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Package Holidays & Hotel Reviews

My guide to package holidays
Sadly my Package Holiday reviews site is now retired as I no longer have the time to update it but I have left the reviews intact for posterity if nothing else. Please feel free to contact me but please don't expect a fast response right now except on urgent matters .

I have just returned from a week all inclusive holiday at Paphos gardens, we stayed there from 31st august until 7th September 2012.

This is the first time I have ever wrote a review because I am disappointed, usually it’s to rave about how wonderful it has been, but I have to say this was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in, & my friend agrees.I wouldn’Â’t mind but sheÂ’s traveled around the world for a year & stayed in hostels, & the customer service & rooms were a lot better.

DonÂ’t be tricked by what you see on the photos, it does have potential to be a good hotel, it’s just a shame that the people who own & run it are just there to make money, & the staff (80% of them) are rude & nasty.

Where to start? Well basically donÂ’t waste your money here at Paphos Gardens! There are far better hotels than this in the area, my friends stayed at; Riu Cypria, Pafian Park & Pafian Sun village.

If you are willing to spend a bit more then definitely go for the Riu Cypria, itÂ’s fantastic, surreal how beautiful it is! Whereas the two Pafian resorts are lovely, friendly helpful staff & lovely food! You can read your own reviews about them.

Paphos gardens has potential but itÂ’s all wasted. Firstly if you are a fussy eater, have allergies (like me), are vegetarian then there will be nothing much on offer here for you. When IÂ’’ve been on all inclusive before IÂ’m used to walking into the dining room & have a varied selection of foods, that cater for most appetites. Read the whole review »

Cala Millor Park Aparthotel – Cala Millor – Majorca

This hotel is actually a Hipotel & is in a great location in Cala Millor which is in between Cala Bona & Sa Coma. I have given it a score of 5 for most of the sections as I really can’t fault it.

The accommodation is split into several buildings, some have been refurbished, the remainder are being refurbished.

The unrefurbished rooms are looking a little tired but are clean & tidy, we asked to be moved from the first unrefurbished rooms as the lift area is looking a little tired & our 5 year old wasn’t keen to get in it, the reception staff could not have done more to help us, they moved us with little fuss to a slightly more up to date room with a massive balcony overlooking the sea.

We have done all inclusive once before but this version was so much better than the last, it’s more like full board with drinks included.

No hamburgers/hot dogs around the pool just really good food, all that you can think of including Paella’s, salads, fish, meat (all freshly cooked), cheeses, desserts that actually taste as good as they look. Beer is San Miguel & drinks are Fanta/Coke/Sprite etc.

Wine’s taste half decent & there’s cava if you fancy as well as small selection of cocktails. Slush puppies & ice creams for the children, again it’s walls ice cream, Mini Milks, Cornettos etc. & toasties/cakes if you fancy a mid morning/late afternoon snack.

The entertainment team are very good with the children & adults & the shows that were on whilst we were there were brilliant, a parrot show, a circus act & dancers of various description as well as a few quizzes, I have only given the entertainment a 4 because they didn’t play for money on the bingo lol! (i don’t think they’re allowed but didn’t catch the reason why).

I really haven’t got anything bad to say about this hotel & I’m a fusspot usually. Read the whole review »

Doganay Beach Club Hotel  – Alanya – Turkey

I read some negative reports on this hotel, but I can only assume that some people can complain of anything. The hotel was very clean & the staff extremely pleasant & helpful.

The food was good to very good at times (If you don’t want to eat Turkish style food, don’t go). I would have to say that I would not rate it a 5* hotel, although you get what you pay for & what you get is of good quality.

The hotel is close to Alanya & the hotel’s free bus service is available. Go outside the hotel to book any package holidays (cheaper). I would recommend this hotel for people wanting to experience the Turkish Med.

Turquoise Hotel – Olu Deniz  – Turkey

Qwing to a mix up with the rooms we were upgraded to a suite & all inclusive. We were waiting for the catch – but there wasn’t a one. The suite was excellent & spacious.

The staff were all brilliant, rooms cleaned, sheets changed every single day. Very honest cleaning staff who were totally trustworthy & hard working; so were the rest of the staff. Very friendly, very tentative & the food was beautiful. Read the whole review »

Aquasol Apartments – Puerto Rico – Gran Canaria

We booked a package holiday at the Aquasol Aparthotel from Feb 9th to 16th 2012.

The room was basic & clean. DonÂ’t go expecting anything posh, this is about as basic as it gets, but itÂ’s only a two key hotel & we didn’Â’t pay much to stay so our expectations we not that high, especially after reading some of the other customer reviews.

However we were very happy with the apartment, flatscreen TV, kitchenette, bathroom/shower & twin bed room. It was cleaned three times in the week we were there. We did not see any ants or cockroaches.

Speaking to the helpful lady at reception (Adriana) she told me that they had recently spent a lot of money on updating security. There was a key fob only entry on to the hotel grounds, CCTV cameras everywhere & a safe in the wardrobe in you room.

The location of the hotel is at the top of a hill, it’s about a 15-20 min walk up the hill from the shops or a 3euro taxi trip. There are some steps going straight down to the bottom near the hotel, but its not for the faint hearted coming back up that way!

Some people may not like the idea of going up a hill, but we liked it as it meant the hotel was away from all the hustle & bustle & noise from the main town. Plus the views were great! We got the sun all day too. Read the whole review »

The second visit to the Maldives and we did things a little differently, veering off the package holiday route and booking flights and “hotel” seperately. We had an equally fantastic time in a slightly more “natural” habitat than you generally get with package deals on Asdu Sun Island, which is an hour speed-boat ride from Malé airport.

Asdu is different to many of the other Maldives resorts a in several ways – it’s less “purpose built” and more basic/informal, plenty of trees in a more natural habitat and a smaller Island all-round – without the 5* touches, but much more of that “middle of nowhere” feeling which is, I have to say, fantastic.

You sit on the white sandy beach during the day looking out at….nothing! Not a thing in sight. Robinson Crusoe this is! You can walk right round the Island in, ooh, 10 minutes, it’s that small. It only had around 25 guest rooms, a central restaurant, and catering mainly for visitors on diving holiday packages, is quiet during the day because they all sail out to the reef to, well “dive” I guess! Not that it will ever get busy with so few rooms!

It’s a more rustic feeling, basic yet very clean rooms, but it’s also a very cheap holiday by Maldives standards. We did this Read the whole review »

Episkopiana Hotel – Episkopi – Cyprus

This hotel is ideal if you are hiring a car. I was using the local buses & a new timetable was in early stages of being revised. This caused some confusion but the reception staff were very helpful.

When one bus failed to turn up they took us to the centre of the village where we could catch another bus to save us waiting two hours or having half hours walk. The hotel has a bus to take you down to the beach which people were finding very convenient.

The rooms were clean & comfortable & as long as you wanted a quiet evening the hotel is fine. I prefer it this way as you can always get a taxi to the noise but if you stay in a hotel with noisy entertainment sleep can be an issue.

All in all, an affordable package holiday. I would return to this hotel again.


Pernera Beach Hotel – Protaras – Cyprus

We love this hotel, it is in a quiet cul-de-sac at the end of a road. It is the kind of place that if you wish to be in the hustle & bustle of the resort you can be, but at the end of the evening you will be glad to know it is very very quiet, oh & you can sleep.

I would highly recommend paying the etc to upgrade to sea-view, the views are exceptional, otherwise it maybe a view of the car park! Read the whole review »