Castello Boutique Resort & Spa

We chose this hotel as I'd rather 48 rooms (like this hotel) than 480 rooms and you do trade facilities for that choice (there was a small gym and a spa). Good size room with a fridge (no drawers but plenty of hanging room) . Plenty of hot water, towels decent and tea/coffee/ kettle in the room. The 'mountain view' from the balcony wasn't wrong but we actually overlooked waste ground with the mountains in the distance. Our room was really clean; but my usual comment applies of when they say they are a green hotel so hang towels up if you don't need them changed ,as usual.... they were changed every day! Pool towels provided, pool area nice but sun beds could use a varnish and some parasols were really hard to put up. Music in the background but not thumping thank goodness. Food. This is where we come unstuck...the hot food was tepid at best...every night whatever we had. The dining staff are lovely but on our first day we walked in and they just look at you so we had to approach and say "do we sit anywhere?" , what's the drill sort of thing. The evening has a buffet style set up but you are handed a small menu card also which we figured by the third night they expect you to order from but no direction was given or explained. This food was then brought to you so if you chose from the buffet first, you would then sometimes get the menu card afterwards? Bit confusing so some guidance on your first visit would be useful. Overall, the staff were all lovely, everywhere was clean, drinks from the bar weren't overpriced and there was some evening entertainment but we didn't partake. In my opinion, this is really a 4 star hotel, not 5. They certainly fall down a bit on attention to detail. A prime example is we arrived about 10pm so had missed our evening meal. Nothing was mentioned about food but I had a few bits as had anticipated our late arrival. On putting some water in the fridge the next day, we found two wraps, water, fruit and juice..obviously meant as our out of hours meal but no one mentioned this! A few tweaks would make all the difference but we did enjoy our stay.

This is more a 4-Star hotel. Rooms are well equipped but the whole environment does not breath the extra star they claim. The first days all sun bed’s already claimed in the morning, while in the welcome letter it’s requested not to do. Walking through the hotel to our room in the back, the smell of the sewer was not very nice, and was there every day, so structural problem. The staff is very friendly and makes sure you can relax.

We have just returned from a week in this hotel and felt we needed to share our experience so future travellers know what to expect. The reason this hotel is classed as 5* is because it is rated on the number of rooms to the facilities it provides so as less than 50 rooms & offering a spa & gym it gains a higher star rating however there are areas that do not reach its 5* status. The good points- hotel very clean, polite staff, room nicely decorated & great air con. Nice chilled vibe and music around the pool. Not so good - on several occasions we had no hot water for a shower. We went to reception to raise this & was told someone would look at this. The next evening it was better but then went back to luke warm. We saw a manager who listened and said it would be fixed. In all fairness he sent a nice note,a bottle of wine and offered us a spa treatment. All very nice but we needed a hot shower We also tried to raise this with Jet2 via WhatsApp only to be asked 100 questions by Jetbot! Needless to say I didn't waste my holiday time on this. We saw the Jet2 rep who visited the hotel 5 days after we arrived, she took notes, said she would raise our issues and call us the next day to check if it was fixed. No call ..... Again 1 day of hot water and that was it. You will also see another review regarding lack of hot water so this is not a room issue. I decided not to feedback any more as we only had 2 days holiday left but the manager knew our room number or could have found us around the pool to check if things had been resolved. Our bathroom had a small badly fitted corner shower with a broken soap dispenser but instead of fixing it or replacing it another one was added to a different wall - definitely not 5* quality. At breakfast alot of pleasant staff faff around with no real manager to guide them. I totally agree with other reviews regarding tinned fruit at breakfast, lack of choice and hunt the teaspoons as they are hidden away every day! Ham & cheeses were not in a cool covered area and flies were on them. We never ate in hotel except for bfast but looking at the quality of bfast compared to the brilliant restaurants in Sissi I dont think we missed out. Some of the furniture and fittings were worn and not maintained. The last morning of our holiday a new bfast menu appeared so they are trying to make improvements but I think they may be lining up for more complaints as instead of keeping it simple with fried,poached & omelette they offered eggs benedict which my husband took a gamble on. 1 thin slice of white bread, 2 eggs and a cheese sauce arrived. The mushrooms at breakfast are not fresh but frozen and watery with no taste and scrambled eggs are powdered. As the average age is 50+ at this hotel it would be lovely to turn it around & guests to return but I heard others complaining too. Please see pictures of shower, chairs in restaurant and tables around pool. Sissi is a lovely town with wonderful restaurants and amazing food so it would be great if the hotel could step up and provide what it advertises - a 5* holiday. Too be fair this hotel could be a little gem with some investment and good management.

Hotel building and facilities have potential and nice little resort. Staff friendly but lacking in training. Feels like a lack of leadership, organisation and attention to detail. Examples of why this hotel is not 5* We arrived at midnight and had to carry our suitcases up stairs. Snack was left in fridge, average and contained meat and dairy despite being notified that one person was a vegan well in advance by email. Bed was made up for a couple, not friends which they knew we were. We had a maisonette room and paid for an additional person for 3 nights £210. Despite this we had to ask 4 times for the extra bedding, towels, mug, glass etc. This had been arranged in advance. Food was average at best. less good than local tavernas, there were flies around the salad and fruit. We were charged for water with our meal which I thought was ridiculous. Tables not made up correctly, had to ask for teaspoons to stir coffee. Asked for oat milk which came in a little jug one day but mostly in a cup. The Spa was overpriced, more expensive than the UK. Wine was expensive compared to other venues in resort. We bought wine that was superior from the supermarket next door for 25% of the cost. Cocktails were poor. This hotel could be 5* but it is not.

We read a few of the reviews on this hotel prior to booking and think it was difficult to judge what to expect as they are quite mixed. I think I agree with most points most of the reviews have to say in both good and not so good. I can clear one thing up strait away in that this is not a 5 star hotel. Having said that, it is not as bad as some of the reviews would make out. Room – We had a room on the side of the hotel overlooking the mountains. Those who are not happy with this side of the hotel will also mention the wasteland directly outside the hotel which to be honest isn’t the greatest view but if you avert your gaze up towards the sky then you have some amazing mountains to see. The room itself has most things you need from a room with a large bed, decent bathroom, small fridge and TV. The hanging space is limited if you are staying for 10 or more days. Pool – The pool area is very clean and looked after. We never had a problem with finding a sunbed in the morning and invariably were not out with our towels until at least 10:30am. The mood and vibe around the pool when we visited in June was very relaxed and quiet as the large majority of guests were 55 or over. The music around the pool in the day is a bit hit and miss but if you ask the person working behind the bar they will change to something more to your taste. One thing to note – If you don’t use the ladder getting into the pool and use the step then it is bit steeper then at looks! Restaurant/Breakfast We were B&B do didn’t actually eat in the hotel restaurant in the evening. Breakfast was a buffet that included most things you need and expect in 3-4 star hotel. It could get a little frantic at times as there was no method to seating. Most people just walked in the restaurant and sat where they wanted to without speaking to any staff. That being said, once you had a seat it wouldn’t normally take too long for someone to ask you if you wanted tea or coffee. Sometimes they would ask if you wanted a fried egg or omelette. Bar The staff working in the bar were pleasant and attentive. It would help if the WIFI was better for them so they could take card payments as this was a constant frustration for me and for the staff. I think the card machine worked 1 in every 5 occasions which isn’t a great look for a hotel that is charging premium prices. The drinks available are what you would expect with a good range of beers, wines, low and non-alcoholic beverages including a very nice cocktail called a Twisted Mojito. The bar was actually a really nice area to sit in the shade after laying in the sun. Spa We had a massage in the Spa and in general it is a very tranquil and calm space as you would expect. The one thing I would note is that having had a “deep tissue” massage on the UK and other countries you may want to dial it down in this Spa. Don’t get me wrong the person knew what they were doing but oh boy did she go to town on my legs, feet and back!!! My wife did point out that I should have told the masseuse to relax the pressure so this is probably my fault. There is a nice little pool with a couple of massage spouts after you have been pummelled. Gym We actually chose the hotel because it said it had a gym and was disappointed. It is a very small room with one treadmill, one cross-trainer that doesn’t work and a “sit down” bike that looks like it may have come out of the box in the 80’s. They have a rack of dumbbells going up to 12kg and two benches. That “in my opinion” is not a gym. The other and most important thing it lacks is air-conditioning.