When deciding where to stay in Ukulhas, we read so many nice reviews about Ranthari Hotel that we decided to book our say here, in half board.
We booked directly with the hotel
Little we knew, shortly after we booked there was a change in the management, and things have really taken a turn for the worse.
First of all, the place is called Ranthari hotel AND SPA – there was NO spa!!! I have asked 3 different people and every one of theme came up with a different excuse on why there was no spa. Even IF the closure was temporary (and considering the experience, I am not sure it was temporary) nobody informed us about the spa being unavailable.
Secondly, our daughter is celiac, and we contacted them multiple times, first to inform them about the dietary requirement to make sure they could accommodate it. They always said “yes yes, no problem”. We reminded them more than once over the month before our stay, up to the day before leaving. And then guess what? They did not have a single gluten free piece of bread or pasta. ZERO.
If they were honest and upfront about it, we would have brought our own. I put no blame on the guy managing the kitchen and the restaurant, he was an absolute star, it was just lack of communication (and lack of care) on part of whoever was communicating with us.
Restaurant:
Breakfast was a bit scarce and with not much choice.
The croissants were always stale, and the fruit was down to papaya and watermelon. Never saw a single piece of pineapple or a banana in the breakfast selection.
Moreover, most of the tour leaves at 7 am, but even so, there would only be black coffee available before 7.
With the half board you could chose if to have lunch or dinner, which allows you a good flexibility.
The food quality was very good, I will give them that, but portion were little, and we always ended up still being hungry after our meal. You can chose either one starter + one main OR one main + a dessert, which after a week, becomes quite repetitive. There are quite a few dining options on the island, all pretty good and affordable, so I would recommend you did not book half board, it would be more convenient to eat there a la carte whenever you want and try also the other places. Still worth to eat the the Ranthari restaurant a la carte, the prices are reasonable.
The tune steak is the best I have ever had in my life.
Let’s get to the hotel part itself. This is the most disappointing. Don’t be fooled by the nice picture, the place is falling apart.
First of all, we booked a “two bedrooms with Seaview”, as it was us and our daughter. By the way it was presented on the website, it looked like 2 separate bedroom with a common small living area that could be enjoyed… not true. The common area was just an empty corridor passing in front of the 2 rooms, with an extra door at the end of the corridor to separate the 2 rooms from the rest of the floor.
The balconies were so dirty (and nobody ever cleaned the during our stay), we just never used them.
But the state of the rooms was just appalling. The walls were full of water infiltrations and mouldy, causing the room to smell really bad and musty.
The see through curtains were full of black mould and the blackout curtains were a colander, defying their purpose, as they were absolutely useless, and the light coming in would wake you up pretty early.
Bed line were disgusting, stained and smelly.
The bathrooms were very small with absolutely no space to leave your stuff, not a shelf, a cupboard or anything, just a single hook for the towels, and they were smelling like sewage.
When we reported to receptions all the problems in the room, they acted surprised, as if they did not know.
They did NOT offer a discount.
Moreover, be aware that on each side of the hotel there are construction sites, which are noisy and causing a lot of dut (not the hotel fault, but just making you aware).
The 2 new building they are buildings on each side are toller than Ranthari and they are restricting the view, so, do not trust the idyllic and paradisiac photos you see on the internet.
The beach in front of the hotel is nice, they have sunbed for the guests, but you have to help yourself, there is no staff member helping you getting the beds from the pile they are in.
All in all a very disappointing experience and we would NOT RECOMMEND this hotel to anyone.
There are much better accommodations for a cheaper price on the island.
GB