My husband and I have just got back from a 7 night, all inclusive stay at this hotel. I would not describe this as a 3 star hotel by a long stretch, 2 star at best and that's if I was being generous. The hotel is very tired and needs a bit of a refresh, lots of damaged walls, floors and furniture. The rooms are basic but clean and tidy with very comfortable beds. That was the only positive to the hotel I would say - the beds. The cleaners come every day but the beds were not changed at all during our stay. Towels were changed if you left them on the floor. We had a pool view room which was right above the pool which happens to also be right above the evening entertainment/bar area which means you can hear everything all day and all night. The daytime entertainment was always very loud and the evening was also extremely loud. I would recommend asking for a room away from the pool if you do not want to hear the noise. However I think the rooms wherever you are in the hotel may be extremely noisy. We could hear everything from other guest, and I mean everything - toilet activities, bedroom activities, general conversations, the lot. I could even hear snoring from other guests one evening. The cleaners also start extremely early and don't have any consideration for guests sleeping, they would drag furniture, slam doors, chat and laugh loudly. Many mornings I was woken up at 4/5am by the cleaners.
The pool is very large with a smaller children's pool to the side, however the water is freezing. I have never known a pool be so cold abroad like that. It was painful as you got in. Many guests said they hadn't been in the pool at all as it was so cold and they preferred to go down to the nearest beach/cove instead (which is less than a 5 minute walk from the hotel). There are plenty of sun loungers but they are spread out across a large area set back from the pool. There are very few around the pool and these get snatched up pretty quickly, however reserving a lounger is not allowed. We would eat breakfast and then go down to the pool to find a lounger. As long as you are sat on the lounger you were fine. Loungers were also extremely dirty and could do with a scrub down.
The food at the hotel was a low point for us. Many reviews say the food was always cold, we never had this problem and always found the food hot enough but we did struggle with the food. It was always very salty. No matter what the food was it always seemed very salty to the point where you could only eat small amounts of it. The food was also very repetitive and what ever was out at lunch time would often be back out in the evening. It was often obvious that the evening food had simply been re-heated from lunch for example potatoes had become rubbery and tough, veg had become soggy, nachos and bread had become stale etc. Any meal they had out was also always watery - any curry, chilli, Bolognese even cream based sauces were just always watery. There was a fresh cooking station but all they cooked on that was salmon, tilapia and pork (for lunch and in the evening). Pork seemed to be the meat of choice - every meal seemed to centre around pork. Chicken was served once and beef was served once but the rest of the time it was always pork - pork curry, pork meatballs, pork slices, roast pork, pork in a mushroom sauce. It became very boring very quickly. There were always chips and a variety of fresh salad. Desserts were a huge disappointment - always looked as if they had sat out for hours-congealed and grey.
Alcohol - There is no limit on the amount of drinks one person can have. Alcohol is not watered down and is branded spirits. There is a cocktail of the day which was lovely but always very strong. Drinks are served in plastic cups in the day and glass in the evening. Your run of the mill cocktails are pre made but also very strong. There is only one bar which during the day is fine but during the evening can get very very busy. Soft drinks and water were serve yourself. Unfortunately alcohol also caused a lot of issues. We saw many physical fights between drunken guests, often before lunch time. Staff do not stop any guest getting more alcohol even when it is very clear they shouldn't be drinking anymore. We witnessed one guest stumble around the reception area, stumble across to the bar, fall down the steps, crawl over to the bar and still get served more alcohol. Extremely drunken guests were also free to swim and jump into the pool all day. We saw one guest stumble around the pool, fall over the edge and smash his face on the side of the pool as he fell in, all due to being drunk. I do think the staff need to step in some times as this behaviour did become disruptive to other guest at times.
Entertainment was your usual magic shows, karaoke, dancing shows, singing acts in the evening and during the day there were water aerobics, water polo, darts etc. Evening entertainment went on until midnight and was always very very loud.
Overall this would not be a hotel I would return to. If you are looking for an alcohol fuelled party atmosphere then this is the place for you but if you are looking for a relaxing holiday then I would suggest you look elsewhere.
