The only positive thing about this hotel was the location, which was excellent and within walking distance of everything in Nerja.
The room itself was also comfortable.
Unfortunately, the service and
communication were very disappointing. The room cleaning became a real issue during our 3-night stay. The hotel uses a system where you have to set a card to green if you want your room cleaned, but this was never properly explained to us. On the first day, we had the card on green. The housekeeper knocked on our door, spoke only Spanish, and we told her in English that we wanted the room cleaned. She then changed the card to red herself. We assumed everything was fine, left the room, and naturally expected it to be cleaned since she had just seen us leave. Instead, when we returned, nothing had been cleaned. We informed reception, but they simply said nothing could be done because the housekeeper had already gone home. The next morning, hoping to avoid another misunderstanding, we removed the card completely because we still wanted the room cleaned. Instead, the same housekeeper knocked very loudly, opened our door while we were still asleep, and started speaking to us in an angry tone in Spanish. We explained that we didn't understand Spanish, and she simply replied, "No English," before walking away. It was a very unpleasant and uncomfortable experience. We reported the incident to reception, but instead of listening to our concerns, the receptionist immediately became defensive and seemed more interested in defending her colleague than understanding what had happened. We never felt that our complaint was taken seriously. Our room was eventually cleaned the following day, but even then the cleaning was very superficial. The table was still dirty, and it felt like very little effort had been made. Overall, although the location is great and the room itself was fine, the poor communication, unfriendly staff, and disappointing service meant we did not feel welcome. Unfortunately, I would not choose to stay here again.
Response from the property
Thank you for your review. We are pleased that you enjoyed our excellent location and found the room comfortable.
We would like to clarify the situation regarding housekeeping, as there was unfortunately a misunderstanding, largely due to the language barrier.
Our rooms use a standard red/green housekeeping card system, commonly used in hotels and hostels internationally. As this is a widely recognised system, our team would not normally provide a explanation of how the cards work unless a guest requires clarification.
On the first morning, housekeeping knocked to clean the room, but you were still inside. She indicated that the room should remain on red (Do Not Disturb) while you did not wish to have the room serviced at that moment, and changed to green (Make Up Room) once you were ready. Unfortunately, this was not understood clearly. As the card remained on red, housekeeping was unable to enter the room that day.
The following morning, with no card displayed, our housekeeper knocked again as this normally indicates that the room can be serviced. However, you were still not ready for the room to be cleaned at that time.
We are sorry that the communication led to an uncomfortable situation, but there was no intention to be rude or disrespectful. Likewise, when you spoke with reception, the receptionist was trying to explain what had happened and clarify how the housekeeping system works in English. She was not being defensive or dismissing your concerns, but simply trying to explain the situation and avoid the same misunderstanding happening again.
However, we feel it is important to clarify that our team did attempt to service the room and that the situation arose from a misunderstanding regarding the housekeeping procedure, rather than a refusal to clean the room.
We are sorry that this affected your overall experience and appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.