Vincci La Plantacion

We loved this hotel previously – sadly, we won’t return

This is a genuinely difficult review to write because when my husband and I first stayed at Vincci Selección La Plantación del Sur in April, we absolutely loved it.

We stayed in garden room 729, loved its peaceful setting and hot tub, and left a five-star review. We enjoyed the hotel so much that we returned for six nights in September, specifically requested the same room, and had recommended the hotel enthusiastically to family and friends. Our son also stayed here in June.

Unfortunately, our second experience was very different.

When requesting room 729, what we weren’t told was that the garden immediately beside it would be used for weddings and other private events during our stay.

Had the hotel simply told us this, we would have requested another room. It really was that simple.

We discovered the first wedding only when we arrived at our room and found staff setting it up. That evening there were also fireworks, which we hadn’t been warned about. We didn’t complain because we assumed it was a one-off.

Later in the week, preparations began immediately beside our room for another wedding. This time I went to reception, explained the situation and specifically asked to be moved away from the event area.

We were eventually offered room 732, a higher-category duplex, which I went to view. However, it was only three rooms from 729. I explained that an upgrade wasn’t what we needed; we simply wanted to be sufficiently far away from the wedding to avoid the disturbance. Moving all our belongings three rooms along did not appear to solve that problem.

We were offered two complimentary hours in the spa, which we appreciated, but the spa closed at 6pm as the wedding was beginning. On returning to our room we had to walk through the assembled wedding guests to reach it, which felt awkward for us and presumably wasn’t ideal for the wedding party either.

Later that evening, shortly before 11pm, another substantial firework display began close to our room without any warning. It was extremely loud and generated enough smoke that we abandoned sitting in our garden and went inside.

However, the reason our opinion of this hotel has changed so dramatically isn’t simply because weddings and fireworks took place.

It is how we felt our concerns were handled.

We raised the problem while we were still at the hotel because we genuinely wanted to give them an opportunity to resolve it. Instead, we repeatedly found ourselves approaching reception for updates. At times we experienced sighing and eye-rolling and increasingly felt as though we were an annoyance for continuing to raise an issue that remained unresolved.

That’s what I found particularly disappointing from a five-star hotel.

Staff subsequently acknowledged that we probably should have been informed about the events. We were also told that room 729 would normally be reserved for the bridal party when a wedding was taking place, but that it had been allocated to us because we’d specifically requested it.

For me, that sums up the problem.

We requested 729 because we remembered it as wonderfully peaceful. The hotel knew we wanted that particular room, but also knew something we couldn’t have known – that events would be taking place immediately beside it.

One email before our stay would have allowed us to make a different choice and avoided the entire situation.

The hotel ultimately refunded our garden-room supplement and one night’s accommodation, which we appreciated. There was also a disagreement regarding additional food and beverage charges that both my husband and I understood had formed part of the compensation discussed at checkout.

We subsequently escalated our complaint to Vincci Head Office.

To be fair, Head Office acknowledged that clearer advance information about the events would have allowed us to make a more informed decision. They also said our experience had been included in an internal review covering communication of private events, room requests and complaint handling.

Following further correspondence, they also accepted our clarification that we hadn’t declined room 732 simply because we preferred to remain in 729; we had asked to be moved sufficiently far from the event to resolve the disturbance.

Nevertheless, Vincci concluded that the hotel’s actions and compensation were appropriate and proportionate and declined to take the matter any further.

I respect that they are entitled to reach that conclusion, just as I am entitled to remain very disappointed by it.

Hotels sometimes get things wrong. For me, the real test of a five-star hotel isn’t whether a problem ever occurs – it’s how they respond when one does.

In April we loved La Plantación del Sur enough to give it five stars, return ourselves and recommend it to other people. Unfortunately, after both our experience during this stay and the subsequent handling of our concerns, we won’t return.

That’s something I genuinely regret saying because our first experience here was excellent.

For anyone considering staying, particularly in one of the garden rooms, I would strongly recommend asking before arrival whether any weddings or private events are scheduled in the adjoining areas during your stay.

Great hotel. Spotlessly clean, great staff, beautiful pools with plenty of free beds and towels. Breakfast had a great selection and was very fresh. Beds are really comfortable and turndown service is a special treat. It’s a proper five star hotel with all the subtle extras. Looking forward to my next visit Couldn’t fault it really!