SBH Costa Calma Palace Thalasso & Spa

I've stayed here several times because the location is fabulous, and the 8th-floor suites have lots of space, a huge terrace, and an incredible sea view. This last week was enjoyable overall, which made the checkout problem especially disappointing. At the pool bar we ordered a light lunch and a drink. The waiter said that because we were “all inclusive” we could only eat there if we paid cash, though our hotel card clearly showed we weren't all inclusive. I signed for the meal and later asked for the bill. After several requests and about half an hour, he told me the amount, and I paid cash, thinking that was settled. At checkout, we found the lunch had also been charged to our room. When I questioned it, they firmly denied the charge was a mistake and said the hotel could do nothing because pool bar staff change. I felt they treated me as if I were stupid and lying. Be warned: don't pay cash at the pool bar, and if you do, don't expect reception to sort it out at checkout. A poor end to a good week.

We had a calm, comfortable stay, with clean rooms and a peaceful atmosphere throughout. The hotel sits right in front of a wide, beautiful beach, with easy access, and the indoor pool was a lovely feature whatever the weather. It seems well suited to couples or families who want time by the sea as well as good indoor facilities. I'd gladly return and recommend it.

SBH Fuerteventura Palace If you want to be insulted, come here. We have travelled all over the world and stayed in hundreds of hotels, but I've never encountered reception staff with such a rude attitude to guests. I was called “assertive” and my husband “mental health”! Do they care that this kind of treatment loses customers? What had we done? Nothing extraordinary. We're not fussy, but we booked this hotel almost two months ahead for specific reasons. We wanted the advertised talasso spa, with an indoor pool and jacuzzi, because my husband needs them due to his disabilities. We also asked for rooms next to each other with sea views. Instead, we were first given two rooms at the far end of a long corridor, impossible for my husband to reach, and only roughly near one another. The young, very assertive staff insisted they were next door. After a long argument, they moved us the following day to rooms 632 and 633, which were next only on paper. Staff who seemed never to have seen the rooms refused to acknowledge the corner gap and distance between them. Eventually a young bearded man came after I kept insisting. He said, “But we do not have others!” and left. The reception girls shouted behind me that they wouldn't change our room. We were stuck. Room 632 faced a huge, dirty roof terrace covered in rubbish every day, including bones. There were sewer ventilation pipes right in front, a dreadful smell, no view, and we couldn't open the window. Then roof work started, so there was no privacy either. No air, no view, no privacy. The spa was another disappointment. The jacuzzi didn't work at all while we were there, and we understand it had been out of order for months. The indoor pool wasn't working at first either, though the manageress and staff promised every day it would be fixed. After several days, perhaps because we kept insisting, it was repaired for the other elderly hotel guests. The hotel is generally tired, with chips and cracks in our rooms, and cockroaches. Reception staff denied it, eventually refused even to answer me in English, and almost threw the non-working room key at me. We never heard “please,” “thank you,” or, God forbid, “sorry.” The manageress seems to have trained them well to lie and be rude. Apart from offering us two glasses of wine, she insulted us directly several times. Such a shame after hoping for a good holiday. We left after 15 days from the 24th of March, nearly 4000 pounds wasted.

I stayed at Costa Calma Palace Hotel from September 11th to September 18th. On Day 5, I found bed bugs in my room and asked to move. I showed general manager Priscilla Ter Haar a bug in a tissue and photos of the linen, which had bed bug faeces stains and bugs crawling on it. She may have moved me, but when I was deeply distressed she didn't help with my things, never apologised, and offered no help cleaning clothes that might have been affected, despite my asking. I had to go to a laundrette away from the hotel to wash them in case the bugs had got into them.