Chatur Playa Real Resort

We arrived on 13 August. That night I took my ring off before bed, as I always do, and placed it on the bedside table. On the morning of 14 August, we went to breakfast and the pool and returned to find our room had been cleaned. My ring was gone.

We immediately searched everywhere, including taking the beds apart and checking our suitcases, although I know exactly where I had left it. We reported it to reception and were immediately told that the cleaners had worked there for 15 years and would not steal it, and that I must have simply lost it. Only after pushing did reception ask what the ring looked like and say they would ask around. I asked for the name of the person who had cleaned our room.

On 15 August, we asked for an update and were again told that the cleaners had worked there for 15 years and had not stolen it. That same day, the head cleaner and another cleaner came to our room to search, but nothing was found. We were told that the cleaner who normally worked our floor had actually been off that day and another maid had covered her shift. We made it clear that we were not accusing anyone, but that the ring had disappeared after the room was cleaned and could potentially have been lost amongst the bedsheets.

We were told the relevant maid would be back working on Tuesday 18 August and would be asked about it then.

On 18 August, we went to reception and spoke to Juan. He topd told us nothing had been found in the bedsheets. When I asked what was being done, he simply said nothing could be done because I had lost my ring. He was extremely dismissive and said it wasn’t possible to let us speak to anyone else and repeatedly said she had worked there for 15 years and therefore could not have taken it. I asked for the name of the maid who cleaned my room and that was also not possible. I also asked for a record of who had scanned into our room that day, but was told again this wasn’t possible.

We eventually found the maid ourselves. She did not speak English, so we used Google Translate. She was willing to help and talk to us. She confirmed she had cleaned the 3rd floor that Friday. When we showed her a picture of my ring, she said she remembered seeing it on the bedside table and said she hadn’t taken it and it hadn’t fallen. She also told us she had actually worked at the hotel for 4 years, not 15 as we had repeatedly been told. She then showed us a gold ring from her cleaning trolley, but it was unfortunately not mine.

We spoke to our Jet2 representative, who was extremely apologetic unlike anyone else I had spoken to, who advised us to make a formal complaint or contact the police however she told us that the police would most likely not do anything. A lovely woman from reception then gave us a complaint form.

On 19 August, while waiting for a taxi, we overheard another couple speaking to the manager about their Swarovski bracelet going missing after their room had been cleaned. We spoke to them and discovered they were staying on the same floor, just two rooms away from us. They had also been told by reception that they must have lost it and that the maids had worked there for 15 years.

They had actually hidden their bracelet behind a drawer, yet it had still disappeared. They were able to speak to the manager and were shown records of who had scanned into their room. What concerned us even more was that the manager appeared not to know about my missing ring when mentioned despite my constant visits to reception asking for updates.

We repeatedly asked for the records showing who had entered our room. Eventually, the manager said she would provide them that day. However, when we returned later that day, reception had no idea what we were talking about and told us to come back at 9am on 20th of August, our final morning.

On 20 August before meeting with the manager we went for breakfast and ran into the couple who had also had something stolen. They told us the day their bracelet went missing the restaurant had scanned into their room as their child had a birthday and they delivered a cake into their fridge. We finally figured it out. The day my ring went missing was also my birthday and we also had a cake delivered into our fridge that day. This is no coincidence!

We found this extremely concerning, particularly as neither of us had told the hotel about our birthdays – the dates were on the bookings.

After this we met the manager and said she would speak to the restaurant but told us there was no proof to give the police because there were no cameras inside the rooms. When I pointed out the similarity between the two incidents, she dismissed it and said it didn’t mean anything. She then walked away from us in frustration.

I went to the restaurant myself to ask who had delivered the cake. They told me to speak to reception. I asked Juan to translate the situation as their English wasn’t the greatest, but he refused and became extremely angry, shouting in my face. Another receptionist got involved , called elena and questioned why I hadn’t just gone to the police. I explained that we had repeatedly been given the impression that the hotel was investigating, only to be left until the final days of our holiday to take it to police but was advised they probably wouldn’t do anything . She was also dismissive and smug and reception was eventually “shut down” by Elena because of Juan’s behaviour.

We were repeatedly told that information about who had entered our room was “personal”, despite the fact that my ring had disappeared from my room. I still have no idea whether the hotel properly investigated this.

My ring was not valuable financially, but it was incredibly sentimental because it was given to me by my grandmother. What should have been a birthday holiday turned into days of us having to investigate the disappearance ourselves, while feeling that the hotel was more concerned with protecting its staff than helping us.

In one week, we became aware of a missing ring, a missing Swarovski bracelet and a missing bag from hotel rooms. At least two of these incidents were on the same floor and involved items disappearing after rooms had been accessed.

I cannot say who took my ring because I have no proof, but the hotel’s response was completely unacceptable. We were not given proper assistance, we were spoken to like dirt on the floor and were refused information that was later apparently provided to another guest, and were left to investigate the situation ourselves.

I strongly recommend avoiding this hotel and keeping your valuables with you at all times. What made this experience even worse was not simply losing something sentimental, but the way we were treated when we reported it.

Went here for my trip with my little boy, we both loved it very clean, very friendly staff and a lot of lovely families which also made the holiday. Would definitely recommend 👌 being a single dad with a 7 year old this hotel made life so easy with a fussy eater. 6 min walk to bus for siam park and 10 mins walk to the beach would come again 😊

I wanted to share my honest experience of staying here. I’ve stayed in quite a few 4 and 5 star hotels, and unfortunately this was probably the worst 4 star hotel we’ve stayed in.

Before booking, I did read the reviews and to be honest they didn’t seem too bad. I did notice some of the negative reviews but chose to overlook them. Looking back, I really wish I had paid more attention because unfortunately we experienced quite a few of the same issues.

There were definitely some positives, especially when travelling with children. The swimming pools are great fun for kids, the kids’ disco and magician show were enjoyable, and the hotel does make an effort to keep the children entertained. The clubhouse is also brilliant for kids, so I do give them credit for that.

But unfortunately there were a lot of things that made our stay frustrating.

The bed sheets are only changed every three days, which was unusual for us as we’re used to staying in hotels where they are changed more regularly. Even worse, there is no room cleaning, no fresh towels and no change of bedsheets on Sundays. We paid for the hotel for those days as well, so it was a real let down to receive no housekeeping or basic room service on a Sunday.

There were also occasions when our room wasn’t cleaned at all and we weren’t given fresh towels. We then had to keep contacting reception and chasing them to sort it out. I really don’t like having to repeatedly ask for basic things that should already be provided. On one occasion they left clean bedsheets on the bedside table for us to change ourselves.

The bathroom was another problem. The shower would flood and the water would come out into the passage and towards the bedroom. This happened more than once and was very inconvenient.

The food was probably one of our biggest disappointments. We found it very bland and there wasn’t much choice for vegetarians. We also found out that alcohol is used in some of the food. I think this should be clearly stated so guests know what they are eating. We saw one pregnant lady become understandably upset after finding out there was alcohol in some of the food.

The service was also very hit and miss. Most of the staff were fine, but in the dining room there are two waiters wearing blue shirts while the rest wear white shirts. One of the blue shirted waiters, the one without glasses, was always very miserable and came across as quite rude to guests. The other one with glasses was the complete opposite, always smiling, greeting guests and being friendly.

When we first arrived, we had four suitcases, two buggies and two children who were asleep. We had to take all the luggage ourselves to the room. They did show me where the luggage trolley was, but I had never used one before and I was clearly struggling with everything in the hallway. Staff were walking past but nobody bothered to come and help. I would have appreciated someone simply offering a hand, especially when they could see I was struggling with all the luggage and two young children.

We also had cockroaches and small lizards on our balcony. The lizards might not bother everyone, but the cockroaches definitely did. My wife was so put off by it that she became too scared to open the balcony door.

There is also a shop inside the hotel selling things like toys and sun cream. The older gentleman working there doesn’t speak much English, which is absolutely fine, but unfortunately his attitude was quite miserable and unwelcoming.

The spa was another disappointment. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the whole thing was very disorganised. The day before, we were told that our children could go in with my wife and me. The next day we were suddenly told children weren’t allowed. We were sent to reception to get permission, only for reception to tell us it had nothing to do with them and send us back.

Then they had to call someone else to come and sort it out, but nobody came to give us a clear answer. We ended up wasting around an hour of our holiday going backwards and forwards, so eventually we just cancelled the spa. It was a complete waste of our time and money.

Overall, I think the biggest problem with this hotel is that it just isn’t organised. Everything feels very hit and miss. Sometimes things are fine and other times you have to keep chasing staff to get basic things sorted.

I’m not saying everything about the hotel is bad. There are some good facilities, especially for children, and the entertainment team does make an effort. But for a 4 star hotel, I expected much better service, cleanliness and organisation.

Everyone can have a different experience, but unfortunately ours wasn’t a good one. I just wish I had paid more attention to some of the negative reviews before booking.

For us, unfortunately, never again.