I recently stayed at this hotel (4/06/14) on a lads holiday, we were a group of 3, and considering this hotel is definitely more for family / couples - we still managed to have an amazing time.
on arrival - our service for checking in was fine and we were given a massive room. we had 2 king size beds, a sofa, and a very nice clean bathroom. our room was cleaned every day at the same time almost - so no complaints there.
the hotel itself has some stunning features, extremely high ceilings, huge pillars and beautiful design to it - you wont get bored looking at it. it has really nice circular pool right in the middle of the hotel in the courtyard which is for show/feature and cannot be used.. (you will see this in many of their pictures) so please don't go diving in!
the actual swimming pool is located by the entrance of the building - which is also very nice, big and even has a flume. there is a pool bar located next to it where you can get your drinks and the life guards office besides the bar, where you can get your sun beds. the pool area is very large and spacious with plenty of room for sunbeds and seating.
breakfast/lunch/dinner - fixed times for serving, so don't be late! overall I was more than impressed with the food, its very French but good! they always had a good variety and they mixed it up very well. a good range of fruit and dessert as well. however you cannot get tea or coffee during the lunch or evening meal at the restaurant. for this you need to go to the bar. but they have it during breakfast.
table service at the restaurant has to be the best I have ever seen!!!!!! and this is no exaggeration. we were always greeted at the table, and our glasses were never empty, plates were cleared very quickly and the waiters were very friendly.
they had a sheesha service, and smoking room which came in handy for those who smoke. I was a little surprised they wouldn't allow the sheesha to be smoked outside in the courtyard!?!?! considering most places say you need 2/3rds of the room to be ventilated to smoke sheesha. but never mind.
overall the staff were very friendly an polite whenever we asked for sheesha.
iv often heard many brits slate a hotel for 'poor service' where they dont speak very good English, which is bit unfair. but majority of the staff here spoke a very good level of english
there are plenty of sofas and seats to chill out on, all very nice and comfy. if the inside is full then there are plenty of tables and chairs outside in the courtyard.
ok now here are the bad points (not many) - I've heard a lot of people say its not a 5 star but still very good! im not sure what actually qualifies for a hotel to be of 5 star - and whether or not a poor internet wifi service and a lack of a few toiletry accessories in bathroom means its a 4star, but never less the Wifi was not very good at all. only worked on apple gadgets (iphones and ipads). if you can live without being on your phone/Facebook and instagram on your holiday then this wont bother you. but for many this is a challenge and like living in exile!
Our fridge was not working.. we told the reception and they didn't do anything about it, probably because we didn't make a fuss as we didn't need it. if we needed the fridge to work, they would have changed it. but either way it should be working. im sure our room was probably a one off.
the Animation team - my biggest area of criticism. the nature of their job is to be fun and engage and do activities with the guests. some members of this animation probably went beyond that. I had heard complaints from other guests (mainly women) about some of the male animation staff which might not be a surprise to many. being three lads on holiday, they asked us to take part in a football match, and we kindly accepted. it was the guests vs the animation team. we won!! and this didn't go down too well. either they are not used to losing or they are naturally overly competitive and hate losing, which defeats the object of being an animation team. I wont label all of them with the same brush - Jo and ines from the animation team were amazing to us... but there were a couple of others who refused to say hello to us after losing the football match or even acknowledge us. very unprofessional!
where they failed on, I can think of more points where they gained, so overall I think its a very good hotel providing good service, there was always someone around if you needed something. the bar was never empty without a barman, and the reception always had one or two people there - (ok fair enough the Wi-Fi wasn't working) but these are good signs of service, where you can always visibly see staff.
I would definitely go again.
