Great location but otherwise a bit disappointing
Sep 11, 2020 TrufflesSmith London, United Kingdom
We had a mixed experience at Blue Waters, enjoying the location and the good weather but being slightly let down by the resort itself.
Our disappointment started immediately upon arrival because despite getting there after the stated check in time, our room wasn’t ready. That of itself isn’t a disaster, but the situation was handled quite badly…
Read more
We had a mixed experience at Blue Waters, enjoying the location and the good weather but being slightly let down by the resort itself.
Our disappointment started immediately upon arrival because despite getting there after the stated check in time, our room wasn’t ready. That of itself isn’t a disaster, but the situation was handled quite badly which created a negative first impression. By way of example, we weren’t given much info during our approx. 45 min wait and at one point when we approached the desk to ask for an update (after about 30 mins), we were awkwardly subjected to what might politely be referred to as a non-guest-facing conversation between reception and housekeeping where the receptionist (apparently at the end of her tether) told housekeeping that she would send us to the room whether it was ready or not. This duly happened, meaning that housekeeping were still finishing up in the room when we arrived (and clearly were not amused at the situation) and the floor was dangerously slippery as it hadn’t had a chance to dry.
Unfortunately getting to the room didn’t improve our arrival experience because there was an incredibly bad smell of drains in the bathroom. This meant we had to traipse back to reception, explain the issue and ask if there was anything they could do. The manager was understanding but of course the additional back and forth and waiting to see if the smell could be neutralised or the room changed wasted about another hour of our holiday. Giving credit where it is due, we were eventually moved to a different room without the terrible smell and, although in the same category, it was actually a much nicer room altogether (seemed a little less basic and tired-looking than the original room) so things worked out OK in the end! Apart from the door having a malfunction and locking us out one morning, where we had to ask several times and wait ages for someone to come and help. Generally this seemed to be the vibe on the service front, which made us feel a bit like an inconvenience rather than valued guests.
The food on offer was generally fine, with there being lots of choice and variety available and the quality seemed reasonable. The exception to this was the afternoon tea, which was incredibly rustic and not very nice. Service at meal times was mixed – sometimes friendly and efficient, sometimes grudging and slow. It seems to be necessary to make table reservations for the different restaurants well in advance and it pays to work out which restaurants are open on which days and what is on offer so you can plan ahead. The main bar area is welcoming for drinks in the evening.
The gym was good and mostly quiet, which we enjoyed. The spa was underwhelming with the quality of the massage treatments and surroundings not being up to the standard of other similar resorts. The booking experience for the spa also wasn’t great – possibly best to arrange any appointments several weeks ahead of time.
We were glad to find a lovely spot on a secluded patch of beach at the far side of the resort for whiling away most of our relaxation time – although the sun loungers had definitely seen better days and there was zero service, we preferred this to the main pool and beach areas which were usually crowded with no loungers available and no sign of any clean towels after a certain time of day.
It’s fair to say that the lasting impression we have of the resort is that it could do with a bit of a refresh, particularly on the service front. Some of the staff we met were delightful and aimed to please (which was appreciated) but the attitude of some others was really quite bad. We also had a couple of incidents where we were overcharged for food/drinks (drinks bill being doubled by a huge tip being put through and main course “specials” being charged at an incorrect price) – when we raised the queries on the relevant bills, we were met with a fair bit of attitude and a grudging verification / rectification process with no apology being given or concern being shown at how this might have looked.
On balance, an OK stay at an OK resort which, with a few tweaks, could be much better.
Read less
