Eden Resort

Great holiday for family particularly good for large and inter generational groups. All children aged 2yrs to 16yrs loved playing together at the splash pool. Some snack bar staff a little grumpy. Entertainment staff very talented.

I waited a week after returning from Eden Villas & Apartments before writing this review, hoping that some perspective might change how I felt about our stay. Unfortunately, my overall opinion remains the same.

We stayed in July in a two-bedroom apartment, so I can only comment on this accommodation type. I was surprised by the large number of 4- and 5-star reviews, although I appreciate that experiences may vary considerably between apartments.

Some positives first:

Free shuttle bus Good selection of food and drinks Football pitch Some lovely bar and waiting staff, particularly Sonnie Spa and excellent spa staff Daily pool towel changes Temptation restaurant

Unfortunately, these positives were outweighed by significant problems with our accommodation, cleanliness and the way our initial concerns were handled.

Arrival and Apartment 85

We arrived at around 12:30pm and understood that our apartment was not due to be ready until 4pm. We were therefore happy to wait. However, we were specifically told that the apartment was being cleaned and would be ready well before 4pm.

At approximately 4:15pm, we still had no access to our accommodation and had received no apology or explanation. We were eventually taken towards our apartment in a golf buggy which, as far as we understood, was designed for three passengers plus the driver. There were five of us, with three suitcases and five pieces of hand luggage, so we were told that we would either have to squeeze on or one person would have to walk.

When we finally reached Apartment 85, we were shocked by its condition. It did not appear to have been cleaned to an acceptable standard. We immediately noticed fingerprints on mirrors, coffee marks on bedside tables, dirty floors, puddles of water caused by leaking air-conditioning units and ants across the patio and furniture.

We contacted reception and specifically asked for management to inspect the apartment. After waiting, we contacted our tour operator. A cleaner and maintenance employee eventually attended, but despite repeatedly requesting management, we were still waiting approximately 1.5 hours later.

When we eventually returned to reception, we had to approach staff ourselves to establish who the managers were.

Our interaction with management

We explained that we had waited around four hours for our accommodation, had been told it would be ready considerably earlier, and had then been given an apartment that we felt was inadequately cleaned and poorly maintained.

The manager's response was, words to the effect of:

"So it's not that we didn't react quickly enough; we did. You are just not happy with our reaction."

We were offered the opportunity to inspect alternative apartments. The assistant manager emphasised that they were the "exact same basis of room" we had paid for.

This was particularly frustrating because we had never asked for an upgrade. We had paid approximately £5,000 for our holiday and simply expected the accommodation we had paid for to be clean, hygienic and properly maintained. The issue was never luxury — it was basic cleanliness, maintenance and customer service.

Apartment 80

We eventually inspected Apartment 80 at around 7:30pm and reluctantly agreed to move. It appeared cleaner and, importantly, we did not see the ants that had been present in Apartment 85.

Unfortunately, the problems continued.

The shower was heavily rusted and the shower head was broken off. To be fair, we reported this immediately and a replacement shower head had been installed by the time we returned from dinner.

There was also a noticeable damp smell, and the bed sheets felt damp. Given the leaking air-conditioning we had already experienced in Apartment 85, this was concerning.

The cockroach

The following morning, at approximately 6am, I went into the kitchen and immediately saw a large cockroach running towards me.

I screamed, jumped backwards and hit my toe, waking the rest of the family. My husband and eldest son eventually caught it in a glass.

Reception sent a cleaner and maintenance employee once staff were available. Initially there appeared to be some doubt that it was a cockroach, but once they saw it, it was eventually removed.

At this point, I was in tears.

We had spent two years saving for this holiday and approximately £5,000 on a family break that was supposed to create happy memories for our children. Instead, by 6am on our second day, we were dealing with a cockroach in our kitchen after everything that had already happened with the first apartment.

The resort's response

Later that day, we returned to find two 10% spa vouchers, a small bottle of wine, chocolate, a note and a stuffed ant toy.

I appreciate that these were intended as a gesture of goodwill, but given the circumstances, the stuffed ant felt particularly insensitive.

What we really needed was reassurance that the underlying issues were being taken seriously and that our accommodation was clean, hygienic and properly maintained.

Other things we noticed

Our concerns were not limited to the apartments. During our stay we also observed:

Food being left uncovered with flies able to land on it. Ants around the kiosk/bar area. Pool staff spitting down a drain directly behind my sun lounger while cleaning. Furniture, fixtures and fittings that appeared tired and poorly maintained. Reception staff who, in our experience, were often inattentive or abrupt. An overall standard of accommodation that we did not feel was consistent with the 4-star rating.

We also spoke with several other guests. Some were returning visitors who had previously enjoyed the resort, but several independently commented that they felt the standard and service had deteriorated.

Things worth knowing before booking

If you are considering an all-inclusive stay, there are lots of activities aimed at children, but some come at additional cost and this was not always obvious to us when booking. For example, the football academy costs €20 per child, or €35 for two children, and activities such as electric cars and some children's entertainment also have charges. Popcorn and candy floss at some included events are also not free.

There is an excellent artificial football pitch, but no footballs are provided. There is one available from reception for a €20 refundable deposit, and it can be difficult to get one.

Sunbeds were another issue. We managed to get one each day, but needed to be up around 8am to put towels down. Many guests appeared unable to find beds, while towels left for longer periods did not always seem to be removed.

Food at the Pecadillo restaurant was also left uncovered, meaning flies could land on it freely.

Finally, All Inclusive Plus is advertised as offering late-night snacks from 9:30pm. In our experience, this was misleading, as dinner ran until 9:30pm and the restaurant then closed for cleaning.

Overall

There were certainly some good aspects to the resort, and some staff members were genuinely lovely. However, for us, the combination of cleanliness issues, insects, maintenance problems, the condition of the accommodation and our experience with management fell well below what we expected from a 4-star resort at this price.

We would not return and, based on our experience, we would not recommend it.