and that was soon clear right from the first night: the supposedly elegant and refined buffet was totally in the hands of half meter tall little persons running round the entrées pavillon screaming their lungs out. Much to our horror and the maitre’s astonishment. Who, by the way, did nothing to stop this crazy behaviour. Not what you would expect in a 5 star resort.
The place was so out of control that even non smokers sought some peace and quiet in the dull smokers dining room (the restaurant’s beautiful terrace overlooking the sea is off limits for smokers and represents one of the children’s favorite playground). This is where the precipitating second star definitely drop off. I am a smoker and usually in Italy smokers are allowed to smoke in restaurants dehors. Here they are meant to seat inside with no view. Fine. But what really got on my nerves was that since the terrace was so unbearable due to the kid’s noise, other non smoking couples came to dine there as a last refuge from hell. One of which – would you guess? - had a new born with them (!) and another hated air conditioning. Nobody’s had the nerve to ask me to prevent from smoking in the smokers dining room but since there was a new born of course one didn’t feel at ease. Furthermore the presence of this baby and of a no smoking couple made it enough for the waiter to switch the air conditioning off without asking if we – the only smokers around who had no choice then to dine in that room and who had arrived there first – agreed. Enough is enough. Who likes to go to a 5 star hotel and realize that the management cannot provide sufficient respect for every customer? And I am only talking about the basics here: dine in peace, make sure that children go crazy in the children’s spots while leaving the rest of the grounds to a decent level of tranquility for anyone else, leave smokers room to smokers and not to new-borns, leave the air conditioning on if there are already other clients enjoying it. Is it so difficult to organize separate “family areas” in the restaurants, pool and coves (there’s 7 of them) so that even adults or couples can enjoy the place? That’s really all it takes to turn this resort into an outstanding place. Untill then, we won’t spoil our holidays there again.