Just spent a week here with my 3 children aged 7, 5 and 3. The hotel is set in beautiful gardens and there are several swimming pools and a beach to soak up the sun, which is essentially why we were there.
The pools - are nice though the main pool and kids pool are salt water and my kids found the mix too strong so that it hurt their throats and noses after a short time. We ended up swimming at the chlorine Health Club pool which is next to the kids club - convenient and adequate but not much atmosphere. A bit of a bad smell wafting in the air quite often.
The room was a bit shabby - woodwork that needed painting or replacing, bathroom with very poor workmanship for tiles and taps etc, thin bath towels. There were nice Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries though not fully replenished, no cotton balls, face cloths etc that make the difference between OK service and great service. The sofa bed was appalling and certainly not fit for more than one small child as it dipped in the middle and squeaked with every move.
Food - The hot food was very disappointing and unappetising - mostly sloppy meat dishes and soupy vegetables. A fairly big salad selection, but often with a middle eastern flavour - is it cumin? - overpowering. There is no children's menu in any of the restaurants and the 'Kidz Buffet' was virtually the same every day - horrible sausages, plain pasta, a bowl of grated cheese, and for breakfast the same sausages, rice crispies and cold french toast....every day! The hotel is completely overrun by Eastern Europeans who are on full board packages. The buffet dining room had a terrible cattle shed atmosphere. Certainly not conducive to having a relaxing evening meal. Wine was ridiculously expensive. Because most guests were eating at the buffet, the atmosphere in the hotel's other 3 restaurants (seafood, Lebanese, Italian) was non existent and the food, having little turnover, was not great.
Drinking water - obviously tap water is not drinkable. I was surprised the hotel did not provide any drinking water in the rooms free of charge. To me that is a basic requirement that 5 star hotels should provide.
The staff - were friendly and kind to the children. Kids mini disco was a hit with my kids and there was aqua gym, belly dancing and other activities organised throughout the day for anyone who wanted to participate.
For us, this hotel served its purpose of providing a place of a reasonable standard in the sun. If you want a luxurious experience typical of a 5 star hotel, this is not the place to be!






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