This was our first time visiting this hotel, but we have visited others along this strip. Whilst I think the hotel itself and the facilities were lovely, I do think it lacks the 5* feel.

The rooms are very spacious, and have lots of space and are relatively new. We stayed on the 7th floor and had a lovely room with a big balcony and great view of the side of the hotel/ looking along the front of the hotel. Parts of the hotel were really nice. The layout of the pool and facilities is great, and lots of different bars to sit at and enjoy.

The lifts in the hotel are a real pain and run really slow, which can be a problem at busy times!

The general cleanliness of the hotel was one of the most off-putting things for us. The floors in our room were never cleaned during our 2 week stay. The only really cleaning was emptying the bins and changing the towels and sometimes the bed linen. The dining hall was not the cleanest, and as others commented, the tables are not wiped with any cleaning products. The cleanliness round the pool is also a real issue; sunbeds are filthy, the pool is generally quite dirty and the worst bit for us was the flies. Absolutely anywhere we sat round by the pool, there were just a constant swarm of flies.

The entertainment was not up to a 5* standard. There was very little going on in the day time, and the evening shows were poor. The evening entertainment almost every night is a different singer/ band. Whilst they were really great, it got very tedious and repetitive as they all had the same repertoire! 2 weeks of it slowly drove us crazy - there is no variety. Music shuts off at midnight and then there isn't really anything to do. You'd expect at the beach bar to have some quiet background music at least!

I found the entertainment team quite rude at times and some of the comments about guests were unacceptable. It also got exceptionally tedious just taking things constantly without even asking i.e. cigarettes. They would get quite rude if you didn't want to participate in games/ bingo etc.

There were some staff members who went above and beyond - special mention to Ozgukan at the beach bar, and Ayten at the restaurant who is currently in training. These two really made our stay special, and showed genuine care for us. Other than that, there is minimal interaction with staff unless of course you tip them upfront!! I do begrudge tipping to get basic service BEFORE they have done anything!

The food is very hit and miss in the main dining hall. Some nights there are multiple options, others not really anything and it is a complete free for all. Pushing and shoving, rudeness, picking at things with hands rather than utensils. We also found that the food was extremely repetitive and every few days would be the same thing. By the end of our 2 week stay we were barely having any food at dinner time, because we couldn't face it. I also find it really disappointing that the staff allow people to load up multiple plates, to not even touch it and for it to be wasted. I know that isn't the fault of the hotel, but they should put in place a policy that if this happens multiple times, guests are charged. We witnessed one table, every single night load up about 4 plates of dinner, and 4 plates of dessert and barely touch any of it.

The food at the lunch area outside is really good on the whole though and we found we ate more there but it does still lack that 5* factor I feel.

Overall, we had a pleasant stay but I don't think there is anything platinum about the hotel. It is repetitive, quite boring, and we just didn't get that 'special' and 'welcoming' feel.

Our first holiday at Baia Lara
Location is fabulous - right off the main shopping strip, although if you want to go to outside restaurants its a fair walk towards the Delphine hotel.
The hotel is modern, clean, staff friendly, hardly any ques for drinks or food and nothing is too much trouble for the employees.
The water park is small and not that impressive for older children, its more geared for younger kids.
The main pool is vast however the day entertainment was poor and my children were bored.
Evening entertainment was even worse - mainly just dancing girls to music.
We stayed at another hotel earlier in the year and the entertainment was so impressive, foam parties, games etc - this hotel was missing that yest!
Rooms were large and comfortable, kettle, mini fridge etc
The mini fridge was not replenished daily which was annoying and we had to ask for this to be done
Cleaning was great the rooms were kept clean and tidy every day
Hotel gym as great - good air conditioning and equipment. Free weights, machines and cardio - perfect!
The spa people did not hassle you too much was a plus!

Food was fantastic - loads of options for everyone. Only downside was theme nights - could of done with a couple more options - chinese or indian would of been nice touch

Drinks were great - using all the normal brands. Cocktail options within the all inclusive were lovely.
This hotel is great but for us it lacked that spark

I stay in the hotel with two friends and I can only describe the experience as great. The location of the hotel is beautiful, the room was bigger than we were expecting and very comfortable and the food at the buffet restaurant had ample selection. We also rented one of the pavillions at the beach, which made our holiday just perfect. Furthermore the staff was all smiles and accommodating any time we needed assistance. To summarise, we had the best time.