Hotel Acacia Resort

The food and facilities are great, and the beach is just a two-minute walk away. But the little things keep this from being a five-star stay. There’s no way to make tea or coffee in the room, and the safe is there but only works if you pay 2 or 3 euros a day. The TV hardly works either.

The hotel feels very isolated, and without a rental car you’re pretty much stuck. There’s nothing within walking distance, so you’re left hiring a taxi or paying for a bus. I found the reception staff the most disappointing part of the stay. They often seemed rude and unhelpful, and some knew only a word or two of English. We had to keep insisting before requests were handled, which made it feel as if guests were a nuisance. The pool is easily the highlight. If you come to the Mediterranean for the sea, though, this place is a poor fit. The beach is a rough stretch of rocks and coarse sand that isn’t well kept. Big waves break in shallow water, so swimming feels unpleasant and unsafe, and the water looks murky. Meals were average at best. Breakfast had the same small selection every day. Dinner offered a little more choice and was somewhat better, but to me the food was at a three-star level rather than four-star.

The rooms look out over the pool and sea, which is a wonderful view. Finding the hotel is harder than it should be because the signs disappear as you get close. A lot of the charges add up: the room safe, parking, and pool towels all cost extra, and drinks are expensive. There’s almost nothing available for lunch, and what food there is costs a lot. It left us feeling as though the hotel was taking advantage of its guests.

The grounds are beautifully kept and the pool area is great. The hotel itself was good in many ways, but the setting is remote and there’s little nearby. You need a car if you want any freedom. There are a couple of local supermarkets with what you need, though. The beach was really bad, and the hotels along the strip feel cut off from one another by prison-like fences, so evening walks around the perimeter run out quickly. There are no tea-making facilities in the room. Bring your own iron and towels, and watch for extra charges. Food was mostly fine for me. All-inclusive guests got the same meals as paying customers, and I could even have cold bottled cola at lunch. Some days were better than others, but there was always something I liked. Breakfast had plenty of fruit and pastries, plus eggs and bacon. Later meals included local pasta, fish and meat, as well as ice cream and cakes. Coffee came from a basic vending machine, not a proper one. The all-inclusive drinks, though, were a different story. The paying guests had a long cocktail list with good spirits and mixers, waiters taking orders and bringing snacks to the tables. We were ignored and had to go to the bar, where we were greeted badly and offered just one cocktail made with warm, cheap mixers and awful spirits. The staff were miserable. By day three we started paying for our drinks, and suddenly everyone was smiling. The cleaner made me uncomfortable twice. After greeting me in the hall and finishing our room, she knocked again just a couple of minutes after I went in to use the bathroom, saying she wanted to check everything was all right. On day four she came up to me and my partner in the hall with a translated message on her phone saying she wouldn’t be working the day we left. It felt like she was fishing for an early tip.