Senza Garden Holiday Club

Senza Holiday Garden Club & Love Holidays – An Absolutely Appalling Experience!!! Not an 5 hotel, it's a 2 hotel**

I genuinely don't know where to begin. What was supposed to be a relaxing 5* all-inclusive holiday has started with stress, disappointment, poor customer service and a feeling that we were completely misled about what we were actually booking.

We booked Senza Holiday Garden Club but when looking at the hotel on the Love Holidays website, we were shown promotional video footage for Senza Grand Santara. This gave us a completely different impression of the hotel, its facilities and the standard of holiday we believed we were paying for.

We made our decision to book based on what Love Holidays showed us. If we had been shown an accurate video and representation of Senza Holiday Garden Club rather than promotional footage for Senza Grand Santara we could have made an informed decision about not booking the Senza Garden Holiday club hotel. Instead we were deceived into believing we were getting a completely different standard and experience.

We arrived at the hotel at around 10pm after a long and exhausting flight and the problems immediately began. This was not what we booked, our party includes someone who is a cancer patient and another person who has had a back operation and has medical needs yet there appeared to be very little assistance available when we arrived.

We had to deal with and carry much of our own luggage through the hotel ourselves. Considering the medical and physical needs of people in our party, this was absolutely ridiculous. After travelling for hours, arriving late at night and already being exhausted, we expected staff to actually be available to assist guests. The lifts were also tiny, making it even more difficult to transport luggage upstairs. When we finally got to our room, the fridge wasn't working, the air conditioning wasn't working and neither was the television.

We had travelled all day, arrived late at night and were exhausted only to enter a room where basic facilities were not even functioning.

Another major issue was the food. We had booked an all-inclusive package through Love Holidays and arrived at approximately 10pm after a long flight. Naturally, we thought that after travelling for hours there would at least be some food available or that someone would be able to direct us to somewhere we could eat. Instead there was no food available to us when we arrived. We were left walking around the hotel, going towards different restaurants and asking for help, only to find them all closed. We were hungry, exhausted and had just arrived at an all-inclusive hotel, yet there seemed to be nobody properly available to help us or explain what options we had.

The staff situation at Senza Garden Holiday Club was equally frustrating. From what we personally witnessed, staff appeared to be sitting around on their phones, casually strolling around, smoking and hanging around by motorbikes while guests were struggling to get assistance.

There seemed to be very little urgency or professionalism. Some staff were dressed casually without uniform making it difficult to even know who was actually there to assist guests.

Our experience with one of the reception staff was also extremely unpleasant. We found her manner rude, obnoxious and dismissive when we arrived particularly when we were already exhausted, hungry and trying to resolve problems with our room and find assistance.

Another absolutely ridiculous aspect of this hotel is the location of the restaurant and where guests are expected to obtain their meals and even basic soft drinks. The restaurant is approximately a mile away from where we were staying meaning we have to walk a considerable distance and then walk up a very steep hill just to get breakfast, lunch and dinner. This isn't simply an occasional inconvenience, this is something we are expected to do repeatedly just to access basic all-inclusive food and drinks. This is particularly unacceptable considering that our group includes guests with medical needs. Expecting people with medical and physical limitations to repeatedly walk approximately a mile and then tackle a steep hill simply to get their meals and basic soft drinks is completely unreasonable.

We booked an all-inclusive holiday not a holiday where we have to make a lengthy and physically demanding journey several times a day just to access the food and drinks we have already paid for. This should have been made very clear by Love Holidays before we booked, particularly if the accommodation and restaurant facilities are separated by such a distance and difficult terrain.

After arriving at around 10pm following a long flight, already having to carry our own luggage, finding no food available and then discovering that the restaurant was so far away and required walking up a steep hill, we were absolutely exhausted and extremely frustrated. Even obtaining basic soft drinks requires this same journey.

Then there was the issue of Wi-Fi.

We were told that Wi-Fi was included which formed part of what we believed we were getting with the package we booked. However, when we arrived, we were then told that Wi-Fi was not actually included and that we had to pay separately for it.

This is another example of why we feel misled. We booked based on the information provided to us, only to arrive and be told that something we had been led to believe was included came with an additional charge.

And then there was the private transfer arranged through Love Holidays, which was honestly one of the most frightening journeys we have ever experienced.

The driver appeared to be driving at extremely high speeds, which at points we believed were over 100 mph jumping red lights, aggressively changing and swerving between lanes and coming dangerously close to other vehicles and coaches. We were also told to stop talking and not have any snacks, there were several moments where crashes appeared narrowly avoided. Instead of feeling safe and comfortable after a long flight, we were genuinely frightened for our safety.

When we got into the private transfer, the driver handed us bottles of cold water without saying that there would be an additional charge. There was no clear explanation that the water was something we would later have to pay for, when we arrived at the hotel, he took the luggage out of the vehicle but left it outside on the street for us to take inside ourselves. Then after we had already gone inside the hotel, the driver came rushing into the hotel demanding payment for the bottles of water that had been handed to us without any explanation that they were chargeable. He then told us to hurry up because he had to get back to the airport and snatched 200 liras from our hand. Again, this was despite the fact that our party included a cancer patient and someone who has undergone back surgery and has medical needs. The private transfer was collected from Stand 20 at Antalya Airport in the blue taxi area and the transfer appeared to be associated with Sun Private Transfers, Blue Transfers.

So to summarise, we booked an all-inclusive holiday through Love Holidays believing we were getting the experience and facilities shown to us on their website.

Instead:

• Love Holidays showed us promotional footage for Senza Grand Santara while we were actually booked into Senza Holiday Garden Club giving us a misleading impression of what we were purchasing.
• We arrived at around 10pm after a long flight and were hungry yet no food was available and we were left walking around closed restaurants trying to find help, staff unavailable and unprofessional.
• Wi-Fi not included Have to pay separately!!!- We were told Wi-Fi was included.
• We had to deal with and carry much of our own luggage despite travelling with a cancer patient and someone who has had back surgery and has medical needs.
• The lifts were extremely small and made transporting luggage even more difficult.
• When we reached our room, the fridge, air conditioning and television were not working.
• Staff from our experience appeared more interested in sitting on their phones, smoking, strolling around and hanging around by motorbikes than assisting guests with no uniform or name badges.
• Our experience with reception was rude and dismissive.
• The supposedly private transfer was terrifying due to what we experienced as extremely dangerous driving including very high speeds, red lights, swerving between lanes and near misses.

We were handed water without being told there was a charge, then later rushed for 200 Turkish lira snatching it from our hand, Stand 20 at Antalya airport. We were rushed to unload our luggage because the driver said he needed to return to the airport.

This is not what we believed we were paying for. The fact that both Senza Garden Holiday Club and Love Holidays used footage of Senza Grand Santara while selling us a stay at Senza Holiday Garden Club is in our view the central reason we feel deceived. Customers should be shown an accurate representation of the exact hotel they are booking, not promotional material that creates the impression of a different property and experience.

On top of that, we were told Wi-Fi was included only to be charged separately, arrived hungry at an all-inclusive hotel with no food available to us, all restaurants were closed and restaurant for hotel and soft drinks was a mile walk, we struggled with our own luggage despite serious medical needs within our party and then encountered broken facilities in our room.

This has been an absolutely appalling start to our holiday and we feel completely let down, misled and ignored.

Despite our grievances Senza Garden Holiday Club staff stated there is an general manager and love holiday rep was being sent to our hotel, then we was told the general manager for Senza hotels isn't coming and in the end said they can't do anything which has left us still in the same situation with our complaint not being resolved, we will be raising these issues formally with Love Holidays and expect them to investigate exactly how this holiday was advertised to us, what information we were given about what was included, the condition of the room upon arrival, the lack of assistance provided as part of our booking.

Based on everything we have personally experienced, we would strongly advise other holidaymakers, particularly guests travelling from the UK, USA and UAE to think very carefully before booking Senza Holiday Garden Club. UK, USA and UAE please do your research before booking, don't simply rely on what Love Holidays, TUI or any other online booking site tell you or any other promotional videos and images shown on the booking page. Check carefully that the photographs and videos actually relate to the exact hotel you are booking and confirm in writing exactly what is and isn't included in your package.

If you are travelling with elderly people, anyone with mobility difficulties, medical needs or anyone who may struggle with walking long distances and steep hills, we would urge you to investigate the location of the restaurant and facilities very carefully before booking.

From our experience, this is not the convenient 5** all-inclusive holiday we believed we were purchasing, it is more suited to a 2** hotel. We would not recommend this hotel or booking experience based on what we have personally encountered.

**1/5 – Extremely disappointing experience – not a 5 star standard

Unfortunately, what should have been a very special family holiday to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday turned into one of the most disappointing holidays we have ever experienced.

We paid over £5,000 for six nights and 5 days and chose this hotel based on that rating, we expected a reasonable standard of accommodation, cleanliness, food, facilities and service. Sadly, in our experience, the hotel was nowhere near a 5 star standard.

Rooms and accommodation

Our main request when booking was simply for our rooms to be close together, as we were travelling with elderly parents and very young children so that we could support each other. We understood this could not be guaranteed and were prepared to accept that.

However, the problems went far beyond room allocation.

My elderly parents were initially given room 147, which had no running water and a very strong damp sewage-type smell. We reported this to reception and were told someone would attend, but it took several hours before the water problem was resolved.During this time, my elderly parents were left without basic facilities and were also disturbed by staff repeatedly knocking loudly on their door.

My husband, son and I were allocated room 416, which also had a terrible sewage smell. When we complained, we were simply told to leave the door open for five minutes to allow the smell to disappear. This is not what we would expect from accommodation advertised as 5 star.

The beds were extremely uncomfortable and the bedding looked old and worn, with sheets that were ragged and had holes in them.

The air conditioning in our room was also extremely noisy.Because of the heat, we could not turn it off, meaning we were unable to sleep properly on our first night.We have video evidence of the noise.

My brother and his two young children, aged four and five, were given room 510, which involved approximately 40 steps to reach. The air conditioning in their room subsequently started leaking. When reported, they were simply told to put a towel underneath it. The problem was never properly resolved, and the towel was not even replaced during the remainder of the stay, despite the room supposedly being cleaned.

We eventually requested different rooms for my parents and myself. Although this was eventually arranged, there was very little improvement other than the unpleasant smell no longer being present.

Food and drinks

The food was one of the biggest disappointments of the holiday. On arrival at approximately 10pm, we were told that soup and bread were available because we had arrived hungry. Unfortunately, the soup was tasteless and the bread was extremely stale. As we were unfamiliar with the area and it was late, we ended up going to bed hungry.

Throughout the holiday, the quality, variety and availability of food were very poor. If you did not arrive within the first 20 minutes of the restaurant opening, there was often very little food left.Food was not replenished adequately and, once something had run out, it appeared that guests simply had to go without.

This was particularly disappointing when travelling with young children.

There was very little variety, with many dishes consisting of bland stews and similar foods. On occasions, chicken nuggets were available only in very limited quantities and were cold, while items such as onion rings and potato wedges were being served at inappropriate meal times (breakfast ).

The desserts were also extremely poor, with what appeared to be essentially the same basic chocolate sponge cake presented with different coloured toppings.

We took photographs showing the lack of food available shortly after the restaurant had opened .

Because the food provided was often unsuitable for our family, we had to spend additional money buying food outside the hotel, despite having paid for an all inclusive holiday. One of the waiters who was nice actually

Cleanliness and hygiene

The cleanliness of the restaurant was extremely concerning.

On one occasion, we were seated close enough to the kitchen to see through a partially open door, and the area appeared very dirty and unhygienic.

Tables were frequently left with dirty mats, crumbs and food remains.On several occasions, we had to clean the table ourselves with tissues before we could eat.

The swimming pool area was also poorly maintained.Floors, tables and sun loungers were often dirty, with visible food and drink stains.The pool towels were old, stained and ragged.

Children’s pool and safety One of the most upsetting incidents involved the children’s pool. There were missing mosaic tiles in the pool area and, unfortunately, my five-year-old niece cut the palm of her hand on the damaged area. Although staff were present, we did not feel that the response was appropriate for a young child who had been injured. Other holidaymakers were the ones who provided dressings and assistance.

We have photographs of my niece’s injury.

For us, this raised serious concerns about the maintenance and safety of the children’s facilities.

Staff and communication

Communication with staff was also extremely difficult.

When we needed assistance or had questions, reception and restaurant staff frequently appeared unable or unwilling to communicate in English. On several occasions, we were simply told that they did not speak English, including when we were asking basic questions or requesting assistance with problems in our rooms. This made an already difficult situation even more frustrating.

Location and accessibility The hotel’s location was also particularly unsuitable for our family. The resort is situated on very steep hills with a large number of steps. We counted 187 steps one way to reach the beach. We were travelling with elderly parents and very young children, making access extremely difficult. There was a shuttle bus, but it was not always available. In my opinion, the steep terrain and number of steps should be made much clearer when marketing this property, particularly to families and elderly guests.

What was positive? The beach bar was probably the best part of the food and drink facilities, with the pizzas being considerably better than the food served in the main restaurant.also a reception staff member called Kan ( not sure if correct spelling of the name ) was very kind and friendly )

Unfortunately, the communication was difficult. When my son asked for a mocktail, staff appeared not to understand what he was asking for and eventually directed him towards juices from a dispenser, which were also very poor quality. We booked this trip specifically to celebrate my father’s 70th birthday, hoping to create special memories together. Instead, much of our holiday was spent dealing with room problems, sewage smells, lack of running water, uncomfortable beds, noisy air conditioning, poor food, lack of cleanliness, communication difficulties, damaged children’s facilities and the hotel’s difficult terrain.

For the first time in our lives, all eight of us were genuinely relieved when the holiday was over and we could come home.

Based on our experience, we would not recommend this hotel and certainly would not consider it a 5 star property not sure honestly how this is advertised as a 5 star at the best I would say 2 star.

I would strongly encourage anyone considering booking this hotel to look carefully beyond the advertised star rating and consider the condition of the rooms, food availability, cleanliness, children’s facilities and the large number of steps throughout the resort.

This was supposed to be a special family celebration. Unfortunately, it became a holiday we were all counting down the days to leave.

Hotel is very dirty, food is literally not edible, we were hungry throughout the whole trip. It should be closed, cause this much mold, especially in the ac is bad for your health.