Silken Saaj Maar

This hotel completely failed us. What was supposed to be a relaxing, carefully planned birthday trip turned into a stressful, disorganized mess — entirely due to the way Silken Saaj Maar handled our arrival and the days that followed. We arrived at the hotel late at night on May 31st, around 23:15, after a full day of travel. I had booked and prepaid a room via Secret Escapes, and we showed our confirmation email upon arrival. Despite this, the receptionist insisted there was no booking in our name. No effort was made to check emails, no phone calls, no apologies — just a cold “not our problem” attitude and a suggestion to call the booking provider ourselves. This was past 11 PM, on a saturday night. There was no way to reach anyone at that hour. We were told the hotel was fully booked, but that we could pay for a standard room if we wanted to stay. Left with no other options, we paid again — this time for a room that was nothing like what we booked. That “standard” room was, frankly, unacceptable. It had no door separating the toilet/bathroom from the bed — just an open space. The only window was inside the shower stall and faced an inner shaft with views of other people’s bathrooms. No daylight, no privacy. The air conditioning didn’t work. The bed was narrow and uncomfortable. We barely slept and felt like we were in a basement. This is not what you expect from a hotel advertising itself as stylish and modern — it felt more like a bad budget hostel. Instead of toasting to my birthday at midnight, I was sitting on the bed in tears, unsure if we’d be forced to spend the rest of the trip finding new accommodation. That night, we also had to cancel an excursion we had booked, not knowing what would happen the next day. It was a terrible start to a trip that had taken weeks of planning — especially difficult for me as someone who is autistic and relies heavily on preparation and routine. The next afternoon — after we went back to the reception ourselves — a different staff member had checked their emails and saw that yes, our booking had been there all along. He admitted the mistake, refunded the wrongly charged night, and upgraded us to the correct room which was going to be available later in the day. He was kind, professional, and helpful — the one bright spot in a sea of poor service. He told us that guest relations would follow up with us on June 2nd to address the situation. That did not happen. Meanwhile, on June 1st, we booked a spa treatment package (€270) for June 2nd. We paid immediately, assuming it included access to the spa as most packages do. While out on a tour, we received a WhatsApp message from the spa asking if we could move our appointment time. We agreed without reading it too carefully. Later, on June 3rd — after we had to follow up ourselves yet again — we finally realized that the spa claimed those two hours of spa access were a “gift” to make up for the room error. This was never explained clearly, and certainly not discussed with us as any formal gesture of compensation. On June 3rd, when we went to the reception to ask where guest relations was. A young and clearly inexperienced staff member came to speak to us. The conversation happened awkwardly in the corridor before we asked to move to the restaurant for privacy. We calmly explained everything that had happened, including the emotional and practical impact. She apologised and noted the spa of 2 hours was the compensation. I said the least i would still expect is the compensation of not sleeping in a room that was paid for that night. She would have to ask a manager and would follow up with us via WhatsApp. That follow-up never came. No message, no update — just silence. To make things worse, the general attitude from most of the reception team was indifferent. Many staff avoided eye contact, and didn’t greet. Our room was next to the reception so we would pass there multiple times a day. This contrasts sharply with the breakfast staff, who were genuinely warm, attentive, and professional. They along with the one helpful receptionist, and the spa lady were the only reason we stayed calm. They know what hospitality is All in all, this hotel failed to provide the basic experience you expect from any professionally run property — let alone one that brands itself as boutique or four-star. The issues weren’t just one-off mistakes — they were signs of a lack of training, communication, and accountability. We paid for a room we didn’t get to use, had my birthday celebration ruined, lost money on an excursion, and were left to chase every bit of follow-up ourselves. That is not hospitality. That is poor management. I will not return to this hotel. And I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who values peace of mind, clear communication, or actual customer care. Plus sides: Free parking is a 10 minute walk, the hotel is very well located, spa and breakfast staff are great, spa is beautiful but the packages are way too overpriced and do not include a spa visit in it. Breakfast was good for us. I dint think anybody should stay in a room that has no doors to the toilet or windows for fresh air and natural light. Especially not a so called 4 star hotel.

We have just spent a two week TUI holiday at this hotel. The good. This hotel is in an excellent location between the new and old town of puerto. It is on the busy promenade of San Telmo with a range of shops underneath and local small supermarkets and an abundance of restaurants within close proximity. The rooms are clean and it has the best soundproofed room we have ever stayed in and given its busy location sleeping wasn’t a problem. We felt secure with the fact that there was an intercom system to enter and you needed a key card to use the lift to the floor accommodating the rooms. The breakfast was good and there is a live cooking station for eggs/ omelette's. The spa came at an extra cost of 25 euros for 2 hrs it was very relaxing experience should there have been an option for 10 euros an hr I would have used more often. No charges for an easy to setup safe was definitely a plus. The staff were friendly and hard working. The not so good. There is no road to get to the front of the hotel and the Tui drop off/ pickup is outside the McDonald’s which is close by, however quite a steep ramp/ or steps to get to the front door. If you have little luggage and only staying a few nights or fit and young then it wouldn’t be an issue, however if you are staying two weeks with 20 Kilo x2 of luggage and one of you has mobility issues then it’s not that easy ( if I had read this before booking It would have possibly deterred us but glad it didn’t because all in all we had a good holiday). The pool is not a swimming pool it’s a dipping pool it’s three strokes at best length to width with a knee bump on the way. If you want to swim you would need to go to the public pools close by overlooking the sea at a cost of 17 euros for two chairs and an umbrella (if they are heated it certainly didn’t feel like it). With lots of restaurants close by we only tried the evening buffet one night and sadly disappointed, at a cost of 20 euros each we didn’t feel was good value, the food wasn’t hot very little choice and the steaks cooked on the live show cooking were inedible. We were pleased we were staying on a bed and breakfast basis and could eat out. The fridge in the room didn’t get cold and we like fresh milk for drinks but having thrown two bottles away in the first week we gave up. I asked at reception if it could be checked to be told “it’s not a fridge it’s a mini bar” but suppose it’s not very functional if you can’t have a chilled beer. Pool towels were provided with a deposit, however if you want them changed we were told there’s a cost of 2 euros which we have never encountered in any hotel before. The room service was a tad sporadic with small waters left in the room everyday for the first week but non the second. We were told if we wanted water you could purchase at reception for 2 euros. The phone in the room didn’t work so if you needed to contact reception you had to go to the 5th floor. To summarise. We had a lovely sea view room which was perfect for us to sit and read and watch (the very big waves) and people. The hotel was clean in a good location and staff were friendly. The majority of people we encountered were German or Dutch and lots seem to staying for a few nights rather than a two week holiday, I only noticed one English speaking couple and we were the only ones dropped off / picked up on the TUI transfer. To anyone thinking of booking or who has booked already I hope this review doesn’t put you off because as said we had a lovely relaxing holiday.

We stayed here 6 nights over the 2024 Christmas period, we booked a deluxe sea view room dinner, bed and breakfast. After finding the intercom to access the building (it's on the left hand side when facing the doors) we arrived at the reception on floor 5, with a lovely view of the sea in a very Pleasent reception area. Check in took a little longer because of the new Spanish law of having to provide everything but your kitchen sink to the hotel, all done very professionally and politely. We were given a room on the side of the hotel, small balcony with a table and 2 chairs facing the shoe shop and the sea, to be fair, this room suited us as we could see people walking down to San Telmo and it was away from any noise at the immediate front. The room was spacious and clean with adequate storage for 2 people, comfortable bed, good tv, Tea & coffee, and a huge rainfall shower, plenty of hot water. At each side of the bed is an interactive set of buttons used for different lighting, temperature of the room and if you need maid service that day. All very modern. The bathroom has some floor lights, so as you walk into the room at night you can see the toilet and the floor, very good idea. Plenty of sockets but no USB sockets. All in all a very good room with a nice view of the sea. The corridors are great, very modern with a sort of lava type material on the walls and nice wallpaper, motion lighting too, very nice. FOOD. Breakfast was generally good, plenty of choice but we did not enjoy the bacon or the sausages, not an issue with the food or the hotel just our tastes. There was fruit, yoghurt and all of the expected things for breakfast, good coffee from the 2 machines too, all in all good, however, and this was the same for the evening meal the food could have been hotter, the food is kept hot enough but unfortunately the plates are clay cold, so by the time you pick your choice and get back to your table the food is luke warm at best, the hotel needs to either invest in a plate warmer or get a better one (I do not recall seeing one). Dinner, let's start by saying the food was very tasty, could have a better choice of main meal but as stated all very tasty and nice. Service with a smile and some very good waitresses and waiters, all without exception friendly and diligent at what they do, again plenty of choice of salads and other things, the desserts are small but fine, so all in all good value and tasty, go for the house wine, it was nice and only 12 Euro a bottle, bargain for a hotel of this standard. The actual breakfast/dining room is spacious and has fantastic lights which change colour, good view of the sea and walkways to add to the ambiance. Roof top bar area, this is a well thought out bit of sunny space, plenty of comfortable sunbeds or use the stepped area with cushions provided, tables and chairs and a fully stocked bar, cheap too for a 4-star hotel, food is available, and it was once again very tasty. This area is for exclusive use to hotel guests up until around 6 to 6.30 pm when it is open to the public, although when we were there not many did as they do not know about the intercom and the front doors are always closed, good for hotel and guest security (as are the lifts, you can only access room floors with your room card) but overall bad for business in my view, I twice gave someone a helping hand to enter the building to use the rooftop, this is such a shame as it is a great, fresh and modern area. Cleaning done every day and the hotel is spotless. What adds to this hotel are the staff, each and every one of them is a credit to the hotel itself, the brand and to themselves, all hard working and cheerful, a special mention to the restaurant staff who always made us feel welcome, so thanks to Rosie, Tamara, Jenniffer, Sam and Richard. Would we return? well probably not as we have visited the resort 7 times or more now, and feel need somewhere else, the hotel if located elsewhere we would not hesitate, we are actually looking for other Silken hotels in other areas. To sum up, rooms good, hotel clean, fresh and modern, bar prices good and bar area lovely, restaurant very nice with tasty food, it just needs tweaking, and it would be better, staff excellent and location superb.