Barut GOIA

We have just returned home after a second visit to Barut Goia and found this year to be disappointing compared to our visit last July. We returned with extended family members this year as they were keen to visit for themselves after hearing about our fantastic experience last year and we left feeling disappointed that this year didn’t live up to the same experience we had on our last visit. I’ll start with the positives as not everything is bad-

• The rooms are a great size especially for families and are well equipped with a great minibar and facilities and the hotel honoured our requests for our family groups rooms to be close together on the same floor.
• The pools and pool areas are clean and the water slides are great to keep the kids entertained. We were also happy to see the foam parties were still every Friday and there was the addition of having the opportunity to hold and have photographs with macaw parrots around the hotel which was a great addition this year.
• Most of the staff we encountered were friendly and made the effort to chat with us and our family. The staff in the sunset bar were the friendliest.
• The food choices are overall good

The negatives-

• There was a very noticeable lack of staff this year. The bars were understaffed leading to large ques and waits for drinks, often only 1/2 staff members to serve drinks and clear glasses in the busy ivy bar and 1 staff member to run the Q bar which is ridiculous especially with the amount of guests present. Last year there were 3 serving behind the bar and 2/3 staff clearing glasses and bringing drinks to guests. This year staff didn’t even have time to interact with guests or provide table service. Often last year staff were bringing over new drinks before you had even finished the first one and were able to get to know guests.

The buffet restaurant was the same, understaffed and the poor staff were running round and didn’t stop. They clearly couldn’t keep up with the workload as lots of tables were left waiting to be cleaned and reset and we were often stood around waiting for a table to be cleaned before we could sit and eat. Last year tables were cleaned instantly as soon as guests got up and left enabling the next guests to sit down without a wait. This is not acceptable for a 5 star hotel. The staff who were working under pressure still smiled and greeted us even though it was clear they were struggling. Understaffing was clear in the housekeeping department too and we felt sorry for our maid who was also clearly overworked and didn’t have time to clean our room as thoroughly as last year, often only changing bedding and towels and a quick sweep of the floor. Last year there was a team of housekeepers working on the same corridor together whereas this year we only saw the one maid on her own.

• The food whilst still very nice and lots of choice, has clearly had some budget cuts as last year there was smoked salmon available for breakfast daily and I only seen it available twice during our 14 day stay. It was replaced by cheaper variety’s of fish which is disappointing. Last year crawfish and crabs were available for dinner some nights and this year not available at all. A lack of seafood in general this year. Also witnessed a lot of flies landing around the salad and cold meats which is concerning and nothing being done to deter insects.

• Branded drinks were not served this year when asked for and we were often served the cheap local equivalent instead. I often asked for branded Malibu and baileys and was given the cheap white rum and Irish cream liquor instead. Last year branded drinks were served as standard when asked for.

• No evening pool parties or synchronised swimming as we saw last year. Our children were also looking forward to the interactive games they had by the pool in the evening once a week however this was not on the schedule this year.

• Animation team- disappointing compared to last years team. With the exception of Liza who went out of her way to interact with our family and had some lovely chats in the evenings, the rest of the team lacked any kind of personality and were honestly quite boring for an entertainment team! Last years team were full of life, went out of their way to engage with guests and had energy. This year the team looked like they didn’t actually really enjoy their jobs, barely engaged and didn’t really make any eye contact when passing by.

• Reception team were quite rude, abrupt and lacked customer service skills. When checking out we handed the key cards back and the lady at reception barely engaged and simply said “that’s all bye” not even a thanks for staying or asked if we enjoyed our stay, literally nothing. Poor for a 5 star hotel.

The bell boy who helped us with our luggage in the luggage room was amazing and was extremely helpful and friendly.

• I visited the salon downstairs on our last day and asked if they removed acrylic nails as I noticed they offered a nail service. They booked me in for later that day and it was the worst experience, the lady who removed the nails was abrupt, didn’t smile, didn’t make eye contact and was extremely rough. She briefly filed down the paint on the nails and then proceeded to rip each nail off without even soaking them first, which was painful and has left damage on my own nails. The man who works in the salon then came over and tried to sell me a new set of nails. I explained I did not want this service as I was returning to work in a healthcare service which does not allow nails and he continued to try and push sales of nail polish. He became quite rude when I declined and I left with painful and damaged nails.

Overall we had a pleasant stay however we would not return back to Barut Goia as it is clear that the hotel is cutting back on their budgeting and the standards no longer meet 5 stars in our opinion as a lot of things offered last year are no longer available and the prices they are charging no longer reflect the same standards offered. When speaking to other guests during our stay who also have visited in previous years, they have all said the standards are not the same this year. It’s a shame as the hotel will lose returning guests.

This was our 2nd visit to the hotel after a fantastic time last July. Unfortunately this time round did not have the same vibe or excitement. The reception team have zero personality and barely engage in conversation when approached. The biggest issue with them when checking out, to not even be asked if you have had a good stay which should be generic. Constantly having to wait to be served at bar areas as there is only 1 member of staff where as last year they had multiple staff and staff would bring you another drink before finishing the 1st one. A few times waiting at the bar (which was open for serving busy pool side to go inside and wait there as he was the only member of staff serving, surely if you have 2 bars open it would make sense to have at least 2 staff as minimum. The same issues with the restaurant and cleaning. Minimal staffing for a large hotel. The staff that were there worked very hard and could not fault them, it's too much work for that amount of staff. The food was so much better last year with salmon etc served every day where as this year only seen it once. Entertainment team bar the odd person did not have the same up and go and vibe as last year. Overall based on this year's holiday as much as we loved this place last year, we will not be returning again any time soon.