Royal Seginus

Hotel Royal Seginus — My Experience

This review is based on my family’s experience during our stay at Hotel Royal Seginus. I wanted to wait until I had returned home before writing the full review so I could properly reflect on the whole experience.

Unfortunately, our overall experience was quite disappointing, especially considering the size of the hotel and the fact that it is advertised as a high-end all-inclusive resort.

Check-in Experience

When we arrived, there was nobody available to help us with our luggage, so we had to take all our luggage into the hotel ourselves. For such a large all-inclusive resort, I expected someone to be available to assist guests, especially families arriving with suitcases.

At check-in, we were given only one key card. When I asked for a second one, I was told they didn’t have one available and that we would have to wait until the morning.

This was inconvenient because the key card is also required for the air conditioning. If one person takes the key card downstairs, you can’t keep the air conditioning running in the room. In a hot country, this is not ideal.

Later that night, when we went back down to reception regarding the air conditioning, we were given an additional card specifically to use for the air conditioning. I will include a photo of this card with my review as evidence.

This made me question why we couldn’t simply have been given this type of card from the beginning. We were initially told that there was no second key card available and that we would have to wait until the morning, when apparently a separate card for the air conditioning was available.

The reception staff also didn’t really explain the hotel to us. We weren’t properly shown or clearly told where the different bars, restaurants and facilities were. We were basically told where the restaurant was, but there wasn’t a proper introduction or explanation of how the hotel works.

The check-in experience simply didn’t feel particularly welcoming.

We went for dinner that evening and, to be fair, the dinner was okay and I don’t have a major complaint about the food at that point.

However, when we returned to our room afterwards, our key cards didn’t work. I understand this may simply have been a mistake when the card was programmed, but it meant we had to go all the way back downstairs to reception and then return to our room again.

Constant Queues

One of the biggest problems throughout our stay was the constant queuing.

There were regularly queues for both food and drinks. Sometimes we were waiting around 10–15 minutes just to get a drink.

For an all-inclusive holiday, this is extremely frustrating.

When you’re on holiday, you want to sit by the pool, relax and enjoy time with your family. You don’t want to spend a large part of your day repeatedly standing in queues just to get a drink.

Snack Bar

Another issue is that food from the snack bar cannot simply be taken to where you’re sitting around the pool. If you’re relaxing on a sunbed with your family and want something to eat, you have to stay within the designated eating area.

Personally, I find this quite restrictive. You’re on holiday and should have some freedom to enjoy your food while relaxing by the pool, within reasonable hotel rules.

There is also a major problem with the temperature and ventilation at the snack bar.

There are literally no fans in the snack-bar area.

When we sat there to eat, it could be extremely hot and uncomfortable. We were literally sweating while trying to eat our food and have a drink.

I don’t mind sitting in the sun and sweating while relaxing around the pool — that’s part of being on holiday in a hot country. But when you go to the snack bar specifically to sit down, eat something and have a drink, you shouldn’t have to sit there sweating throughout your meal.

There should at least be proper fans or some form of airflow to make the area comfortable, particularly for families with children.

Sunbeds

Another major problem was the lack of available sunbeds.

For such a large hotel with several pool areas, there simply didn’t seem to be enough sunbeds for the number of guests.

Every time we went around the pool looking for a sunbed, practically every single one was occupied. There were no spare beds available.

On several occasions, we had no choice but to sit on chairs around the snack-bar area because there were simply no sunbeds available.

This is extremely disappointing when you’re staying at a resort where a major part of the holiday is supposed to be relaxing around the pools.

For a hotel of this size, I would expect enough sunbeds to reasonably accommodate the number of guests staying there.

Smoking

The biggest negative point for me was smoking.

People seemed to smoke in many areas where other guests, including children and non-smokers, were trying to enjoy themselves.

We experienced people smoking around the snack bar while we were trying to eat with our children. We also saw people smoking around the sunbeds while other guests were trying to relax or even sleep.

I understand that smokers want to enjoy their holiday too, and I’m not against having designated smoking areas.

However, there should be clearly defined smoking and non-smoking areas, so families and non-smokers can enjoy their holiday without having to sit next to cigarette smoke.

Lack of Staff and Lifeguards

For such a large hotel with such a huge pool area, I was also surprised by the lack of staff, particularly around the pool.

I hardly saw more than perhaps two lifeguards around such a large pool complex.

For a hotel of this size, with so many families and children using the pools, I would expect much better visibility and coverage from lifeguards.

This is something management should seriously look at. With such a large resort and pool area, adequate staffing is important for both service and safety.

Buffet Restaurant — Finding a Table

Another major issue was the organisation of the main buffet restaurant.

The problem wasn’t necessarily the number of tables — there appeared to be plenty of tables.

The problem was that many tables had not been cleared or prepared for the next guests.

You go to the buffet, choose your food, put everything on your plate and then start walking around the restaurant trying to find somewhere to sit.

You can end up walking around with a full plate of food looking for a table that has actually been cleared and prepared.

By the time you finally find a table and sit down, your dinner is already getting cold.

This happened repeatedly and was extremely frustrating.

In my opinion, this comes down to a lack of staff or poor organisation. In a hotel of this size, management should have enough restaurant staff to ensure tables are cleared, cleaned and reset quickly so guests aren’t walking around carrying plates of food.

The food may be perfectly fine, but if you have to spend your time searching for a table and your meal is cold by the time you sit down, it takes away from the whole dining experience.

Sea View Room

Another issue was our sea-view room.

We paid extra for a sea-view room when booking our holiday through On the Beach. I appreciate that this particular issue may potentially be related to the booking arrangement rather than directly to the hotel, so I’m not going to unfairly blame the hotel for something that may have been advertised or allocated incorrectly by the booking company.

However, this is what happened from our side.

When we went onto our balcony, the main view was of another hotel’s building. The sea was visible in the distance, but it certainly wasn’t the sea view we expected when paying specifically for a sea-view room.

We went to reception to ask whether anything could be done about this.

We were told that the hotel was fully booked and that the room we had been given was the best available. We were also told to come back the following morning.

But realistically, what is the point of telling a guest to come back the next morning when they have already unpacked, settled into their room and started their holiday?

If a sea-view room has been booked and paid for, I would expect the hotel and/or booking company to make sure the room actually provides the type of view that has been sold.

If there isn’t a genuine sea view available, then customers should not be charged extra for one.

This is something I would recommend checking very carefully when booking, particularly if the sea view is important to you.

Overall Experience

Overall, there were some things that were okay, including the dinner on our first evening, but unfortunately the negative experiences added up throughout the holiday.

The main issues we experienced were:

• Poor and unwelcoming check-in experience • No assistance with luggage on arrival • Only one key card initially • Having to request an additional air-conditioning card later that night • Lack of clear information about the hotel facilities • Key card not working when returning to the room • Constant queues for food and drinks • Long waits for drinks despite being an all-inclusive resort • Restrictions on taking snack-bar food to the pool/sunbed area • Snack bar being extremely hot and uncomfortable while eating • Literally no fans in the snack-bar area • Lack of available sunbeds around the pools • Having to sit on chairs because there were no spare sunbeds • Smoking around eating and pool areas, including around children and non-smokers • Very limited visible lifeguard presence for such a large pool complex • Lack of staff around the hotel • Tables in the buffet restaurant often not cleared or prepared • Guests having to walk around with full plates looking for somewhere to sit • Food becoming cold while trying to find a table • The sea-view room not providing the view we expected after paying extra for it • Reception being unable to offer a satisfactory solution to the room-view issue during our stay

For me, the biggest problem is that these aren’t just one or two isolated issues. There were multiple problems with staffing, organisation, queues, comfort and the overall guest experience.

For a hotel of this size and a resort offering an all-inclusive holiday, I expected a much smoother and more enjoyable experience.

I would strongly recommend that management look seriously at the staffing levels, restaurant organisation, pool facilities, sunbed availability, smoking arrangements and the overall way guests are welcomed and looked after.

I have tried to give a fair account of our experience, including the things that were okay, but unfortunately the negatives had a significant impact on our holiday.

The hotel is very big and grand looking until you get up close the floors are filthy the tables clothes have stains on them even when just changed inform of you. Food is cold and under cooked. We spent extra money to have cabana just get hot food served to us. The hotel lost power so your force to work round with your torch on.

Location supergood Nice atmosphere and activies Clean room good equipped Value perfect Food very variety but lacks of rable Reception stuff were perfect specially Ahmet The only negative thing is lack of stuff,,