Richard Thornton
یک ماه قبل
Stayed here for 4 nights on a half-board basis. Overall, we had a very nice stay, but there were several issues that prevented the hotel from feeling like a true 5-star St. Regis experience.
The positives first: the location is excellent, very close to the airport with a lovely private beach. The staff were consistently warm and attentive throughout our stay, with Salma at breakfast deserving a special mention for her exceptional service. The communal areas were clean, well maintained, and the hotel offers excellent amenities. Breakfast was very good with plenty of choice, and there were several restaurants available for dinner which gave good variety across the stay.
Unfortunately, there were also a number of disappointing aspects. Our room had a noticeable fish smell, something I later noticed had been mentioned in other reviews too. The room design also lacked practicality; for example, plug sockets recessed into the dressing table made it impossible to properly use appliances like the iron or hairdryer.
The pool area was extremely slippery and genuinely hazardous when getting in and out. The WiFi was poor throughout the stay and nowhere near the standard expected of a luxury hotel. Television channels and reception were equally disappointing.
One of the biggest drawbacks was the atmosphere created by some guests and day visitors. There were several occasions where behaviour was loud and disruptive, especially late in the evening. This was made worse by being placed in a room with an interconnecting door, directly beside a family with noisy children, despite the hotel appearing relatively quiet with many rooms seemingly available. As a couple celebrating our anniversary and hoping for a peaceful stay, this felt like a strange room allocation decision.
Another frustration was the hotel’s refusal to allow standard local taxis to pick up from the front entrance, which meant a simple journey to the Mall would cost 10x the price of a local taxi.
What also stood out was that, despite being such a new property, parts of the hotel already looked tired. Working in a design agency where attention to detail is central, I noticed several areas where the finishes and execution felt surprisingly cheap for a luxury brand.
Having arrived from the another 5 star hotel before this stay probably magnified some of these shortcomings. While we did enjoy parts of our time here, the hotel ultimately didn’t feel like the luxury St. Regis experience we were expecting.