Royal Seginus

2/5 — Royal Seginus Hotel — Sadly going downhill fast

I have visited this hotel several times in the past and have always enjoyed my stays — which is why it is so sad to see how far it has fallen. The decline is not the fault of the everyday staff, many of whom still try their very best; it is entirely due to management. The new General Manager simply does not appear to know how to run a hotel, and the place is suffering badly under his leadership.

The cutbacks are obvious everywhere you look. The food is nowhere near the standard it used to be, and the rooms are no longer as clean or as well-maintained as they once were. The way staff are treated is deeply concerning — some of those employed seem past the point where they should be working, while the young, happy, energetic team that made this place special in previous years have all but gone. It is genuinely unrecognisable from the hotel we used to know.

We arrived to find the hotel practically empty; it only began to pick up in our second week, just before the beer festival — had we known this was scheduled, we would have booked for later in the season. Even then, a friend who was here told us the festival was not a patch on previous years — there was no real atmosphere, and it was over very quickly.

The entertainment is another huge disappointment. Night-time at the upstairs bar and pool bar is absolutely chronic — the bands are rubbish; I have seen better entertainment at a local karaoke night. The shows in the amphitheatre are just as bad — the same tired, old acts year after year, nothing fresh, nothing new.

Where has the old animation team gone? Years ago, they performed their own shows — the Michael Jackson tribute, the Country & Western show, Mr & Mrs — they put on the best entertainment themselves! Now they just bring in outside groups that have been touring for years and years — nobody wants to watch them. They need to bring in proper entertainers and let the animation team do their own shows again — that's what everyone loved.

Then there's the bingo — the prizes are absolute rubbish. You're paying 30 euros for things like a single-letter temporary tattoo or just five minutes on a jet ski — the value is terrible. Nobody wants to buy tickets at these prices, yet the poor animation staff are forced to walk around all day, every day, trying to sell them — it's an impossible job, and it happens twice a week. Lower the prices and get decent prizes — that's the answer.

You can see the unhappiness written all over the staff. There are far too many managers and supervisors and not enough people doing the actual work. The animation team try incredibly hard, but the man in charge — a gentleman called Honor — is rarely to be seen. He spends his time chatting up younger female guests, hiding away in corners, or filming the staff instead of leading them. He is rude and abrupt to his own team, and simply ignores anyone who isn't young and female. He is not an entertainer, he has no presence, and he needs to be removed — he brings nothing positive to the hotel.

The staff look worn out, fed up, and no longer enjoying their work. There is very little in the way of daytime activities, and the whole place has lost its spark. Longtime guests who have visited for years are now trying other hotels — that should say everything.

This hotel desperately needs new management from the top down. It needs fresh entertainment, it needs fair bingo pricing, and it needs an animation manager who actually does the job — someone visible, energetic, and there for everyone, not just a select few. I hope someone listens before it is too late.

Awful awful holiday. Food was horrendous, my partner could not eat there after bis second day, as the chicken goujan was not cooked. He opted for the chicken as the rest of the food was bland and disgusting. My partner even tried to eat their burgers, the bread was stale. Mc donalds burgers are fresher! I complained to hotel management regarding this and still no response, but during my stay I spoke to Guest relations and they offered us a free booking in one of the a la carte restaurants , i accepted this and then went to book our reservation to then be told they changed our minds and we had to pay. We refused of course, so decided to eat out every night instead. The entertainment was poor, the swimming pool was freezing. Massive que to get a drink anywhere on the resort. The hotel was very money oriented, despite me paying just under £5000, the standards was no where near even if we paid £2000 for the holiday. We will never ever return and will never recommend this resort to any one.

A poor experience in comparison to every other Lara Beach hotel we have visited, including those considerably cheaper than this one. We went on the basis of my partner having visited previously several years ago and having had a good experience then, but they acknowledged that quality seems had fallen significantly since.

A general list of points:

• Sockets hanging out of walls upon arrival to room

• Brown tapwater running from the bathroom sink tap midweek. Left the taps running for about 10-mins and it eventually cleared.

• Poor food selection outside of main restaurant, with no morning opening times beyond main restaurant breakfast.

• Limited food selection inside the main restaurant and once you have got through the crowd to get something, it's often cold or lukewarm at best. 

• Fire alarm seeming to be set off randomly - not heard for the first half of holiday but would trigger often in second half. Occurred throughout the day on one midweek day (assumed it to be test day), but the random triggers still continued across the remainder of the week. Maybe a nightmare visitor setting it off. Fortunately, though, very quickly stopped when wrongly triggered.

• Hairdryers useless - cutting out after only a few seconds of use. But, admittedly, not the only place ever experienced this. 

• Very limited entertainment in comparison to other nearby hotels (even taking into consideration the Oct month). Entertainment seemed almost entirely written off in wet weather, unlike other places which find alternatives or move it indoors.

• Rooms otherwise large and generally well kept.

• Staff helpful, but not remotely enough of them.