Esther Cordova
Google
We recently stayed at the Hotel Esplanade Resort & Spa and felt that we were treated differently because we booked through a third-party website instead of directly with the hotel.
We arrived two hours before check-in and wanted to spend the waiting time in the spa, which we regularly do on short trips. However, we were told that we would have to pay extra for these two hours since we didn't book directly with the hotel. During our stay, we were repeatedly informed that this wouldn't have been an issue if we had booked directly. It almost felt like we were being penalized for booking through a third-party site, which made me wonder why they list their hotel there at all.
Another issue arose when we rented bicycles. One employee initially told us that the usage was free, so we went for a short bike ride. When we returned, however, another employee informed us that the bikes were only free for direct bookings. We were charged 60 euros for two bikes for about two hours. After explaining the situation, we managed to negotiate the price down to 30 euros, but it was still an unpleasant surprise. We wouldn't have taken the bikes if we had been informed of the cost, especially since we were misinformed by their own staff.
On the positive side, the spa staff was very friendly, and the breakfast was tasty, although the restaurant was quite crowded. We had to ask for coffee three times, but this seemed more due to staff overload than a lack of service.
Overall, our stay was fine, but the constant reminders about our booking method and unexpected costs left a bitter aftertaste. If you plan to stay here, I would strongly recommend booking directly with the hotel to avoid the issues we encountered.