As a lesbian-bisexual couple, our experience at the Atlantica Golden Beach was bittersweet, especially since it was our first holiday abroad. Initially, we had planned a getaway to Jamaica, but due to COVID, our plans were cancelled. This hotel was offered as an alternative, and we want to highlight that this trip was significantly more expensive than what we had anticipated for Jamaica, yet didn’t quite live up to expectations.
The Hotel
The hotel itself looked very nice, with breath-taking views that lived up to the hype. The surroundings and the scenery made for great photo opportunities. However, the pool was much smaller than depicted in promotional images, which was a big let down.
The beach certainly wasn’t what we envisioned – it was more of a patch of gravel leading to a bank of grass. Despite this, the overall visual impact of the area was still striking, just don’t expect an actual beach front and know it isn’t private to the hotel, which poses some level of safety risk in my mind given there aren’t any security teams watching for people that could enter the hotel area or rooms from this location with ease.
The Room
Our room was nothing extraordinary. It was a standard hotel room with basic amenities that were perfectly fine for the duration of our stay but didn’t offer anything special or memorable other than the view we were lucky to have thanks to our positioning.
The Clientele
This hotel predominantly caters to an older, English crowd, with many guests being returning visitors, some clocking up decades of return.
Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that younger guests, especially people like us (not white and LGBT), were not particularly welcomed. There was an uncomfortable atmosphere as we were often treated poorly compared to the other guests, which made our stay feel unwelcoming.
We did not feel the sense of inclusivity that we would have hoped for on a vacation, despite us not being the most PDA style couple, the odd peck here, the odd play in the pool there, but nothing outrageously ‘out there’.
Food & Service
The food was mostly disappointing, with a repetitive menu focused on roast dinners and limited variety. For those with different tastes, it could feel quite restrictive. There is an a la carte on site, but I would say it’s largely the same food, just plated rather than buffet style, still a roast dinner, just made to look slightly prettier on a plate. We were fortunate enough to be there on a national holiday where the chef came out and shared some local recipes, which was great, but this was the only day I can say we had something remotely different.
Service at the hotel also left much to be desired. We encountered several instances where staff were rude and dismissive, especially in comparison to the treatment of other guests. For example, when we requested a specific table at dinner, like other guests had been doing we were told no, while others were given the freedom to choose.
We also had some strange encounters at the bar. On one occasion, we were told by one staff member that in order to achieve a particular taste, we should order a virgin piña colada with Malibu. However, another staff member complained about our request, shouting at us for making the order.
From the same pool bar after being shouted at, I tried to order a rose wine, milkshake and a baileys shot, after being told they were not allowed to add the shot to the milkshake themselves. After making this order I was told I was only allowed to order two drinks, a rule that again did not exist for others at any point, nor did it exist for us previously, bizarre right?
On another occasion after waiting for 30 minutes for drinks orders to be taken with the table service they tried to enforce (again suddenly, but never informed us of this), we decided to go to the bar directly. I mean they were busy and we had legs so why not…. When we arrived, we were told no and refused service, while other guests were being served without issue.
Even when we tried to access services others were allowed such as the crisps in the upstairs bar where they have sandwiches and cakes at set times, we were told no, then the story changed to they don’t have any which again changed to we you can’t take them out of the bar. This I would say was our final straw and where we really started fighting back. Having to make two journeys to the bar for my one drinks order, fine, but now actively refusing us the products and services we were entitled to was far too much. It was frustrating being constantly singled out time and time again.
Even the staff we thought were being nice, that we tipped as we left made comments on how they should have treated us better, reinforcing that even the ‘nice’ ones knew they weren’t providing us the same service they did everyone else.
I would like to be able to say we are annoying or terrible guests to make some form of excuse but can say hand on heart we have always been the types of guests to tip in some way and make friends with staff when we are on holidays. Kasia has people all over the world that call her their sister and have done for 14 and 15 years, that were met as waiters or bar staff, but here we were the worst people to ever walk the planet I can only guess why.
The Staff & The Facebook Group
It became evident that certain members of the staff were not only unhelpful but outright rude. We later learned that some staff members are part of a Facebook group that seemed to condone racist and inappropriate behaviour. We were told by guests we’d made friends with that photos of us had been posted, we tried to join this group and were refused numerous times before we had to put a full complaint into the group owner regarding the posting of these images given we weren’t being allowed the access into the group to be able to see what was being posted of us. This left a sour taste in our mouths and again added to the bad experience.
Our Engagement
A significant part of our trip was our engagement, which we celebrated during our stay at the hotel. However, the hotel’s treatment of this special occasion was disappointing. When another guest asked for a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate, which is part of the all-inclusive package, we were told no. On the other hand, when other guests celebrated their birthday, they received exceptional treatment, with a bottle of wine delivered to their room and even a song performed. Our engagement, however, went unnoticed. The only person who made our experience meaningful was Alison, who was a guest like us but not a regular. Her warmth and thoughtfulness made the moment memorable, whereas the hotel’s lack of recognition made it feel almost insignificant, this would have been fine, ignore it, you aren’t engaged, but make this fair across the board.
Entertainment
This was another poor point. There was very little by way of entertainment beyond singers focussing on 40’s/50’s music, a show by the TUI team and a music quiz where a statement was made about the ‘modern music round’ of 60’s music. Again kind of showing what this hotel is all about and for the cost of £200 more each than what we paid for Jamaica, this was a big let down!
Conclusion
While the hotel itself had some beautiful views, the service was severely lacking. We felt unwelcome and isolated, especially given the attitudes of certain staff members and the clear favouritism towards specific guests. For us, this hotel did not live up to expectations, particularly for the high price we paid. Unfortunately, we would not return, and we would caution others to reconsider if they value an inclusive and respectful atmosphere during their stay. The lack of genuine hospitality and warmth made this trip made this our worse ever trip individually and as a couple.
Views: 8/10
Service: 2/10
Facilities: 2/10
Food: 2/10
Entertainment: 3/10
Acceptance 1/10