Hotel Punta Est

The rustic Italian-style rooms are clean and nicely designed, and the restaurant food is delicious. We’ve been really enjoying our stay. Baja is a lovely area, though the town itself is quite small. From the bar and breakfast area there are beautiful views, and the beach is just a two-minute walk away. The staff are friendly too.

The room was set up for five even though we booked for six, and the pull-out couch clearly only slept one, despite staff insisting it could fit two. One room's air conditioning didn't work. Someone came to fix it and said they'd return the next day, but never did. The shower drains were clogged, so water pooled each time. Breakfast was awful: wet scrambled eggs, stale granola with warm milk, canned fruit, and stale bread. We were also charged €600 for an extra night at checkout, even though the hotel had quoted €440 in writing and we accepted that price. We checked out at 6 a.m. with a driver waiting, and nobody had told us the rate had changed. After we got home, the hotel refused to refund the €160 difference and blamed us for not checking again. They acknowledged in writing that their communication was unclear, but still wouldn't sort it out. We tried several times to speak to the manager, were told he wasn't available, and never heard back. The issue wasn't even the money, but how dishonestly the hotel handled it. We showed proof of the quoted rate, yet they still wouldn't honor it. They say it was our job to remind them of their own quote. Since when is that the guest's responsibility? Their response only confirms what we experienced. Looking at other reviews, this doesn't seem like a one-off. Overpriced, unresponsive, and missing basic hospitality. I wouldn't recommend staying here. Book anywhere else.

We spent two lovely weeks at Punta Est. The rooms are fairly basic but had what we needed, and they were cleaned daily. There was no tea or coffee-making equipment, though. The staff were professional, polite, friendly, and ready to help. The breakfast terrace has brilliant views, and bars, shops, and a beautiful beach and sea are only a short walk away. I personally recommend booking the Catamaran trip through the hotel. We had an exceptional day, and the costa smerelda area is beautiful and unspoilt. Hopefully we'll return one day.

Getting to the hotel's main entrance and correct car park took us nearly 20 minutes of driving around because Google Maps sent us to a neighboring car park. We've reported the location error to Google and hope it gets fixed soon. The hotel itself is in a great spot, about a five-minute walk from beautiful beaches. The room was a little dated, but hopefully they'll renovate soon.