Hotel Baia Aranzos

The main drawback is that you need a car to go out for a meal or get anywhere else. If you're happy to stay put, though, it's a very good resort. The room was lovely, spacious, and well kept, and some have great sea views. Service was good, with a 24-hour desk, though there wasn't a full concierge service or travel money. The staff were very friendly. The restaurant was okay, but pricey for a buffet. Hotel drinks were reasonably priced.

We stayed with customers across three rooms and booked through booking.com. We've been trying for a long time to get an invoice for the stay, but the property hasn't answered our messages on the site. The phone number goes to a machine, and they haven't replied to the dispute we opened there either. That's not acceptable customer service.

The setting is remote, so you'll need a car, and weekday music and entertainment continued until 23:30, which was tough if you go to bed early. The place feels like a large investment from years ago that's now poorly maintained and focused on short-term profit. I don't think it deserves four stars, and the €4.50/night city tax is hard to justify. Some apartments have amazing sea views, but ours had no view at all, and guests should be told when that's the case. We booked four weeks ahead, but Room No. 70, the only one in our building without a sea or garden view, faced a busy parking ramp with people and cars passing constantly. The exterior in the booking photos didn't match what we found. We were told check-in was at 12:00, then on arrival were asked to wait until 16:00. That's the standard time, but it was misleading after being told otherwise, and no other room was offered. Reception first brushed off our concerns. After we spoke with another staff member, Jerina, we got breakfast for two days at no charge. It was poor quality, with industrial food, terrible coffee, plastic cups, and no fresh options. Tap water was light brown, there was no bottled water in the room, and WiFi only worked near reception, a 50-200m walk away. Mobile reception was poor too. Facilities were dated and not well maintained. One of the two pool showers didn't work, and the bathroom sink in our room had problems. The breakfast and other issues made for a disappointing stay.

The gardens are lovely, and some rooms have a beautiful view of Golfo Aranci. The rooms themselves are dated but pretty good. There's a dolphin watching, snorkeling and diving center 100m down the road that offers amazing tours. You'll need a car to get around because the hotel is remote. Checkout at 10am felt far too early for a holiday, especially at a supposed four-star hotel. Service was minimal. The tap water was light brown, there were no bottled waters in the room, and there was no WiFi in the rooms. Mobile reception was mostly absent, or very poor in a few spots in the garden. Breakfast was low quality, with industrial food, terrible coffee, plastic glasses and individually wrapped snacks. The snack bar food was bad, so we didn't risk trying the restaurant. This could be an incredible hotel, but it feels like management is trying to squeeze as much short-term profit out of it as possible. That made the stay frustrating and disappointing.