The hotel is lovely overall and in a great location. The breakfast and rooms were excellent, and the beach is beautiful for swimming.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend staying here due to our experience with the reception staff at check-in. There was a mix-up with our booking—although the room name matched, the photos and description of the room we had booked via Trip did not reflect the room we were offered. The hotel acknowledged the discrepancy but refused to assist. It appeared that the issue stemmed from incorrect room descriptions and photos listed on Trip. We contacted Trip immediately, but they were unable to reach the hotel. In the end, Trip refunded us the difference (plus compensation), and we paid to “upgrade” the room. However, the hotel staff were completely unhelpful despite acknowledging the error. Their attitude was very disappointing. We asked to speak with a manager, but were told they were off duty and unavailable/didn’t want to talk to us—no alternative or acting manager was offered, which was surprising. For this reason, we wouldn’t stay here again unless customer service improves and the hotel takes more responsibility for issues arising from their listings with booking agents. Trip confirmed that the photos of the room and description have been updated.
There are a few additional points worth noting. While the beach is lovely, there is occasionally some oil and significant rubbish (which we understand is not the hotel’s fault although they could make some effort to remove the litter). It would also be great if the pool opened earlier for morning swims and they could provide conditioner in the bathrooms (there are generous amenity trays but no conditioner).
One major concern is the use of beanbags on the beach, which appear to leak polystyrene beads without any effort to contain them—this is quite harmful to the environment. Improved table cleaning would also help reduce the number of flies. When we came down for breakfast the tables were laid but also full of crumbs (even if we were the first ones).
The hotel has MANY signs stating that reserving sunbeds is not allowed and that unattended towels will be removed after 30 minutes. We respected this policy, but unfortunately many guests ignored it—reserving sunbeds early and leaving belongings there all day, even when not present. No action was taken by staff, which made it difficult for others to find available seating. Either the policy should be enforced or removed, as it currently puts compliant guests at a disadvantage.
Overall, while the rooms, breakfast, and location in Lamai are hard to beat, the lack of customer service and poor policy enforcement significantly impacted our stay.
If these issues could be addressed it would be a fabulous place to stay!