I will attempt to be fair in writing this review. In essence, as a customer, it felt that myself and daughter had to 'fit' into the hotels regime. We were aware that construction was taking place near the hotel but not 15 to 20 metres from the pool area. I large, high building which was noisy every day. I find that Jet2 misrepresented the hotel and should have enabled us to make an informed decision by showing a picture of the construction. Our experience was shared by a large number of people and correlated with existing reviews. Here is our reason for giving a low score to Hilltop Gardens.
1. The original apartment was very small and dirty on our arrival. Hairs in the bath, sink and toilet. There were a number of areas needing repair and paint (apparently, the hotel had been refurbished).
2. We booked bed and breakfast, expecting at least a buffet style breakfast. In reality, we were shocked at the experience. The choice included: Fried egg on toast, scrambled egg on toast, beans on toast or a cheese and ham toastie. The food was cooked at the pool bar which was not the most hygienic place, although I tried the scrambled egg on toast and the cook, Conny made it well, despite being in a frying pan, which I am aware, people do prefer. In reality Conny was the most pleasant member of staff, always happy and providing good local information. However, this cannot be said by all staff. We were asked to sit at a table around the pool and when breakfast was ready, we were shouted to collect it. I felt there was also an expectation that we return the crockery etc to the bar. I asked for fresh orange and was informed it was not on the breakfast menu and instead, I was offered diluted orange. My daughter plays football to a good standard and eats very healthily. I asked for yoghurt and fruit to be provided for breakfast and again, this was refused.
3. The rooms were 'cleaned' every other day with the provision of towels, one medium ad one hand towel. As we showered daily, we found this was not sufficient. I went to reception where the staff was covering. I asked for one extra towel for my daughter and felt I was rudely told a straight NO. I pressed on this and informed the staff, it was becoming stressful having to make continual complaints. The staff member asked the senior maid who shouted in Greek which I was told, I could not have a towel. This was shocking and very poor customer service. Finally, the staff member called the manager and I was given one towel. Having come on holiday to leave the stress behind, I really don't know what to say.
4. I continued to complain about the poor standard of cleaning and frequency of towel changes. Previous hotels do changed every other day but we have always been provided with enough to last us two days.
5. Our bedding was not changed for the full two weeks were were at the hotel. This again was other people's experience.
6. The hotel was quite isolated, well off the main road where shops and bars were located. It took us 20 minutes to walk to the local Lid and if carrying water, it was a tough return. Restraints were further along to main road to have a better choice. The bus transport was unique. I informed the hotel staff that two busses drove straight past us and was told I needed to stand in front of them. Bus drivers were regularly on their mobiles whilst driving, one driver steered the bus with his knees while he counted the monetary notes and another drove through two red lights. Maybe this is the norm?
I involved the Jet2 rep the day after our arrival who I felt appeared to be defensive toward the hotel. He told me he was the middle man. I asked who he was representing and he said we were, I explained he was therefore not the middle man. This was around the 8th consecutive year with Jet2 and have never found cause to complain until now. I was informed that 3 star accommodation was different in Cyprus compared to Greece where we have visited year on year and had amazing accommodation and excellent customer service.
We found out that a family had checked into Hilltop Gardens the week before we arrived and they checked out the following day. Indeed the rep told us he had moved someone to another hotel, after giving a choice of three. This was the route I wanted to take and was also given a choice of three hotels to look at but was told, they may not all be available. When the rep informed me I would need to pay between £800 to £1000 for another three star hotel, I could not afford this.
I spoke to a number of families staying at the hotel who were experiencing similar problems. One couple had only one air conditioning unit working and reported the problem. I mentioned this to the rep and he checked. The management informed nothing had been reported. This was the defensive approach throughout, passing the issues back to the customer. As we were waiting for our airport transfer at the end of the holiday with other people, we were sat in front of the reception. A man spoke with the 'unhelpful' member of staff and having been at the hotel a week of his two weeks booked, he wanted to hand his keys in and leave. He was told he would have to wait until the next day.
I spoke to two ladies from Newcastle, one of whom had restricted mobility. They were put into a top floor apartment. When they asked where the lift was, they were informed there was no lift. They had to climb 50 steps to the room. On asking to be moved to the ground floor, they were informed this was not possible.
There is one easy way to build a bad reputation, this is to continue as they are. It felt to me that when the manager Andrea was not present, some staff made their own decisions, holding a lot of power. In relation to fairness, the manager did offer us a choice of three other rooms, though all needed a good clean and felt none were any better than we had. The manager offered another room and upgrade to a two bedroom apartment. It also was not clean but was a better room in terms of space.
I must have either seen or spoke to the rep most days during our two week stay. This was not a holiday for us, it was strewn with difficulties and continual complaints. In one discussion with the rep, I was informed the hotel manager used the free upgrade of room mitigated all the other concerns we have.
Andrea arranged for our room to be cleaned daily with a change of towels at the time. There was two occasions we did not have towel changes daily and the rep informed me, we repeatedly leave the towels in a pile on the floor. I explained that this is what we do on every holiday as it clearly sends the message the towels are in need of changing and we felt it more helpful to staff.
Having read the managers responses to complaints, rarely is anything seen as helping the hotel to improve or the problems are passed to the guest. I cannot tell people whether to use the hotel or not, I would not do this but I hope this information gives people the opportunity to make an informed decision.
