"Best ice cream ever, I would stay again.
In summary, lovely hotel, good food, good entertainment, lovely pool large pool, no sun bed wars. small, but clean and well airconed rooms. More detailed review below. More needed for all inclusive guests.
This hotel serves the best ice cream ive ever had. From the pool bar.
We have stayed here 3 times. 2019, 2022 and this year. In 2019 it was a 3 star and has since upgraded, with positives and negatives. In 2019 the bar was the central building to the pool. Still small queues, but it had self service for coke, fanta, sprite and water. However, Im not sure if it was strictly all inclusive then and has since opened up to half board, B&B and room only.
This changed after the upgrade and now you you have to queue for soft drinks. That said, you are waiting a couple of minutes at the most. They do open a second bar at the other end of the pool when it gets busy. But its not the end of the world.
The snack bar was really good in 2019 and since the upgrade it has excelled. You had to be quick to get a kebab in 2019, now you can get as many as you want at the snack bar. They used to be a pool table at the end of the snack bar, but this has since gone to provide seating i assume.
In general, the food is good, plenty of options for all ages for breakfast and dinner. The restaurant can be a bit like a cattle market. Very busy with lots of people moving all directions. At times you had to wait for food to be cooked as the trays empied quick. Breakfast was always a lengthy queue for the fried eggs and omlette. You can book tables for big families, which i would advise if you wanted to sit together. Anything over 4 then book ahead. Its table service for drinks, they are quick to get you a drink, but not sure how long a second drink might take if you are wanting to stay a while. Not an issue for me as we just ate and left. We never ate lunch inside as we always used the snack bar. The pool snack bar is definitely the main attraction. They do a yellow ice cream, no idea what flavour it is, but its amazing. 2019 it came in a pot the type McDonald's use for self fill sauces. Now its in larger tubs or cones. The snack bar offers, burgers, hotdogs, kebab, chips plus salads and natchos all cooked fresh.
The pool is large and deep with a shallow end. Water is salted but not to the level of the sea. Makes it easier to clean. But its refreshing and illuminated on an evening, which I like. It is monitored by a lifeguard who made regular patrols and maintenance checks, plus engaged well with the children. Their is a smaller pool for the little ones.
Ive seen negative reviews on the entertainment. I suppose it depends what you are looking for. We were a family of 3 with my 14 year old son. 3 -4 games daily, darts, archery, shuffle board, corn hole, air rifle shooting, axe throwing. Not sure of what people expect, but really good i thought. They do pool games, water zumba, polo, basket. Adult cocktail making. The entertainment team are really friendly, my favourite was Pietro. Some games are age restrictive. The archery and air rifle. But after the game is done, the entertainment team will let the smaller ones have a little go. Theirs also a kids club for the smaller ones. Entertainment on the evening. We found this downstairs the first night which I never knew existed. Previously all the entertainment was on the stage outside. Pros and cons to both really and depends on personal preference. I think it was held downstairs due to it being karaoke. The hotel is surrounded by local houses. When the entertainment was outside, the music volume was kept minimal. Ive seen better entertainment, Ive also see a lot worse its fair to say. Some good varied acts on in the evening. One night was advertised as a clown. I thought this was massively aimed at young children. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing along to humour for both children and adults of all ages.
We stayed all inclusive, the drinks i dont think accommodate that in my opinion. You are still restricted to white rum and local brands of all spirits. I dont ask for much, but a choice in dark, spiced rums or maybe branded spirits, bottled beers would be nice. Its something I find the majoirity of other hotels offer as an all inclusive.
Cocktails are all pre made from a machine. They are alright, All depends on the standards you expect really.
Staff are very friendly in general. In peticular Xavier, Sebastian, Thierry and Alexander. The blonde haired lady was also lovely, but i didnt catch her name. They work behind and around the bars. A couple of the snack bar chefs seemed to be miserable and general fed up with life. Maybe cooking, burgers, hot dogs, chips etc everyday is not what they hoped to achieve.
The rooms are clean, nice and cold air con, good shower, but on the small side and nowhere to hang clothes outside. You have to pay for the same and no iron, but I think you can rent one.
The hotel now has a gym, not amazing, but a gym none the less.
You dont have to fight for sunbeds, plenty go around. You can get towels ,but you have to pay €2 a day. Bring your own.
Ive seen complaints about the lifts taking a long time. Had no issue with lifts, I used them, didnt take long. The hotel was busy during my stay. They also have stairs, used them as well. Stayed on the 5th floor no issue.
That said, if you struggle with mobility and want to get out and about, maybe not the right hotel. The hotel is on a hill and a good 5 minutes walk down to the main area. Few cafes, restaurants etc. Not always a footpath to be on. Again, I was fully aware of this before we came and its a nice run down.
The hotel does offer a free coach service into Palamanova and Marineland. Ive never seen this before, leaves at various times throughout the day. Its starts from 0930 and finishes at 1830. The last pick up from Palmanova 1845 and Marineland 1855
The price. This is also subject to opinion, based on company travelled with, time of year etc. My son loves it here so we wanted to bring him back one more time before hes told old lower himself to go on holiday with his parents. I thought the price was higher than what I would want to pay based on what you get compared to what you can get elsewhere. But not overly extortionate.
As a family you will have a nice time here and wont regret it. I would always promote this hotel for families. I would suggest some changes. This hotel is a very strong 3 star in my opinion. Having stayed in 4 starts throughout the world, it needs to make changes. I would bring back the self service soft drinks, water and potentially add a beer one for all inclusive guests. I would also add more drinks to the all inclusive. Rooms need some sort of clothes hanging facility. Potentially a change to how breakfast and lunch is manged to accommodate people to save queue, although eaiser said than done. I would also have the indoor bar open more and maybe have some TVs for sports etc. None of this would prevent me staying again if the price was more reasonable."
