Disappointing experience – not what we expected for the price
The resort is around 20 minutes from the airport by taxi. Check-in itself was fairly quick, and we were offered cold towels and a rum punch on arrival, which was a nice touch. However, we were not informed at check-in about the resort fees, and a charity donation is also automatically added, although this can be removed if you ask. They also take your card details at check-in.
After checking in, we waited around 20 minutes at reception before being taken to our room by golf buggy.
The resort is quite spread out, so be prepared to do a fair amount of walking between the various facilities.
Bars and drinks
One of the biggest disappointments was the lack of a proper poolside bar. There is a main bar close to the pool, but the other pool bars were closed for the entire duration of our 8-night stay. We were also told off by staff for dripping water in the main bar area after coming from the pool, which didn't feel particularly welcoming.
Drink availability was another issue. Whenever we found a drink we liked, it seemed to run out and wasn't replenished particularly quickly. Grey Goose, Absolut Vodka and Sambuca all ran out during our stay, leaving us drinking Stoli or Smirnoff instead.
There are also no drink menus at the bars, and although they advertise cocktails, we only saw a cocktail of the day offered twice during our eight days.
The bar staff also seemed extremely generous with the ice, and most drinks were served in plastic glasses. The attitude and service from the bar staff varied considerably. We did, however, come across two members of staff who were absolutely fantastic and really stood out.
Food and restaurants
Don't arrive expecting a huge choice of restaurants and food options.
Before travelling, we were advised that one restaurant would be closed during our stay. Unfortunately, this turned out to be considerably more disruptive than we had been led to believe.
The buffet was closed for lunch on three days, as was the pizza restaurant. This left us with little choice other than walking around 15 minutes to The Grill Beach Bar near reception, which had only around four food options.
This would be particularly difficult for vegans or guests with food allergies or intolerances, as the alternatives were very limited.
There are two restaurants that require an additional charge, and these were opened when the buffet was closed in the evening. We did have some good meals there, but having essentially the same limited option for three consecutive nights wasn't ideal.
On one occasion, the pizza restaurant was open for lunch but had no drinks available. I've never experienced a restaurant serving food without being able to provide drinks.
Another major issue was that the advertised restaurant information and what was actually open did not match. We raised this with Guest Services, but the information wasn't corrected.
Pool and facilities
On one day, the pool towels weren't replenished. We contacted Guest Services and eventually got the towels topped up, but only after waiting around 40 minutes.
The pool music can also be excessively loud at times, with very bass-heavy music, which isn't particularly relaxing if you're looking for a quieter pool experience.
Activities are advertised around the resort, but they don't always actually take place, which was frustrating.
Perhaps most disappointing was being told on occasions that certain facilities weren't available because of staffing issues, only to subsequently discover that staff had been taken to a beach to hold a private party for influencers. As paying guests, this was difficult to understand and certainly didn't leave us feeling valued.
Overall
Unfortunately, our experience wasn't what we expected from a resort at this price point.
There were some positives, including a couple of genuinely excellent members of staff and some good food during our stay. However, the combination of closed facilities, limited food options, drinks regularly running out, inconsistent service, inaccurate restaurant information, activities not taking place and facilities being unavailable while staff were apparently being used for an influencer event really affected our overall experience.
You pay a considerable amount of money to stay here, and we expected a much higher standard of facilities, service and guest experience.
Based on our experience, we probably wouldn't return and, unfortunately, wouldn't recommend this resort.
