AOIFE TRAINOR
It does not state on the website that upon arrival you are forced to pay a large amount of money as a damage deposit. This was very stressful as it was €400 before we even got in to the room. The room itself was unbearable. There was no air conditioning which we were told to just deal with. They gave us 1 machine which was meant to blow cold air but actually blew air as hot as it was outside. They then gave us two fans that made strange and loud noises. The sofa beds did not pull out in to beds therefore we had to sleep on the sofa and some of us even slept on the balcony due to the heat and having no bed. The balcony only could hold half of the number of people in the group as it was so small, the chairs on the balcony are plastic and snapped when sitting on them. There was no glasses or cutlery to use therefore we had to go and buy our own. The staff in reception were absolutely diabolical and so rude. When arriving she mocked us by saying “what? have you no money?” After we had just given her the large deposit. The room was covered in ants before we came in. The only good thing this hotel has to offer is the amazing staff in the pool bar. I would highly recommend to not stay here it is run down, outdated and disgusting.
JB25
The hotel looks nice from the outside and when you aren’t paying attention properly but when you look a bit deeper the cracks become obvious.
First thing first, there is a stagnant water feature in the lobby and a number of the pools are closed. The rooms have very few electrical outlets with only one in my bedroom. There is no A/C in any of the rooms of the hotel which is crazy and no fans to replace the lack of Air conditioning.
The pillows are very uncomfortable and the sheets have stains.
The breakfast provided was laughably bad with cold neglected scrambled eggs that looked like they had been reused from and previous day and very bitter pineapple juice. The water provided at breakfast was bizarrely acidic like it was mixed with vodka or the glasses had been washed with bleach.
Upon arriving at the hotel within 10 minutes we were offered the sale of Heroin which has never been something I have been offered before let alone so casually in front of the staff at reception. Another couple of men a few days later offered to sell me cocaine and multiple drug dealers freely walk around the hotel and its grounds and are known to and regularly communicate with members of staff. This is unacceptable in any establishment let alone a supposed ‘4 star rated’ hotel with children and families around in full few of the employees.
There is a single small and very old elevator in a very dirty corridor surrounded by cleaning equipment and old appliances. We regularly took the stairs out of fear of getting stuck or worse.
We told them there were 3 of us staying in one room but were only provided with 2 single beds and they stated we would be charged extra for them to make up a third for us.
The only source of joy you will receive from the ‘cheerful’ Balaia plaza hotel will be when you check out and leave the place.
Molly Suart
My mother and I stayed a week at this hotel for a leisure holiday in June of 2019. Once we arrived at the hotel we were rudely greeted by the receptionist who was an older woman, she clearly didn’t care or provided much help. Once we entered our apartment we noticed a sewage smell but didn’t think much of it. We noticed gurgling noises coming from the bathroom, found it strange but again didn’t take much notice.
My mother was cleaning the bath/shower before going to take a shower but heard a gurgling noise and suddenly brown stuff came flushing out of the drain hole. To put it simply sewage came up our drain into the bath/shower, the smell was horrendous and we couldn’t shower for our remaining days. We brought it to the attention of staff but nothing was done. I would provide pictures but it’s too gruesome to show. We also ran into the issue of all of our valuables getting locked in the safe but the manager came up and helped us with that issue.
There was some lovely staff here during, only for that one receptionist.
The hotel is also quite far from the strip.
We were not happy with our stay, these issues did affect our holiday. I would not recommend staying here at all. Please avoid at all costs!!
Alex P
Loved the experience. There are two sides of the hotel and don't let that stop you to decide on coming here. Staff were amazing and helpful. We didn't have any issues at all here. Before going on holiday some of the reviews really scared us, but being there I can say now that some people really like to exaggerate or they are really snobs. Below are some pictures from inside the hotel and the view from our room
António Oliveira
A lie. This place is not worth a single star. Cockroaches in the rooms, falling ceilings, ripped sofas, dirty sheets, used pillows, we even had to ask the reception for new towels. The room smelled unbearably of tobacco. The worst of everything. Don't be fooled by the photos they post
