I booked Sianji Well-Being Resort as a special treat for my family after a long and demanding year of work. Having carefully researched the hotel, read many positive reviews and chosen it specifically for its advertised facilities, accommodation and wellness focus, we arrived with high expectations. Sadly, from the moment our holiday began, those expectations were consistently disappointed.
The first issue concerned our accommodation. We specifically booked what was advertised as a villa. However, on arrival it was clearly a suite, something even confirmed by the sign outside the door. When I raised this with reception, I was simply told, “You have received what you paid for.” I also spoke with other guests who were making the very same complaint. Advertising accommodation as a villa when it is in fact a suite is, in my opinion, misleading.
We then experienced continual problems with the Wi-Fi. None of my family could maintain a stable connection, making it impossible to stay connected. As I needed to remain contactable for work and family, I had no choice but to purchase an eSIM at additional expense. An engineer was sent to our room but was unable to resolve the issue.
The problems continued with the jacuzzi bath. The first time we used the jets, water leaked all over the bathroom floor. Maintenance attended and wrapped tape around the pipe, assuring us it had been repaired. Unfortunately, the following evening, when we turned the jets on again, the bath made an extremely loud noise, discharged black debris into the water and once again flooded the bathroom floor. This was reported again but never properly resolved.
One of the principal reasons we chose Sianji was for its renowned wellness facilities, particularly the mineral baths. We were extremely disappointed to discover that these were closed until September. This information was not made clear before our stay, despite being one of the hotel’s key selling points.
The food was also well below what we expected from a five-star resort. The choice was limited, repetitive and lacked variety. Children’s snack options were particularly poor, making dining disappointing for the whole family.
Our final experience unfortunately reflected the standard of customer service we encountered throughout our stay. Before travelling, I had pre-booked and paid for an airport transfer, with the booking clearly stating both arrival and departure transfers. When arranging our departure, I was informed that I had only purchased a one-way transfer and would need to pay again. After nearly two hours of discussion, during which I showed staff the booking confirmation, they eventually acknowledged that the English wording was a poor translation from Turkish and agreed to honour the transfer. However, the following morning, when we arrived to leave for the airport, we were once again asked to pay for the transfer. It was incredibly frustrating and entirely avoidable.
Throughout our stay I found the customer service disappointing. While I appreciate there is a language barrier, this does not excuse the dismissive attitude or lack of ownership shown when genuine problems were raised. Rather than feeling valued as guests, we repeatedly felt that concerns were minimised or passed from one person to another without resolution.
Overall, this was not the five-star experience we paid for or expected. While the resort enjoys a beautiful location and impressive views, these alone cannot compensate for misleading accommodation descriptions, unresolved maintenance issues, closed facilities, disappointing food and poor customer service.
This holiday was intended to be a relaxing family break after a busy year, but instead became a succession of avoidable frustrations. I sincerely hope the management takes these comments seriously and uses them to improve the experience for future guests.
Fiona Q2026-07-15
