Good beach, disappointing service, hygiene and complaint handling
Good beach, but a very disappointing family stay. We stayed at Seven Seas Palmeras Bay from 19 to 28 October 2026 on an Ultra All Inclusive package.
The beach and grounds were pleasant and the room interior was fine. The service was far below what we expected from a five-star family resort.
At check-in, we received almost no useful explanation of the facilities or what was included. Our balcony opened onto a shared passage facing a wall, leaving us uncomfortable about privacy and about leaving the balcony door open.
Bathrobes and some room amenities only appeared after a complaint. Slippers never arrived. Drinking water and the minibar were replenished inconsistently; twice I had to look for water myself late in the evening. Beach towels were badly worn, sometimes with holes, and were not always available. During the rain, I saw towels of the same type laid on the floor for people to wipe their feet.
The toilet paper supplied in our room as clean had visible yellow-brown stains. We photographed this, along with the condition of parts of the bathroom and window frame.
Food was a major disappointment, especially for our child. The children's buffet relied heavily on pasta, nuggets and processed food. Much of the other food felt greasy and heavy, the fruit was often unripe, and the coffee was poor. The knives were so blunt that cutting meat and bread was difficult.
I personally saw a restaurant employee collect dirty dishes and then serve children's ice cream in the same gloves, using her fingers to push ice cream off the scoop. This seriously undermined my confidence in food hygiene.
Daytime children's entertainment was very limited during our stay, mainly drawing and quiet activities in the Kids Club, with a short evening mini-disco. The children's pool was cold and noticeably colder than the heated adult pool.
The Russian-language version of the official website listed a jacuzzi, but staff told us there was none. The salt room was not working. The indoor pool was very small, with two large columns inside it.
The bar rules were unclear: we were first told cocktails could only contain local spirits, but after our Turkish-speaking friend spoke to staff, Olmeca was suddenly available in them.
At Enjoy Bar, a bartender made a crude sexual remark to my wife after she told him she was married, accompanied by aggressive gestures. This was unacceptable.
When I raised our complaints, Guest Relations and management interrupted me instead of listening. A manager suggested that we had photographed the problems to obtain free late checkout. That was insulting after repeatedly trying to get basic service.
Checkout was at noon and our transfer around 4 pm, during a thunderstorm. We asked for four extra hours as a goodwill gesture after the problems. The hotel quoted EUR 40. The charge itself was not the main issue; the dismissive handling of our complaints was.
We spent too much of our holiday chasing basic services and arguing about problems. We would not return and cannot recommend this hotel to families expecting attentive service, good children's food and a proper daytime programme.