Grand Ideal Premium

Honest 7-night review

We stayed here for 7 nights and, overall, I would say the hotel was okay, but definitely not 5-star in our opinion — more like 3-star.

Reception: Immaculate and welcoming. Check-in was quick and the staff were pleasant.

Room: Our first room was very small, despite there only being two of us. We believe it may have been a disabled-access room, and the balcony was so small that you could barely stand on it. We asked to be moved and, thankfully, were moved the following day to a much better room. It was more spacious and had a lovely large balcony.

The room itself was quite dated. The beds were very hard, although that's personal preference. There was plenty of wardrobe space and the bathroom was a good size.

The shower, however, was by far the worst I've ever experienced in a hotel. There was mould, loose parts and the water temperature constantly went from freezing cold to absolutely roasting hot. The water pressure was also poor. Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing a young child to use it unattended.

Overall, the room was satisfactory after we moved.

Pool: This was one of the biggest disappointments. The pool area felt far too cramped, with too many sun loungers squeezed into a relatively small space. The pool is 1.5m deep throughout, with ladders to get in and out, but no shallow or sloped section. There was also quite a lot of mould in parts of the pool, which really needs attention.

Pool bar: It was okay, although the drinks tasted very watered down. We were allowed to use our own cups, otherwise drinks were served in paper cups. Unfortunately, most of the staff at the pool bar weren't particularly friendly, with the exception of one member of staff who was lovely.

Snack bar: Open from 12–4pm, serving burgers, pizza, chips, salad and other snacks. There was a reasonable choice, but unfortunately the food was consistently cold during our stay.

Restaurant: Breakfast was probably the highlight for me — I ate breakfast there every morning and found it enjoyable. I only had lunch once or twice as the selection wasn't really to my taste. Dinner was average. You certainly wouldn't go hungry, but I wouldn't describe the food as amazing. Again, some of the restaurant staff weren't particularly pleasant or welcoming.

Entertainment: Daytime entertainment was pretty much non-existent apart from the pool, darts and archery. In the evening there was a children's disco for around 30 minutes, followed by bingo and then a show. Unfortunately, we didn't find the evening entertainment particularly good.

Other facilities: The hotel shop is handy, although quite expensive. The spa looked lovely, although I didn't personally use it.

Location: This is definitely one of the hotel's positives. It's only a few minutes' walk to the beach, with shops, bars and restaurants right on the doorstep.

Overall: We had an okay stay and there were certainly some positives, particularly the location, reception area and the second room we were moved into. However, there were quite a few things that fell short of what we'd expect from a 5-star hotel, particularly the shower, pool cleanliness, cramped pool area, food temperature and general level of service from some staff.

For us, this is definitely not a 5-star experience — we'd rate it closer to a 3-star hotel.

Unfortunately, we wouldn't go back.

Although our stay at the Grand Ideal Premium Hotel wasn't the 5 star experience it was really disappointing more like a 3 star. BUT the Elixir spa and wellness was 100% 5 star which was the highlight of our stay, we had the best ever proffessional most relaxing treatment and service and all staff went above and beyond for you. Thank-you for making our stay worth while 😊😊