Almond Beach Club and Spa

“ If you are reading reviews to see if The Almond Beach is a good holiday destination I would say “Yes”.
I don’t usually write long reviews but on this occasion felt that I need to defend The Almond Beach against all of the negative reviews.

We had a ground floor room near the front of the building which was spotlessly clean with no sign or smell of damp.

After reading all of the negative reviews about this hotel I was very apprehensive about staying here however after having a lovely holiday I can not understand what people are complaining about and am quite annoyed that their reviews put me off.

Is it 5 star? No. Is there a lovely beach? No. That is not what is advertised. Did we have a lovely holiday and would we recommend this hotel? With a couple of tweaks? Without a doubt.

They really, really need to replace all of the sunbeds, the old plastic ones not only look awful but have hardly any support left in them, after spending eight days lying on them I am still limping quite badly as it has aggravated a back problem. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I got home last week as you don’t need to walk very far when you are staying there. They have a few newer and slightly aesthetically better looking metal ones but these are not very comfortable either and there are a lot less of them. I didn’t mention it while we were staying there as I couldn’t see what they could do. Get a new sunbed just for me? Also it really is only since I got home that I have realised what this has done to my back, ouch!

Although the Hotel does not need to be closed down and completely refurbished as some other people have said it could certainly do with a lick of paint in all of the public areas, toilets, around the bar area and restaurant. Also fixtures and fittings could be replaced, although our shower worked perfectly well, we never ran out of hot water, the shower head had seen better days. The locks on the room doors again although they worked perfectly well, a bit too well sometimes, also look tired as do the locks on the public toilet doors.

Yes there are lots of birds in the restaurant so you do have to be careful where you sit sometimes but the hotel seem to have done all that they can to restrict their access and they don’t really do any harm. If you want open air dining then this maybe the price you have to pay?

Getting to Sandy Lane is not nearly as easy as other reviews have said. You can only get their easily when the tide is right out which is only about once a day and is not for long. Otherwise you have to wade/swim through the water, we watched quite a few people set out to make the journey who got their towels, books and mobile phones soaked on their attempt. It was nice to do once and walk along the lovely sandy beach but it isn’t easy to just pop there and back. If you are looking for a beach holiday then this isn’t the place for you.

We visited both of the other Almond resorts during our stay for dinner, twice at the Italian at The Village and once to the Dover Grill at The Casuarina. We celebrated our “Ten Years Since the day we met” anniversary on our first visit to the Italian, it was lovely, the food was fantastic and the staff sang “Happy Anniversary” to us and presented us with a decorated plate and dessert at the end of our meal. It was a lovely touch and very much appreciated.
The food at the Dover Grill was also very good and I think that having the option to go to the other resorts makes the holiday very good value for money. However when we arrived at the other resorts there were no staff to “meet and greet” which would be a nice addition. On our visit to The Casuarina our driver, Roger, took us in and showed us where the Dover Grill was which was much appreciated.
Enid’s at the Almond Beach was very nice but was almost empty on both of our visits. This was where we had our first dinner which was booked for us for 6.30. It was very nice of the Hotel to do this for us but we didn’t get to our room until 5.30 so it was a bit of a rush. By the time we had finished eating only one other couple had arrived so we would have preferred to have eaten a little later.

Overall the food and service was excellent especially our Christmas dinner, compliments to the chef Matthew, unfortunately one staff member stood out for the wrong reasons, Yvette.
I think her job title is Customer Relations manager? Unfortunately we didn’t realise that we had to book our Christmas meal until the day before, once the menu was posted up and it said that you had to. We spoke to two other couples who also didn’t realise that you needed to book and couldn’t get tables until 8.45.
When we saw Yvette to book, it was as though this was far too much trouble for her. She just said 8.45. When we asked if we could have earlier she was very short with us.
Then when we went in for our table at 8.30, hoping they could seat us sooner, we were told that the table had been booked for 7.30 and that they had been waiting for us!??! Luckily it was no problem and we could still have dinner but I have no idea why this happened and maybe it was nothing to do with Yvette. However that doesn’t change the fact that it seemed far too much trouble for her to do her job. Our other encounters with her were much the same.

There are obviously a lot of repeat guests here as we saw many people greeting each other and the staff. So a lot of people do like this hotel.

None of these issues are complaints, well apart from the bit about the sunbeds! We really did have a lovely holiday and would like to thank the staff for looking after us so well.

“ Top Tip: If like me you only drink soda water (as a soft drink) take or get a screw top bottle and have it topped up at the bar to have while you are sunbathing, the cups for the drinks are very small.

“ Lovely room - had everything we needed and was cleaned well every day.

Service at the restaurant and bars was excellent - always pleasant, welcoming and efficient. However, on occasions the receptionists were a bit frosty and not that forthcoming when a few questions were asked.

We enjoyed the food and felt there was a good range of choices available. It was good to be able to use the Almond Village and Casurina to create a bit of variation - the shuttle bus service to these places was very prompt. There are other nice restaurants a 10-15 minute walk away.

It was a shame that the beach is eroded so that you can't directly lounge on the beach. It was still wonderful to be able to sit close to the sea, hear the waves and then take a refreshing dip whenever we wanted. Failing that, the pool was a good option too.

The spa element of the place needs its profile raised. I'm not sure whether this is because there were problems with it or that it costs more money if guests use it. I had a lovely, personal yoga session with an instructor - but getting information about whether it was really happening took some time!

A think the 'Beach' and 'Spa' of the name is a bit misleading. However, it still is a lovely place. It is a great hotel for couples who just want to recharge their batteries and want an easy-going, relaxed holiday, where you don't have to worry about getting bits of food/worrying where you're next meal is coming from. If couples want a bit more action / partying holiday, with lots of variety, another place might be better.

“ Top Tip: The Tides restaurant - a real treat!

Get the free shuttle bus to the Almond Casurina and then call a cab from the hotel to Oistins. Saves a few pounds which you can spend on beer / flying fish / cab home from Oistins in the small hours.

Wait for low tide and walk along the beach to Sandy Lane Beach or, even nicer, Paynes Bay.

“ Very enjoyable stay, thank you.

“ The reception we received was excellent and informative. Good room, both spacious and clean. The staff were very friendly which made our stay especially comfortable. There was a good choice of food and as much as anyone could want. We would definitely go back to this hotel.

“ Top Tip: We didn't feel the need to move very far, just too chilled!