Gardenia Beach Hotel - All Inclusive

The location is great, with the beach, bazaars, and public transport close by. The bread was really good, and there were lots of pickled vegetables. Food aside, cleanliness was excellent. Service seemed focused on German customers and tips, and the waiters and reception staff weren’t friendly. I’d give the hotel 5/10 overall, and the experience 6/10.

The restaurant staff were friendly and quick to clear tables, and there were two buffet spots plus food between meals. The food itself was fine. The grounds are large, with several buildings, three pools, a volleyball court, and beach access. It’s a nice location, though finding your way around can take some effort. We had to arrive a day late because our flights were cancelled. For the first night, instead of our three rooms, we got two, one of them a suite. The room we’d booked for four had a pull-out couch that wasn’t made up. We asked for sheets, then ended up tracking down a cleaner and making the bed ourselves. The next night we had to leave the suite for two regular rooms, and nobody showed us where to go. It often felt like people were expecting tips. One man showed us to our room and seemed interested only in getting one. I wondered if that was why nobody helped us find the next rooms, since we hadn’t tipped. I also felt bad when I didn’t have cash to tip everyone, which of course isn’t possible anyway. If that won’t bother you and you’re happy to spend extra, this place could be amazing. I guess you need a thick skin :)

The Wi-Fi worked really well, with strong signal everywhere and good speed. We had a quiet, relaxing stay, enjoyed the food and some of the entertainment, and the staff were all smiles. We loved the cats, too. We’ll definitely come back in the next few years.

The children’s entertainment was genuinely good, and the team clearly loves working with kids. The same evening show repeated every night, though, so that got old fast. The pools were very clean. The beach staff were helpful with loungers and umbrellas, even though the beach itself is narrow and pebbly. Algae and rubbish sometimes washed up, but usually had been cleared by the next day. The kids also loved the free ice cream on the beach from 3 to 4 pm. Basic alcohol was free until midnight, if I remember right. There were some good things about the food. Most of it tasted good, there was a lot of choice, including vegan and vegetarian options, and the grounds, paths, and hallways were kept very clean. The food gets refreshed when a new group of tourists is expected, then uneaten items are reused in other dishes over the next couple of days. Seafood cocktails were only offered one day a week, when German tourists were expected. You get one small bottle of water per person each day in your room. I heard there’s a dispenser by reception, though I didn’t check, since I usually took bottles from the housekeepers’ carts. At night, carts could sometimes be found tucked away at the end of upper-floor hallways. Mosquitoes were a real problem in our building by the pool and slides. There were no window screens, and we had to hunt down 10 to 15 mosquitoes every evening. The blood spots on the walls tell the story. When we asked about screens, staff just stared at us. English was spoken by only a couple of people at reception. Some staff spoke German, but we don’t. Smoking was another problem. People smoked on the dining terrace during meal times despite the signs, and when we told staff, they told us to confront the smokers ourselves. I did, but staff should have dealt with it. There were no smoking rules on the beach, either, and people smoked beside our kids so much that we ended up arguing with some of them. It didn’t feel very family-friendly. My wife was also turned away from a coffee machine during non-meal hours because she was wearing a bikini, which seemed ridiculous with people sunbathing by the pool right beside the dining area. Laundry for one load cost us 60 euros. The clothes came back smelling strongly of detergent and had lost their color, with black shirts turned grey. We complained at reception on checkout, but they wouldn’t do anything, which left a sour taste. People smoked in their rooms, too, and the smell came into ours through the ventilation. We could also hear people in an adjacent room making love all night. We stayed for the whole month of May, but we won’t return. It seemed popular with German singles who wanted to get drunk for a few nights and smoke on the beach. That’s all.