The Ravenala Attitude

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Ravenela. We were there as a family of four, and our daughters age 10 and 12 were kept entertained with pools, beach, kids club, pedalos and kayaking which are part of the all inclusive package. The staff at the Beach House organising the water sports were friendly and welcoming, as were the kids club staff. They did a great job catering for both older and younger children. The buffet was very hectic at breakfast time, so if you prefer some calm it's worth getting up a bit earlier! There was a good variety of food at the lunch and dinner buffet with a focus on vegetarian and local cuisine. If your children are expecting burgers and chips every day they may be disappointed! The cocktails were incredible, the list is so long we would never have worked our way through them all in a week. The restaurant booking system away from the buffet was our only real disappointment. We queued up to make reservations as requested, but could only do this for three nights and were told to come back again on Saturday to book for the rest of the week. I was told there was very limited availability in all restaurants, but when we got there they were all almost empty with only a few tables laid. The quality of the food varied hugely. At O and Bistrot our food was almost inedible and the service was very poor, especially as they were so quiet. The food at Kot Nou and Madame Ming was delicious and the service was excellent. While it's nice to offer a selection of cuisines at the hotel, this only really works if it the food is of an acceptable quality. I was a bit apprehensive about visiting during the winter season, but the hotel is in a sheltered cove so there was very little wind. There were a few rain showers over the week but they only lasted a few minutes. The weather was mainly warm and sunny, around 26 degrees which was perfect for sunbathing. It does get chilly in the evenings and the pool wasn't that warm, though I prefer it to feel like a bath! The hotel beach is next to the pool area so it is all very accessible. The bay is shallow so ideal for children. We all had spa treatments and thoroughly enjoyed them. My children loved their mini facial and full body massage and the staff were highly professional. Well worth a visit but do pre-book before you arrive. We had a family suite, the bed was huge and very comfortable. The room was a little run down and needed some non-urgent repairs, and it wasn't cleaned as well as it could have been. It was also quite damp and we didn't get any sun on the balcony, so swimming costumes never dried properly. Check-out was very civilised, there are excellent shower facilities and we were able to enjoy our last day to the fullest even after we had checked out. Overall we really enjoyed our holiday and hope to return before too long!

Amazing hotel and meal at Madam Ming. Great service by Vicky, Shivam, Prahish and Fordeen.

We recently stayed here as a family with two young children and came away feeling quite disappointed. The setting is genuinely beautiful, and our first impression reminded us of some of our favourite resorts in Thailand. Unfortunately, while the surroundings are lovely, the service and overall standard don’t live up to the hotel’s advertised luxury status. Check-in got the holiday off to a poor start. After arriving at around 10am following an overnight flight with two young children, we were told the hotel would try to get us into our room early. We really appreciated the gesture, but unfortunately it never happened, making it more frustrating than if nothing had been promised at all. We also didn’t receive any kind of tour or introduction to the resort and were essentially left to find our own way around while waiting four hours for our room. After we raised this with the hotel, they did arrange a tour for us - but this wasn’t until our third day, by which point we’d already figured everything out ourselves, so it felt rather too late to be of much value. The food was perfectly acceptable for an all-inclusive resort, although not exceptional. What was disappointing was that several restaurants and food outlets (including the Shake Shack) weren’t actually included in the all-inclusive package, which feels rather ironic. Booking the included à la carte restaurants was also unnecessarily difficult, despite them appearing only half full during both the 6:30pm and 8:00pm sittings. When we did manage to get a reservation, service was extremely slow, particularly at O Restaurant and the Bistro. There also seemed to be very little consistency in the dining experience. Families should be aware that there was virtually no variety on the children’s menus - we visited most restaurants and the options were limited and didn’t reflect the actual menu. It’s worth saying that this didn’t feel like an issue with the staff themselves. Many of the individuals serving around the pool and bars were genuinely excellent - friendly, attentive and always happy to help. Drinks service by the pool and beach was consistently good, and those team members were a real credit to the hotel. Instead, it felt more like a leadership issue. There didn’t appear to be any real quality assurance or oversight to ensure a consistent standard of service across the restaurants. The difference between the attentive service at the pool and bars, compared with the slow and disorganised restaurant experience, was striking. Housekeeping was probably our biggest frustration. Almost every day we found ourselves calling reception because something had been missed, whether it was toilet roll, bottled water or clean towels. These are basic expectations that really shouldn’t require repeated requests. There were also a few maintenance issues that were disappointing, particularly for a hotel marketed as a luxury 4-star resort. There was an unpleasant smell around the pool bar every single day in the same area, and it was impossible to ignore. The bathrooms are also showing their age, with mould in the showers and areas that appeared unfinished (see pics). Not the attention to detail you would expect at this price. Room 4101. That said, there were some genuine highlights. The pool and beach team were fantastic - friendly, attentive and always happy to help. The kids’ club was excellent, with caring staff and a great range of activities that our children thoroughly enjoyed. The live guitarists at breakfast and dinner also created a lovely atmosphere and deserve recognition. One aspect the hotel does particularly well is its complimentary water sports offering. Having free access to kayaks, paddleboards, pedalos and the glass-bottom boat was a real highlight of our stay and added so much to the beach experience. The team running these activities were brilliant - welcoming, knowledgeable and genuinely enthusiastic. Overall, this hotel has enormous potential because the location and grounds are beautiful, and many of the staff are genuinely excellent. The pool team, water sports staff, kids’ club and musicians all helped create some wonderful memories for our family. Our disappointment wasn’t with the hardworking individuals we encountered, but with the inconsistent standards and apparent lack of management oversight. As it stands, poor housekeeping, inconsistent restaurant service and a lack of attention to maintenance mean it falls well short of the luxury experience it advertises. We still enjoyed many parts of our stay, but we wouldn’t return unless standards improved.

We visited this hotel 2 years ago. During our most recent stay I can share that some aspects have improved but unfortunately some others have dropped. Hotel advertised many restaurants to choose from but to the surprise of many guests were very difficult to book - always full but when that time come, looked very empty. We were all inclusive and I have the opinion that spaces were deliberately blocked out for paying customers to turn up on the day - we had already paid in our all-inclusive package and so feel this worked against us somewhat.

We are currently staying at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel and booked a three night stay. We have now completed two nights. Our arrival experience was excellent, with a warm welcome and a quick, efficient room allocation. We did encounter a few minor issues with our room, however, these were addressed promptly by the housekeeping team, who were outstanding and deserve recognition for their excellent service. The food at the main restaurant has been fresh, well-prepared and enjoyable throughout our stay. Our only disappointment has been with the specialty restaurant bookings. We were particularly looking forward to dining at The Bistrot, and our children were especially excited about the experience. Unfortunately, upon arrival we were informed by the reservations team that the restaurant was fully booked for the next three days. As our stay is only three nights, this means we have no opportunity to dine there. This was very disappointing, particularly as we understand that some guests have been able to secure reservations on multiple evenings during the same week. Overall, we have enjoyed our stay so far and hope this issue can be resolved. I will be updating a more detailed review once I fly back tomorrow the UK.