Veranda Tamarin Hotel and Spa

Unfortunately, our five-night stay was an extremely disappointing experience, and we would not return.

From the moment we arrived, it was immediately obvious that the hotel looked very different from the photographs advertised online. The hotel did not match the expectations created by the website.

Things went downhill from there. When we entered our room, the bedding was stained and, to make matters worse, we discovered a cockroach in the room!

We booked and all inclusive package but I’d be aware that the menus make it appear as though there is a reasonable all-inclusive selection, but once you actually look at the menus less than half of the items are included and the majority you still have to pay for. There are three different restaurant/food areas, but they are all essentially connected to the same kitchen. Despite this, what is included in the all-inclusive package varies between them. Something might be included in one restaurant but chargeable in another, making it unnecessarily difficult to understand what you are actually entitled to. And then comes the bizarre part: despite paying for an all-inclusive package, you have to sign a separate bill every single time you order something. By the end of a day, you can find yourself signing multiple bills despite supposedly having an all-inclusive package. It does take away from the relaxed vibe you’d hope from all inclusive.

The nights were the worst part Our room overlooked the car park, and the noise was horrendous ( videos attached) We barely had a peaceful night’s sleep. We immediately asked on night 1 whether we could move rooms and were told that there were no rooms available. The noise continued every single night for all five nights of our stay. We asked again on night 3 and were again told there are no rooms and the police had been called. On our final night, when the noise was particularly bad, we once again asked to be moved and were again told there were no rooms available. We gave up and checked the hotel’s website ourselves and could see that rooms were actually available to book. After showing this to the member of staff at reception.l he checked the system, they were able to find us a room - funny that. I’d attach videos but trip advisor doesn’t allow videos anymore for reviews so the photo shows how close the locals park to the balcony’s to blast their music.

The state of the furnishings in the pool area and rooftop pool were very poor (photo attached) Very stained cushions and green/grimy areas all around.

The public beach directly opposite the hotel was one of the few positives. It was a pleasant enough place to watch the sunset, although the river running into the beach carries a fairly strong smell of eggs, which makes it less appealing as somewhere to spend a full day relaxing. Still, the sunsets were enjoyable and it was a nice place to get away from the hotel for a while.

The attitude of some of the staff also left a lot to be desired. We encountered several members of staff in the restaurants who were particularly rude and unwelcoming. Obviously, not every member of staff was the same (philbert, Shane and Tony were fab) but there were enough unpleasant interactions to make it a noticeable part of our stay.

To be fair, we were eventually able to speak to a manager on our final day. He was friendly, listened to our concerns and did offer us some form of recompense, which we appreciated. Our complaints had also been raised with the hotel during our stay. However, while we appreciate that the manager tried to address the situation, this did not make up for the fact that the problems had affected our entire holiday.

Ultimately, the most telling thing about our stay was that our best experiences were the times we left the hotel to go elsewhere.

In a nutshell - you’re better off paying more to go elsewhere :)

Overall, pretty decent and the location is very convenient.