Alexandre Gala

Where do I even start?! Location: Imagine paradise… then put it smack bang next to Veronica’s. The welcome committee consisted of vomit, urine, and a couple of enthusiastic local entrepreneurs who looked like they’d misplaced their life choices. The lobby is gorgeous. Honestly, it’s like the hotel spent the entire budget on the first 20 feet. After waiting 10 minutes to check in, we were casually informed our room wouldn’t be ready for another three hours. Delightful news when you’ve just flown from the UK wearing jeans, a jumper, and a jacket into a refreshing 32°C. We left our luggage in an area with the security level of “good luck,” so naturally we spent the next few hours hovering nearby like anxious parents on the first day of school. Stepping outside, we were immediately greeted by the local Lucky Lucky™ mobile department store, where one gentleman kindly offered us cocaine, weed, sunglasses, and Rolexes. Truly a one-stop shopping experience. I politely declined the lot. About 50 yards down the road, the aroma changed to Eau de Urine with subtle notes of stale vomit. The scenery included a half-eaten pizza and a used condom. Neither appeared to have reached a satisfying conclusion. Finally, we got to our room. The view? A magnificent concrete sea defence wall, beautifully illuminated by Veronica’s neon lights. Romantic. The room itself smelled like damp mixed with a changing room full of forgotten football boots. Breakfast was… memorable. The orange juice had clearly been introduced to fruit at some point, and the coffee tasted like it had been filtered through garden soil. Credit where it’s due though—the eggs were actually excellent. Whoever cooked those deserves a better hotel. Then came bedtime. The mattress was roughly the same softness as the sea wall outside, while the nightly street party raged until 5:45 am. Every. Single. Night. The only thing with more variety than the breakfast was the rotating selection of drugs and counterfeit Rolexes outside the front door. Would I return? I’d rather sleep in the airport wearing my winter clothes. Unless you’re 18, planning to party until sunrise, and consider “walking distance to narcotics” a selling point, give this place a miss. Also, if you have a balcony, don’t fall off—it’s concrete below. Not even a courtesy shrub to soften the landing.

Good stay and great food, but service and management need serious improvement Overall, Hotel Gala is a good place to rest and sleep, with comfortable and well-maintained rooms, but several operational issues need management's attention. The Good: The food at the main buffet is good and varied, with different theme nights that keep things interesting. Despite some negative reviews claiming otherwise, I found the buffet quality to be one of the best I’ve experienced in an All-Inclusive hotel. Service & Dining Issues: Snacks: Outside main buffet hours, options are very limited and reduced almost entirely to basic fast food. Pool Bars: The main pool bar usually has only one staff member, creating long queues. Even with two workers, there is zero coordination. The second pool bar is opened but completely unstaffed. The lifeguard nearby even mocked the situation, joking to another staff member that if they walked into the bar, they’d actually have to serve people. Breakfast Queue: The omelette station is extremely slow and blocks access for anyone just trying to grab churros or pancakes. Bar Staff: Service at the bars is generally weak, and the staff member at the main bar needs a much friendlier attitude towards guests. Meal Drinks & Restocking: Drink service at meals is extremely slow (my drink once arrived at the end of my meal). The buffet also runs out of food items and cutlery frequently. All-Inclusive Rules: It is unclear what is actually included in the AI package. Pool & Facilities: Sunbeds: The "no reservation" rule is written everywhere but completely ignored. Guests reserve sunbeds with towels from 6:00 AM with zero staff intervention. Management needs to either enforce it or remove the rule. Showers & Water: Shower water temperature constantly fluctuates between hot and cold. Also, drinking water in the room was never replenished after arrival (only 2 bottles provided for the whole stay, which is insufficient for a 4-star All-Inclusive). Cleanliness: Room cups were just rinsed on-site instead of replaced with clean ones. Public restrooms continuously had a foul sewage smell. Dining tables were left piled with dirty dishes, and staff often just swept a cloth over them for show without actually cleaning them (as shown in my photo). Beach Towel Policy: Requires a €15 deposit. The instruction sheet says to return the paper for the deposit, but at checkout, they demand the original payment receipt too—leaving even the receptionist confused. It’s pure management laziness not to update printed instructions. Verdict: A nice hotel with great buffet food, but higher management urgently needs to fix these daily operational failures, maintenance issues, and staff workflows.

Very disappointing experience. I honestly cannot understand how this hotel has a 4-star rating. Hygiene standards are far below what I expected. During breakfast I found glasses with lipstick marks and visible dirt that had clearly not been washed properly. Several plates also had dried food stains still on them. Guests should never have to inspect every glass and plate before using them. I also witnessed clean towels being transported while touching trolleys used for dirty laundry. Basic hygiene procedures should prevent clean and dirty items from coming into contact. What I found ironic was seeing signs throughout the hotel asking guests to help protect the environment, while the hotel itself fails to maintain proper hygiene standards. Protecting the environment is important, but protecting guests' health should always come first. Unfortunately, this hotel does not provide the level of cleanliness or professionalism that anyone would reasonably expect from a 4-star all-inclusive resort. I would not recommend it.

Overall, we had a wonderful stay and would happily come back again. The service was excellent, and the food was delicious. I especially appreciated that the menu changed regularly instead of repeating the same dishes every day. My only suggestion is to arrive earlier for meals, as if you come close to closing time, some popular dishes may already be gone. I would also like to give special thanks to Natalia at the reception. I don’t know her last name, but I know she is from Ukraine. She was incredibly kind, patient, and always explained everything clearly. She also gave us valuable advice that made our stay even more enjoyable, and we are very grateful to her. Another special thank you goes to the waitress with the red hair and red lipstick who worked in the restaurant. She was exceptionally warm and caring towards my child. There wasn’t a single day when she didn’t come over to say hello or pay attention to him. My child looked forward to seeing her every day and became very fond of her. If you happen to read this review, thank you so much for your kindness and genuine care. Overall, we truly enjoyed our stay. It is a place we would gladly return to, and one that we will remember with great warmth.