Grand Hotel Panoramic

The pool is a real plus if you want to swim for a while, and breakfast was good. Still, a few neglected details made the stay less comfortable. There were two bulky spare mattresses taking up room, and outside I could see rubbish and signs that the grounds weren't being looked after. In the shower, the frame was there but no shelf or rack to set down soap or shampoo. These little fixes could make the place feel much more cared for.

The breakfast was better than we expected, and our room matched what we had been promised. We only arrived yesterday, but the welcome was lovely and check-in went smoothly. The staff are clearly trying hard. It's a charming hotel.

Getting around without a car seems difficult. Public transport runs when it wants to, not to a reliable schedule, and the taxis are expensive and not dependable either. The hotel feels very dated, the air conditioning barely works, and the front desk service was nothing special. Coffee service stops at 10 a.m. even though it should be available around the clock, and there are no pods in the room. I wouldn't choose this place, especially without a car, and it doesn't feel like a four-star hotel.

We booked Grand Panoramic in a hurry for a week after our original hotel drained its pool and said repairs would take at least three days. We even chose a superior room, but left after one night. The old fashioned feel is everywhere, from the bathroom and room to the shared spaces and mismatched furniture, which looks at least twenty years old. The pool seemed dirty and unfinished, and the wooden bridge didn't improve it. The so-called spa is a cramped corner on the ground floor with a small pool, hot tub, and sauna, and costs 25 euros a day. After seeing it, I wouldn't risk using it. We also passed on the 30 euro per person evening meal, since the set menu was limited and breakfast had already put us off. Breakfast was basic continental fare with dry bread and only warm scrambled eggs. At the 24-hour bar, drinks were limited, there was only house wine and no bottles for sale, and it felt like they were steering guests toward 8 euro cocktails. We were told the bar took cash only and we couldn't charge drinks or bar food to the room. When we tried to order 10 euro pasta for lunch, we were told there was a 2 euro per person cover charge to eat anywhere in the hotel except our room. The owner met us after we asked to cancel. She said bar purchases could go on the room, our bathroom had only recently been upgraded, the spa fee covered a week rather than a day, and she had spent over a million on the property in the previous year. That all sounded hard to believe given what we saw in the photos and what staff had repeatedly told us. The only thing that didn't feel stuck in the 1980s was the WiFi. The owner seemed in denial about the hotel's condition. If you're stuck like we were, you may have to make allowances, but we couldn't stay more than one night in what was supposed to be a four-star hotel. We checked out the next day and crossed the street to a lovely, modern, fresh feeling hotel. Even after paying a cancellation fee for the extra night, we saved 100 euros.