Asia Gardens - A Royal Hideaway Hotel

Byli jsme zde ubytováni od 20. do 23. června a mohu jednoduše říci, že to byl pěkný odpočinkový pobyt. Přijeli jsme pozdě kvůli zpoždění letu z letiště Leeds Bradford a měli jsme zarezervovanou dopravu z hotelu. Když došlo ke zpoždění, byla jsem e-mailem v kontaktu s recepcí a informovala jsem je o našem pozdním příletu. Vždy odpověděli a změnili čas vyzvednutí. Byli jsme uvítáni na letišti, kde jsme nastoupili do Lexusu 450 s hybridním pohonem 4x4. Transport trval zhruba 30 minut a měli jsme velmi přátelského řidiče. Po příjezdu jsme se zapsali a dostali horké ručníky a thajské čaje. Měli jsme vynikající luxusní pokoj s výhledem na moře. Pokoje jsou prostorné, s veškerým moderním pohodlím, velmi pohodlnými postelemi, minibarem, TV a dokovací stanicí pro iPod. Měli jsme jen nocleh a snídani. Snídaně byla vynikající a vhodná pro každého. Spousta opalovacích lehátek a klidná thajská hudba, která hrála v okolí. Zahrady jsou úžasné, v noci zde dělají velký hluk žáby. Nejprve jsme si mysleli, že to je nahrávka na CD. Bary jsou pěkné, ale drahé, 2 Coly za 9 eur. Vše se ale nachází na fantastickém místě, takže je příjemné si to užívat. Určitě se vrátíme, tentokrát na delší dobu. Chtěli bychom poděkovat personálu za dobrou práci.

Booked a weekend break to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Arrived and decided to have dinner at the Bonsai bar ordered a steak and Salmon. Salmon was dry and the steak was over well done and very dry after ordering it medium to medium rare. When I complained and thought they were replacing it, they didn’t and just left us waiting. Things didn’t improve much from there. Will not be returning

A deeply disappointing experience that requires an explanation from management We chose Asia Gardens specifically to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, expecting the level of hospitality and discretion one would reasonably associate with a luxury resort charging approximately €500 per night. Unfortunately, our experience has been profoundly disappointing and, frankly, upsetting. We had made a reservation for dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants and arrived expecting to enjoy our anniversary evening. Instead, we were refused entry and turned away from our reserved table because I was wearing smart dress shorts and a shirt. I would like to make it absolutely clear that these were not casual beach shorts. I was appropriately dressed for an evening at a luxury spa resort in Spain, in temperatures of approximately 33°C. We were informed that men are required to wear long trousers and that formal dress is required in all of the restaurants. There are several issues here that I believe hotel management needs to address. Firstly, why was this requirement not made sufficiently clear when the restaurant reservation was made? Had we been explicitly informed that a man wearing smart tailored shorts would be refused entry, we could obviously have made alternative arrangements. Instead, we discovered the policy only when standing at the restaurant entrance on our anniversary. Secondly, the way the policy appears to be applied is extremely difficult to understand. During the same period, women were being admitted wearing very short skirts, while I was refused entry wearing smart shorts and a shirt. If Asia Gardens wishes to maintain a formal dress code, that is entirely its choice. However, it should be clearly communicated, consistently applied and based on a genuinely coherent standard, rather than leaving guests to discover the rules at the door. Thirdly, the complete lack of flexibility was particularly disappointing. This is a Spanish spa resort in temperatures of around 33°C. We were not attempting to enter the restaurant wearing swimwear, flip-flops or beach clothing. We were dressed smartly and appropriately for the climate and the type of resort we had booked. Nevertheless, there was apparently no discretion whatsoever. We are staying for another four days, so we are now faced with the choice of going shopping specifically to purchase long trousers or eating room service if we wish to dine in the hotel restaurants. That is an extraordinary position to find ourselves in after spending approximately €500 per night and travelling specifically to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. What makes this particularly frustrating is that the hotel itself is beautiful. The setting is exceptional and the resort has every opportunity to provide a genuinely outstanding experience. Unfortunately, hospitality is not simply about beautiful buildings and impressive surroundings. It is also about how guests are treated when something goes wrong or when expectations differ. Being refused entry to a restaurant on our anniversary was embarrassing and genuinely upsetting. We were made to feel as though we had done something unreasonable when, in reality, we had not been adequately informed of a particularly restrictive dress requirement. I would therefore ask the management of Asia Gardens to explain: * Why was this dress requirement not clearly communicated at the time of booking? * Why are smart tailored shorts considered unacceptable in a resort experiencing temperatures of approximately 33°C? * Why does the policy appear to permit considerably shorter attire for women while imposing a much stricter requirement on men? * Why was there no discretion or attempt to find a reasonable solution for a couple celebrating their 10th anniversary? We came to Asia Gardens expecting luxury, relaxation and exceptional hospitality. Instead, one of the first things we experienced was being turned away from a restaurant on our anniversary because of the length of my trousers. For a property positioning itself as a luxury resort at this price level, I find this extremely difficult to justify. We are still here for another four days, so I sincerely hope that management will take this complaint seriously and that our remaining stay can be salvaged. At present, however, our experience has been sufficiently disappointing that we would not recommend Asia Gardens to others. A beautiful resort is ultimately only as good as the experience it gives its guests. On this occasion, Asia Gardens has fallen a very long way short of the experience we expected.

Unfortunately, our experience has been disappointing so far. We had a 4.5-hour wait for our room and weren’t allowed in until 4:30pm, which is a terrible start to a holiday. There also seemed to be very few staff around to help, and the hotel feels noticeably overbooked. There are a lot of rules and restrictions, which makes it difficult to properly relax. We booked half board expecting some choice, but it is actually limited to just one restaurant, which was very disappointing. The adults-only pool is also tiny, with no nearby toilets and not enough sun loungers, so even that area doesn’t offer the relaxing experience you would expect. Overall, the hotel feels overcrowded, restrictive and poorly organised. After such a long wait just to access the room, we expected the rest of the experience to make up for it, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case.

Beautiful hotel, but not currently a 5-star standard We have stayed in a number of 5-star hotels, and unfortunately we don’t feel Asia Gardens currently lives up to a true 5-star standard. The gardens and grounds are absolutely stunning and are definitely the highlight of the hotel. The food was also amazing and we really enjoyed it. However, when you are paying 5-star prices, you expect the rooms, restaurants, pool areas and overall surroundings to be maintained to the same high standard. In the restaurant, the area around our table had visible water damage and wallpaper hanging off the wall, yet our meal cost around €180. The food itself was excellent, but at that price you expect the surroundings to match the quality of the meal. The pool area was also disappointing. Some of the sun loungers were dirty and certainly not what we would expect at a 5-star resort. On one day, the main pool couldn’t be used until around 2pm because the chemical levels were not correct. When one of the main attractions of the hotel is its beautiful pools, losing a large part of the day because the main pool isn’t available is disappointing, particularly considering the price of staying here. Our room was a lovely size, but there were several things that let it down. The doors slam shut very loudly, making it difficult to relax or have an afternoon nap. The bed was on wheels and moved as soon as we got into it. There was nowhere convenient to hang wet towels after showering, and even the hairdryer felt cheap and poor quality for a hotel of this standard. It’s a shame because this could be an exceptional hotel. The setting and gardens are beautiful and the food is excellent, but some areas are clearly in need of maintenance, better cleanliness and greater attention to detail. For the prices being charged, we expected a much higher overall standard from a 5-star hotel.