We first arrived at the hotel in the early hours of the morning, as we left our coach a bell boy came darting out of the entrance and immediately carried our luggage for us. As we entered the hotel we were amazed at how beautifully decorated it was. The reception staff were very helpful for a quick check-in, however after reading previous reviews we were slightly disappointed that we did not get our welcome glass of champagne and instead were given a flannel to clean our hands. After a 4 and a half hour flight the glass of champagne would of been lovely. Whilst checking in, we were told our room would be 801 but we would be moving to a bigger room after two days. We were slightly confused about this, but being in the early hours of the morning, we did not question this and just wanted to get to our room.
We then made our way up to room 801 and although the room was beautifully decorated, the best we can describe it as would be a converted cleaning cupboard, It had no balcony, a small window which could not be opened and a very small bathroom with a very narrow door. Immediately our high thoughts and excitement of this hotel were diminished and left very disappointed.
The following morning we questioned reception why we were given this room and the staff were not very helpful, we were just told that we had to spend two nights in this room then would be changed to a larger one. This was very annoying as we could not unpack knowing that we were moving, and we had paid for the bigger room so expected to spend our 7 days in that room.When we were eventually moved to room 604 we felt a lot better as the room was amazing, very spacious, lovely decorated with a sea view balcony to top it off.
The food in the main restaurant and the a la carte restaurants was absolutely amazing, and the drinks were lovely too all premium brand. The pool area was great, very well maintained and clean with a relaxing atmosphere. The beach was lovely too, it is a shingle beach so not as messy as sand can be, however can be quite uncomfortable walking on! Pizzas made on the beach all day every day as well, which is handy when you fancy a snack between meals.
The only negatives about this hotel apart from the room situation previously mentioned, were sadly due to other guests of the hotel. I'm not trying to stereotype, but we found the majority of the Russian guests to be very rude to both ourselves and the hotel staff. There were many incidents of pushing, queue jumping and just plain ignorance. We are strong believers of providing hotel staff with courtesy and good manners, and felt uncomfortable watching the way some of the guests treat the hotel staff as they always provided an excellent high standard of service.
Overall the hotel itself was beautiful, the staff were fantastic and we had a great holiday. It is just a little disappointing that the hotel is not Adult Only, as it is such a high standard 5* hotel, and there are children running around in all parts of the hotel which can ruin the atmosphere at times, especially when dining in the evening.