Robinson Club Apulia — Hotel in Ugento

Prior to going we didn’t know what to expect having read a few differing reviews, so wanted to publish an impartial opinion to help with any British tourists deciding whether to book. Overall we enjoyed our stay at Robinson and would go again, but there are a few things you might want to be aware of before deciding to go ahead. ||SERVICE|Throughout our stay the service was excellent, friendly and attentive. We offered complimentary prosecco on arrival with our bags walking in from the car park and that just seemed to set the tone for the week. Very slick. The team is led by a gentleman called Lars who was very visible and friendly all around the resort which gave us confidence in the team. Flawless service overall and we appreciated it. ||ROOMS|We stayed in Siena and had no problems. I saw a review saying to avoid this block and I completely disagree. Was fine and next to the water park which helped with getting our kids in and out each day. The size of our room was good, and it was well cleaned each day. Perfect for a family of 4 however one feedback is there wasn’t much furniture to support the space eg the Balcony didn’t have any table / chairs – only 2 stiff deckchairs and a mini side table which meant as a family we didn’t spend much time on the balcony other than to hang wet swimwear and towels. Felt a missed opportunity. Also there was no hot drinks facility in the room and with the restaurant a long walk away we chose to go off site and buy a kettle and mugs so we could make a cup of tea each morning. Money well spent. For balance though I’m sure if we asked the hotel to help they would have been able to arrange something. ||POOL / WATERPARK / BEACH|Clean, and well maintained. Kids loved the waterpark. There was also a pool near the bar area and an adults only pool option. Plenty of choice. Lifeguards everywhere and well marshalled. Beach option was nice but didn’t go as upon visiting we saw that it was only a thin strip of beach and crammed with deckchairs to maximise the space so with the kids loving the waterpark it made more sense to go there. ||RESTAURANT|There are three restaurants but most activity went through the main buffet restaurant which was enormous. If your average buffet say has 50 items available this one probably had about 150 items. All freshly cooked with chefs on hand. You could get anything you wanted and again, no expense spared. To some it would be very exciting, however, we had mixed feelings as due to the scale, we found the experience sometimes overwhelming, with it taking about 15 minutes each time just to come back with a plate of food. Some people will love the choice but for us at times we felt it was too much choice and the constant noise and busy flow of human traffic did not always make for relaxing family meals. BUT, this is just our personal preference whereas another family would celebrate the range and quality on offer, and love the busy atmosphere. Additionally one night via the hotel app we booked the beach facing trattoria for a quieter buffet and this was more to our liking where we shared an enjoyable family meal. We did not get to the pizzeria but I’m sure that too would have been very good. One big positive about the buffet (and ice cream stand next to the bar) is that it helped build confidence in our young children to go up alone and choose items for themselves which we appreciated. Plenty of gluten free options as well as an ‘adults only’ seating area which was good to see. ||ACTIVITIES|A huge feature of the resort. All available to book onto via the app. Perfect destination for the sports and watersports enthusiast. You will never get bored here if you are the active type! Kids clubs available also for three different age ranges babies, young children, older children. it should be noted though that there is very much a German / Italian steer on the resort so whilst you are able to join these activities, it may be difficult to fully participate due to language barriers. We estimated 90% German and Italian tourists and maybe only 10% British. Due to this, our kids unfortunately couldn’t be persuaded to go to kids club as they felt there would be no English kids or English spoken, and we didn’t push it as they just didn’t seem to fancy it. Also there are group excursions available via TUI which we didn’t join, however another British couple we spoke to joined a half day to Lecce the day prior and said there were no English translations on the tour which affected their experience. It was 50 EUR per person and three of them booked so just a watch out if you’re planning on doing anything cultural. But, again on balance if you booked onto things I’m sure the staff would seek to meet you halfway, it’s just to bear in mind the resort is heavily German / Italian led. | |ENTERTAINMENT|Robinson is a really big operation and thus there are lots of great entertainment. In the day there are kids clubs and scheduled activities anybody can join, and at night there was an evening entertainment to keep the mood upbeat. Twice during our stay there were themed nights and out favourite of these were ‘Wild West Night” where literally no expense was spared putting on all you can eat ribs, pulled beef, nachos, tacos etc. which was very impressive. The other themed night was a ‘foods of the world’ evening with giant world landmarks and the subsequent stereotypical dishes available. These were excellent and we felt showed a good return on the money paid to stay at the resort. Also they put on good nightlife at the resort, we finished off our stay with a 10pm beachfront disco which was great fun. ||SURROUNDING AREA|Put simply there isn’t very much within walking distance from the resort so I would factor this in to your thinking. About 15min walk from the resort if you brave a highway with no pavement there is a crossroads with a supermarket, a café and a good restaurant called ‘Antica’ – however aside from that we did not observe much more available on foot and there is no public transport. If you can get a hire car then this opens up some great possibilities including Lecce, Gallipoli, Santa Maria Di Leuca, Otranto and a stunning beach called Le Pescoluse known as ‘the Italian Maldives’. Salento region is beautiful and the Robinson location makes for short car trips to amazing places. On this, I would recommend a hire car even if only for a few days. ||OVERALL|Overall it was a good week with many positives. The service and facilities are superb with no expense spared. It’s definitely luxury. However there is a heavy skew towards German / Italian tourists which may make the resort more suitable to people from Mannheim rather than Manchester. However, I stress the service and facilities are excellent and if you can work around the language piece and are not bothered by the remote location then I would definitely recommend this as a...

This time, we spent one week of our holidays here. Although we had a wonderful stay at the hotel, I also noticed several points that could be improved.

The first point I would like to emphasize is the issue of language barriers. I know this place is renowned internationally and that its headquarters are in Germany, so I completely understand that many staff members speak German. However, given the diverse international customer base, there should be at least one Italian-speaking staff member assigned to each activity.

For example, while I was participating in archery, the group consisted entirely of Italian speakers and one German staff member who did not speak Italian. Because of this, most of the communication had to be in English. At one point, an Italian child joined the activity, but he did not speak English at all. As a result, we guests had to translate for him instead of fully enjoying the activity ourselves. Unfortunately, by the end, the staff member gave up explaining to the guests and became absorbed in fixing the arrows instead.

What I mean is that, even though this is a German company, as long as the hotel is located in Italy, Italian customers will naturally be among the target audience. In fact, during the week I stayed here, no fewer than 70% of the guests were Italian. Therefore, I believe it is unacceptable that staff cannot communicate in Italian—the local language—and that paying guests are forced to fill this gap. A situation where Italians feel they are treated as inferior to German customers must be avoided. And judging from other reviews, this does not seem to be the first time such an issue has been raised.

Another important point is that the needs of families with children should be considered more carefully. While I appreciated the service for children aged 0–2, which allowed parents to have a short break, the options for school-age children (5–11 years old) were extremely limited. With little to keep them entertained, children often ended up running around aimlessly, popping decorative balloons, or playing tag, creating a chaotic atmosphere. As a result, it was far from a relaxing environment in which to enjoy dinner. The situation escalated in the evenings, with children playing knock-and-run in the corridors, further disturbing other guests. Even the Ferragosto show, which should have been a highlight, turned out to be confusing and poorly organized, leaving an impression of disorder rather than celebration.

However, not everything was overshadowed by these negative experiences. Thanks to the cheerful and kind conversations with the housekeeping staff, every morning began on a pleasant note. During the activities, I also had the chance to meet truly outstanding staff members. I joined boxing and cycling training sessions, and the instructors delivered excellent performances.

At the restaurant, the seaside Toratteria was very well organized, especially with the reservation system, and provided a service that far exceeded our expectations.

We are well aware that Robinson Club brings together many wonderful people who are genuinely dedicated to delivering excellent service. That is precisely why I hope the efforts of these individuals will not be overshadowed by negative experiences, and that improvements will be made regarding the conduct and morale of younger staff members, as well as the two points mentioned above.

We look forward to returning in...

Have just returned from a very relaxing week. The complex is vast, immaculately maintained with incredibly beautiful grounds. The private beach is a short walk away with a paved pathway that merges into a decked boardwalk that meanders through the lovely countryside. You're greeted by a beautiful sandy beach and gorgeous blue sea. They have security at the beach entrance to ensure only guests enter the beach area. The Trattoria serves food at various points of the day such as burgers, pizza, chips, salad etc. Not great if you have any allergies as this venue doesn't cater for them. Ice cream, coffee, soft and alcoholic drinks also available. |The main restaurant is huge and is full of choice including a dedicated gluten free kitchen. The food was amazing and especially that prepared by the most loveliest of ladies, Natalina, in the gluten free kitchen. What a beautiful soul and a very talented chef. I ate like a queen every day and each dish tasted |sublime. There are allergy sheets dotted around the main restaurant but it would be good to have how these work explained so that you could eat from some of the other food stations. GF is only available from the main restaurant which is a little restricted. Would be nice to expand the availability although I appreciate not easy.|Our room was OK although rather basic considering it was described as a 'superior room'. Not sure what classed it as 'superior'. Air-conditioning wasn't great and we found the room very stuffy when sleeping. The insect screen on the patio door was great but being on the ground floor we couldn't leave it open. |All the staff were lovely, from the grounds keepers, housekeeping to bar staff, restaurant staff etc. Everyone says 'hello' irrespective of any language barriers. Entertainment team come and speak to you in the bar and the General Manager, Lars introduced himself when we sat next to him and his beautiful family in the restaurant. A very friendly atmosphere all round. |Bar staff were great and incredibly diligent at clearing away glasses and tidying up seating areas when chairs were moved. Restaurant staff were equally as quick to clear away dirty plates and clear tables. Was very impressive. |The only negatives I can say are that as English speakers the resort is mostly catered for the German tourist market. Written info is displayed in German, Italian and English but any verbal instructions or comments are only in German and Italian. It did make us feel a little excluded at times especially from the entertainment side. |Having visited in May we could see how during peak season sunbed availability and tables in the restaurants might be more tricky to come by. Certainly glad we went when we did. Felt busier on our last night. All in all we had a wonderful time but, due to feeling very much in the minority, we wouldn't choose to return.|Will definitely be returning to Italy. A gorgeous country, with stunning scenery and outstandingly delicious food and wonderfully...