Rehabilitation Centre & SPA Draugystės sanatorija

My mother has been coming to this sanatorium for treatment for 6 or 7 years in a row, and several times before that. She used to love it, even though she had tried local competitors too. This may have been her last visit. In all those years, her only major complaint had been the construction in front of her window, and to the staff’s credit, they moved her to another room. This time the price went up, as expected, but the quality fell, and she didn’t feel she got her money’s worth. She came for medical treatment, and the stay isn’t cheap. At this point, staying at a hotel or airbnb and getting treatment at a private clinic might be better value. This used to be one of the best, or at least my mom’s favorite among some strong competitors. Now I’d only put it among the best if you stay in one of the premium suites. Basic suite facilities have been cut by half or more, and the rooms have no appliances apart from a TV. Cleaning used to be okay or good, depending on the visit, but now it’s subpar. Some staff are still as rude as they’ve been over the years. The information booklets in the room were out of date, including details on facilities, schedules, and prices, and caused a lot of confusion. On the first day, for example, she missed supper because the booklet listed a later serving time than the actual one. The bathroom smelled of sewage, possibly a plumbing issue, and the bath clearly hadn’t been properly cleaned in a while. A visible yellowish layer of limescale covered the surface and felt rough to touch. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and dust in the corners. The sanatorium offers many facilities, but some, like the swimming pool, treat basic suite guests as second class. You can pay to enter, which is fair, but premium suite residents get priority and staff are reluctant to let basic suite guests use it. It’s not an outright no, but you have to ask and they might let you in reluctantly. You end up begging to pay them. It’s absurd. This isn’t a new issue: some of the staff, though not all, are impolite and unprofessional. Once, when I came for one of my mom’s procedures, a staff member complained that she’d been assigned people who weren’t on her schedule. She stomped off, saying she’d talk to other employees about it. I understand that was frustrating for her, but it’s an internal issue that shouldn’t be taken out on visitors. This has happened more than once, and although the staff have changed over the years, the attitude remains. I haven’t listed every complaint my mother had, but I think I’ve made the point. I rate the basic suites 2/5 rather than 1/5 because the food is still great and some staff members were lovely. Premium suites are closer to 4/5, though some rude staff are shared across suites.