Everything about this place suggest faded glory. This place is clearly way beyond its prime. We arrived and were not greeted by anyone to help us with the bags. For a hotel advertising to be a resort, this was a let-down. We don’t mind carrying our own bags, but if you pay for a four-star experience, this is a let-down.
Arriving at the main lobby, we were greeted by a handyman who was clearly doing his best and was busy doing other things. He told us he was sorry for not being able to help us. We were given our room, which had a hole in the plasterwork of the toilet wall, a light switch with exposed electrical wiring, which we couldn’t use, a closet with a missing door, and the sound of a small aeroplane taking off. It turns out this was some sort of pump for the air conditioning.
This shocked us, so we asked for a new room. Luckily, the lady at the front desk helped us get a new room, which, whilst outdated, was okay.
We would be inclined to give them a better score if it weren’t for the buffet, which was included in the price. We are vegetarians, so we would like to emphasise the fact that we are used to buffets being underwhelming. If we have a good salad, we are happy. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
The soup was okay-ish but lukewarm, the bread hadn’t risen, and the “salad section” contained acidic tomatoes, acidic feta, and acidic onions. The potatoes contained sand, and the carrots were old. The taste of the latter was hidden by an unholy amount of pepper.
The reason we didn’t inform the maître d’ was that there were only two people serving, cleaning, and seating nearly 30 people. They tried to do this to the best of their abilities, but it was a superhuman task. Nevertheless, the place was still half empty, and we were left wondering how they would ever manage if this place were fully booked.
I would again like to stress how hard the staff tries to make you feel welcome, but this only makes the fact that they are understaffed more apparent. We ended dinner with a glass of wine to wash away the disappointment.
Afterwards, we toured the grounds, but everything was closed at 19:00 despite the 24/7 claim. We tried to have another drink at the boma, but, as already stated, everything was closed.
Disappointed, we went to our room, where, a few moments later, a knock was heard. We had forgotten to pay for our wine. We were flabbergasted. We asked to put it on the room, the number of which they had asked for twice during dinner, but this was not allowed. We settled the bill then and there.
If you can avoid this place, please do! This hotel either needs to increase its investment in staff or downsize.