What A Carry On Abroad
As you are aware my wife and I were recently guests at XXXXXXXX, and I am writing to you in the hope that our feedback will be forwarded to Mr XXXXXX CEO. We were disappointed with some of the aspects of our stay, and I hope that our feedback will be given attention.
XXXXXXXXX is a hotel that myself and family have visited for many years; primarily for both the location and it’s friendly and gracious staff. Our holidays at XXXXXXX have been special and given the years of Covid, it was with great anticipation that my wife and I travelled to stay at XXXXXXX.
As previously mentioned, the staff were as kind and helpful as ever on our arrival and as we made our way to our room we immediately felt at home. However, our stay this time around was punctuated by issues that I feel I must bring to the attention of the management of the hotel.
The room allocated to us was not a room that made staying in it easy. The extraordinarily large Wardrobes in the rooms have folding doors that make navigating between the edge of the bed and the hangers within both inconvenient and impractical. Smaller wardrobes with sliding doors would solve this issue. The shower room was not only small but there were very little surfaces to place anything. The TV was placed on a trestle table which again, limited space to put anything down; a wall mounted TV would be better suited. The key to the room is heavy and outdated whereas a key card would be far more convenient for guests and more in keeping with a five-star hotel
Thanks to the accommodating staff we were able to change rooms to another close by that had a larger bathroom with plenty of surfaces, and a fit for purpose desktop. I would say that the addition of a Nespresso Coffee machine was a welcome addition to the rooms, but there was no Ironing facilities in the room or trouser press; both of which are standard in hotels with the status advertised.
Leaving our room later I couldn’t help but notice the large number of cracked floor tiles which are obviously a health and safety matter. For nine days of our ten days stay a yellow caution sign was placed over a particularly dangerous piece of broken staircase; I would not expect to see this at a five-star hotel. Why is took this long to be repaired is a concern, by making repairs in a timely fashion you would reduce the risk for guests.
I was not impressed by the rusty beds beside the pool and the rusty chains on the umbrellas; the covers of which were ragged and full of holes. New poolside furniture would go a long way towards making the area feel luxurious as well as lessening the risk of harming a guest. The fact that the Jacuzzi function in the shallow pool was not operational also detracted from the experience of what is supposed to be a five-star hotel.
In terms of events at the hotel we, along with many other guests were looking forward to Greek night. Having experienced Greek night many times over the years we were looking forward to the music, the dancing and of course the food. This Greek night was a huge disappointment. It started at 7:30 and finished abruptly at 9:00. Yes, there was music (the band packed away and left promptly at 9:00) but there was no Greek dancing. A Greek night that lasts one and a half hours, ends at 9:00 and has no Greek dancing scarcely qualifies as a Greek night. In this respect I feel the guests were misled, particularly as we had recommended Greek Night to a number of guests who stayed instead of going into town.
Which brings me to the Restaurant. My wife and I were surprised that the restaurant closes at 9:45. This is not at all in keeping with expectations of a five-star hotel and many guests went into XXXXX to eat as a result. I would think that a later opening time would not only suit the needs of the guests but have a positive knock-on effect for the bar.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about the hotel is the A La Carte Menu which is a masterpiece of ludicrous ideas masquerading as cutting-edge cuisine.
Cod cooked in vanilla sauce, Prawns in strawberry sauce and all manner of outlandish combinations were virtually inedible and, on a night, when there was no buffet, we were forced to eat in Lindos. Fortunately, after discussion with the Restaurant manager the chef was able to make us, some food uncluttered by the strange flavour combinations of the A La Carte menu.
The scheduling of the evening meals and themes were changed without prior notice making it impossible to plan our evenings in advance. The breakfast offering has been greatly reduced. There was no open access to drinking water or orange juice as in the past and the variety of food was not what it has been. This is not befitting of five-star status
I have to say that the food served at XXXXXX taverna was consistently delicious and I feel that more of an emphasis on Greek food in the main restaurant would be welcomed.
The Leisure options in the hotel that consisted of a Table Tennis table, A Snooker table and an Air Hockey table are good offerings, however, there are no balls or cues for the snooker table and no puck for the air hockey rendering them both unusable. Ensuring that these options are usable would be a good idea for a five-star hotel. The air conditioning in the on-site Gym was not working, making it impossible to use this facility
It seemed apparent that there were less staff on duty than previously, however, the general cheerful demeanour of the staff compensates for their lack of colleagues. I regret to say that on two afternoons the Chef at the taverna got angry and was swearing and shouting at the poolside restaurant. This was most upsetting and all the guests at the pool could clearly hear what was going on. I would not expect this at a five-star hotel. There were also loud and aggressive conflicts on the beach with guests arguing over beds and available space with no staff available to resolve the issues in a timely manner; this was not conducive to a relaxing time
We were dismayed to discover that there were several services no longer available such as melon given to guests around the pool in the morning and frozen flannels in the afternoons. The option to switch a couple of dinners for lunches was also not available and the drink service around the pool was sporadic at best as was the promotion of Spa treatments, most of the time the spa was closed and, as the hotel is promoted as a five-star resort and spa, this is hardly ideal. These services being withdrawn do not reflect five-star resort and spa status in our view.
One addition to the menus is a QR readers for the restaurant and bar, unfortunately they guide you to an ineffectual and hard to navigate web page, which is time consuming. Talking of menus, those at the Taverna are ragged and worn and do not reflect well.
XXXXXX advertises itself as children free, however, there were three weddings taking place during our stay and all three weddings had young children in attendance using the pool and bar areas. I would suggest that mention be made of the possibility of children being in the hotel when weddings take place as to suggest that the hotel is child free is misleading and hardly appropriate for a five-star hotel.
Finally, I feel I should point out that the hotel is non accessible for guests with mobility issues, nor have there been any adaptations made, I see this is a major let down for a hotel with five-star status.
As mentioned, my wife and I and our family have been coming to XXXXX for several years mostly due to the quality of the staff, and we have recommended the hotel to many people. Unfortunately, this holiday may very well be our last at XXXXX, and I have also discussed the issues raised with my family.
We paid a sizeable amount of money to stay in a hotel described as five-star and in all honestly, we did not have a five-star experience. I am sharing this info with you in the hope that you will reflect and act upon the issues mentioned. I also feel that when one books a holiday at a five-star hotel there is an expectation that the facilities are commensurate with that status and all these issues detracted from our ability to relax on this first holiday we have had since before Covid.
I am considering on placing a review on Trip Advisor and other hotel review websites but, we would consider returning to XXXXXX to look at things with fresh eyes, chat with the manager and perhaps make amendments. Unfortunately, flights aside, this is not something we can afford currently, which is a shame as it would give us an opportunity to relax this time around.
I await your response
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