Alacati Aura Plus

The receptionist was very professional and kind, which is why I’m giving two stars. The rest of the stay was disappointing. We were there for 6 days, and the room was never cleaned. I asked on the sixth day, but nobody came, and we weren’t given fresh sheets or towels. Although our booking was for a non-smoking room, cigarette smoke from nearby rooms filled ours. The hallway was dirty too, with cigarette butts around.

The main drawback was how loud it got at night. A group of restaurants shares an eating area right beside the hotel, and they played dance music well past midnight. Light sleepers might want to ask for a street facing room. During our 6 nights, we also had a clogged showerhead and poor drainage, so the shower booth flooded each time. The minibar sits inside a cabinet, but we had to leave the door open or the fridge wouldn’t cool because of its own heat. There were some real bright spots, too. Our room was small, but clean and cozy, with effective air conditioning and its own Wi-Fi router, which worked very well. Breakfast each morning included bread, tea, fried or scrambled eggs, jams, cheese and vegetables. Not everyone on staff spoke English, but they were all friendly and did their best to help. When we were rushing to the nearby bus terminal at checkout, one of them drove us there. I’d have liked to give the hotel 5 stars, but those issues held it back.

We paid a lot for this stay and it wasn’t worth it. Our room was okay, but we were let in 2 hours after check-in, and there was no hot water for 3 days. We had to shower in ice cold water, and the hotel couldn’t fix it. The toilet smelled bad, and being right above a nightclub with no sound insulation meant we couldn’t sleep before 3AM. There are plenty of cheaper, better hotels. I wouldn’t stay here.

We’ll be here for three nights. The hotel is clean, nicely designed, and close to everything, with facilities reachable after a short walk. That convenience does mean some outside noise. The staff were kind and breakfast was fresh and delicious. All in all, I recommend it.