Hotel getting bad reviews

Puppypup

We are booked to travel to Madeira staying at the new Dreams resort but Jet2 have already informed us of one (minor) change already where the preferred club option no longer has an exclusive pool but the trip advisor reviews are also very bad regarding the service.  This is a five star resort but there are repeated complaints about the food being cold (health and safety) slow bars, mini bars not being topped up and Dreams are not responding to any of the reviews like they do on their other resorts.  Does anyone know what my options are here? We are booked to go in August which will be peak times 

Penguin_

Puppypup said:

We are booked to travel to Madeira staying at the new Dreams resort but Jet2 have already informed us of one (minor) change already where the preferred club option no longer has an exclusive pool but the trip advisor reviews are also very bad regarding the service.  This is a five star resort but there are repeated complaints about the food being cold (health and safety) slow bars, mini bars not being topped up and Dreams are not responding to any of the reviews like they do on their other resorts.  Does anyone know what my options are here? We are booked to go in August which will be peak times 

Assuming it's an all inclusive hotel, I have been to many a hotel where the bar service has been slow, even 5* ones.

Regarding the mini bar, could you simply ask at reception if it hasn't been done?

Mark_d

I wouldn't worry about it.  British people often complain about food being cold in Spain, the Mediterranean, Madeira, Canaries.  Yes the food is colder than we're used to in the UK but it's properly cooked and perfectly safe.

If you want British-style dining then best to stay in the UK.

Spelunthus

Any reviewer may have hidden agendas.  Competitors leave terrible reviews, disgruntled guests magnify tiny issues into major ones, irrelevant issues that are not the fault of the resort may be attributed to them.  We also tend to focus on the negative reviews. Have a look at some of the positive ones .  Enjoy your trip and leave your own review.

DullGreyGuy

Puppypup said:

This is a five star resort 

Every awarding body has a different set of rules for what is required for each star rating. In most cases the rules are very functional as to remove any personal opinion, eg to be a 5* in one territory you must have hot food available 24/7, there is no requirement for the food to be any good and it could be limited to a microwave burger but it ticks the box. 

As a consequence the rules can be gamed, watched an episode of the "Hotel Inspector" a few years ago where they recommended that they stop selling their box room which was very rarely booked. As a consequence their average room size increased by a few sq ft and with no other changes they went from 2* to 3* and could add 20% to their price. There are some really dire 5* places out there and there are some exceptional 4* places which arent 5* because of some technicality (eg swimming pool isnt big enough). 

Spelunthus said:

Any reviewer may have hidden agendas.  Competitors leave terrible reviews, disgruntled guests magnify tiny issues into major ones, irrelevant issues that are not the fault of the resort may be attributed to them.  We also tend to focus on the negative reviews. Have a look at some of the positive ones .

Agree and would expand it to say it also depends on expectations and some people being silly. Stayed in an amazing hotel in Sri Lanka but there were 3 negative reviews in the last few months before we visited because they weren't doing an "English breakfast", 5 negative reviews because during a religious festival they dont serve alcohol in the restaurant or bars for a single night but minibar in the room is still fully stocked (this was not an AI hotel)

eskbanker

Puppypup said:

We are booked to travel to Madeira staying at the new Dreams resort but Jet2 have already informed us of one (minor) change already where the preferred club option no longer has an exclusive pool but the trip advisor reviews are also very bad regarding the service.  This is a five star resort but there are repeated complaints about the food being cold (health and safety) slow bars, mini bars not being topped up and Dreams are not responding to any of the reviews like they do on their other resorts.  Does anyone know what my options are here? We are booked to go in August which will be peak times 

Poor reviews don't give you any options - they're inherently subjective.

If you find an adjacent hotel offered by Jet2 at a similar price point and with better reviews, you could ask them what cost would be involved in changing your booking, but they're not obliged to accommodate such requests in response to minor changes.

Pollycat

DullGreyGuy said:

Puppypup said:

This is a five star resort 

Spelunthus said:

Any reviewer may have hidden agendas.  Competitors leave terrible reviews, disgruntled guests magnify tiny issues into major ones, irrelevant issues that are not the fault of the resort may be attributed to them.  We also tend to focus on the negative reviews. Have a look at some of the positive ones .

Agree and would expand it to say it also depends on expectations and some people being silly. Stayed in an amazing hotel in Sri Lanka but there were 3 negative reviews in the last few months before we visited because they weren't doing an "English breakfast", 5 negative reviews because during a religious festival they dont serve alcohol in the restaurant or bars for a single night but minibar in the room is still fully stocked (this was not an AI hotel)

+1 to this.

I've read some really silly reviews where people expected 24 hour reception at a 2* self catering accommodation with 10 rooms.

Reviews - for everything, not just hotels - should be read with a very large pinch of salt.

Recent reports of a woman who holidayed AI in Corfu complaining that chips were only served once in a week.

Tony5896

I found reading the 4-2 star reviews helpful .. they seem to give a more balanced view and the reviewers put more effort that 5* Loved it or 1* Terrible don't go ... 

TELLIT01

I've just read through a few of the more recent pages of reviews.  Not all are terrible, and some from people with many reviews are positive.  On the other hand some from people with many reviews are not.  It's a real mixed bag.

I don't think Jet2 will allow you to change hotel without charges and certainly won't allow you simply to cancel on the basis of mixed reviews.

The hotel still has a couple of months to sort itself out and your experience could be entirely positive.  That really is the only way to look at things this far in advance.

NoodleDoodleMan

I would suggest taking food reviews with a pinch of salt (no pun intended) because some guests will leave a negative comment if, for example, they wanted potatoes and only chips were on the menu - or vice versa.

Unless the poor reviews are overwhelming in number and content I would be hesitant to regard them as gospel.

Are we talking about this hotel, or another ?

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g1902264-d26627151-Reviews-Dreams_Madeira_Resort_Spa_Marina-Canical_Madeira_Madeira_Islands.html

TELLIT01

I thought the most relevant review was from somebody on their 2nd visit.  They had been very impressed on their previous visit, but so disappointed by their 2nd that they won't return.