Falesia Hotel

We stayed at this hotel for 12 days. The bedrooms are clean and the beds are very comfortable, the shower is hot and powerful. The breakfast is very good lots of choice, but the evening meals not so good. The salads were lovely as were the deserts but the main dishes were poor. The small pieces of beef and chicken on offer every night were tough, fish was also on offer but I decided not to try it ( after sampling the beef and chicken) The other options on offer, I found very hit and miss, so much so that 6 days out of 12 we ate out. The lunch time menu was the same everyday, wraps and toasties etc except for Thursday and Sunday when BBQ was offered.. But this wasn’t a bbq as such, it was bbq chicken and ribs etc cooked in the hotel kitchen! The entertainment was poor. There was no atmosphere at all in the bar and we were treated to a different lady singer every night, who all seemed to sing the same set, which included John Lennons “ Imagine” and Sade hit “ Smooth Operator” ….. EVERY Night!!! It is a very quiet hotel, no quizzes, no Aqua, no music around the pool bar.
The staff in the restaurant and bars still seem to be learning, (yes it is September) so no change there since the reviews I read in May. This is a beautiful hotel with wonderful gardens, and very clean. But we would not return.

This review is for anyone feeling anxious about returning to this hotel following all the negative reviews (as I was) or visiting for the first time.

Firstly, if it hadn’t been for reading the reviews I’m not sure I would’ve been aware there had been a change in management. On first impressions it just appeared that there had been some improvement in so far as new pool towels, an improvement to the indoor pool area & the addition of a mini gym.

The hotel itself is still spotlessly clean and fresh. Any dealings I had with the reception staff were absolutely fine.

My main concern was the comments regarding the dining room (the food aspect is partly the reason we return year after year). Breakfast hadn’t changed at all and still had all of the offerings as before. Evening meal was different…there was a distinct lack of a welcome to the dining room. I’m pleased to say that you no longer have to reserve a time to eat as a previous review had stated. The tables are laid only with a knife and fork, no side plates. If you wanted anything from the grill you had to get that first before any side veg otherwise your veg would be cold by the time you sat down to eat it. A chef was training another chef whilst we were there and it was slightly chaotic, although this did change mid week and then there was a chef cooking constantly rather than upon request which worked much better. The staff are doing their best but when I commented “you’re busy” the waitress’s reply was “not really, I just need some help”, it was evident there was a lack of staff, or trained staff. Sadly, all waiting staff seemed to feel they needed to apologise. Empty plates were left on tables between courses and there was no rush/or staff available to clear tables when vacated. I spoke to a lady, in management, who was there to help turn things around upon the negative comments received from guests…by the end of the week you could definitely notice the shift.

This goes for the bar staff too…there was definitely an improvement in their attitude by the end of our stay.

All said, it wouldn’t deter us from returning, it’s good to know that management are aware of people’s comments and are taking them constructively and acting on them. The saying: “It takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy it” is very true of what has happened here, hopefully the reputation can be recovered quickly before it really does affect the great hotel that was. Sadly though, it does seem that a lot of repeat guests will not be returning.