Riad Jawad

The dogs completely spoiled the relaxing atmosphere we'd paid for. There were three little ones that barked often, almost constantly through our first dinner, then woke us at 12am, 5am and 8am. I love dogs, but this was too much. After check-in and the noise, we seriously considered leaving early and losing the money. Service at reception was another big disappointment. Messages on booking.com about our check-in time got the reply "subject to availability". They ignored my requests for help with a taxi and for information about the spa through their website. Check-in was eventually accepted, but when we arrived nobody was at reception. We waited ten minutes, then had to find someone. They didn't greet us or explain much, and the whole process felt cold, like we were an inconvenience. They offered a welcome drink for the room, forgot it, and we had to ask at reception after half an hour. This became a pattern, with requests forgotten until we tracked someone down. At checkout, despite knowing our time, again nobody was there. The taxi we'd arranged through them was 20 minutes late. I had to find someone twice to ask about it, and got no apology, thank-you or goodbye. Given the customer service, we chose not to use the spa. There were other issues too: no robes, which I'd expect at a spa hotel at this price, no tea or coffee in the room, and very overpriced minibar water as the only water option. The bathroom door wouldn't shut properly, and the air conditioning was loud. I might have overlooked those things if there hadn't been so many other bad experiences. The property has potential, with a lovely pool and very kind restaurant staff, but we left disappointed and felt it wasn't worth the cost. We found parts of the stay stressful instead of relaxing. For the same money, there are lots of other hotels with similar facilities and kinder, more welcoming hosts. I wish I'd known and booked somewhere else.