Retaj Salwa Resort & Spa — Hotel in Al Rayyan

Overall, as my rating suggests - Very Good!

Finding the location: It's pretty straightforward if you follow some kind of GPS. Take Exit 31, and follow the directions.

Parking: There is valet parking. I believe the parking may be separate if you opt for the Villas because they asked me what I had booked. Since I booked a room, it's the building in front of you as you enter the main gate. The security will direct you. The valet team also helped me with my luggage.

Check-in: I wish I knew her name, but my check-in person set the tone for the experience I was expecting. She was a happy person - her demeanor instantly uplifted my mood. We had a small banter over me having the staycation by myself. And since one of my "special request" was a room with a good view, she suggested I opt the Twin Bedroom (pool-facing) instead of the King Sized (highway-facing) to which I agreed. She also called me after I had time to settle down in my room to ensure everything was alright

Our stay at Retaj Salwa Resort fell far below expectations, prompting us to check out after just one night instead of the planned two. Several issues marred our experience, starting with the broken tub in our room. Despite notifying the staff, the problem was never resolved, indicating a lack of attention to maintenance and guest comfort.

The dining experience was equally disappointing, with minimal variety in the menu. It was disheartening to see the same soup offered for both lunch and dinner, suggesting a lack of culinary creativity and attention to guest preferences. Simple requests such as apple juice and white sugar were met with unavailability, despite being standard items one would expect at a resort of this caliber. The fact that we had to follow up multiple times for these basic requests reflects poorly on the efficiency and attentiveness of the staff. It's concerning that even after reminding them, there was still a significant delay in fulfilling our requests.

The service at the reception was another sore point, particularly the behavior of Ms. Caroline, whose attitude bordered on being a racist. Such unprofessional conduct is unacceptable in any hospitality establishment and left a lasting negative impression on our stay. She didn't even bother to ask the reason when I said am checking out one day prior. She kept murmering and showing a NO CARE OR ANGRY face when I was there. Felt like my presence irritated her.

The lackluster welcome and overall poor guest satisfaction were evident throughout our brief time at the resort. It's evident that the management fails to prioritize the needs and concerns of their guests, leading to a significant gap between expectations and reality.

Furthermore, the surprise charge for the indoor pool, which should have been included for in-house guests, was a final straw. It felt like an additional slap in the face after already enduring subpar service and amenities.

These are only very few i mentioned here. Overall, our experience at Retaj Salwa Resort was deeply unsatisfactory. We left feeling disappointed and frustrated, with no desire to return or recommend the establishment to others.

Edit: I wanted to add that you have replied to my review saying /assuring about the quality of service provided. But it is a shame that you fail to notice there is no quality at all. And the way they respond to customers is not at all fair. I had mentioned about Ms. Caroline's behaviour. You had mentioned nothing about it or written any measure to talk to her about her behaviour. Also please note it is Ms.Jin and not Mr....

Me and my friends went on Thursday and booked 4 rooms with breakfast at this place. But let me tell you, it was a terrible experience!

First of all, the hotel itself was really nice and spacious. The rooms were a good size and had a great view.

But here's where things went downhill:

The breakfast was a disaster. The cold cuts were old and warm, the fruits were terrible, and when we tried the watermelon, it tasted like garlic! It was like they used the same knife for everything. There weren't any good food options and everything tasted bad. And don't even get me started on the juice - it was all artificial! No freshly juices !

The rooms were okay in terms of organization, but they were dirty. There was dust and dirt in the corners, and to top it off, I found a bug on the bed!

When we got to the room, there was only one tea bag, one green tea bag, and one coffee bag (3 in 1 ) I called for more coffee, but they only brought one more coffee. I had to call again and complain to customer service before they finally brought me another 1 coffee.

And don't even get me started on the water situation. When I asked for water, they only brought one bottle for two adults and a child! I had to call again and let them know that this wasn't enough.

The swimming pool looked nice, but it was dirty. The smell was awful and it made me want to leave right away.

After breakfast, we talked to the manager about all the issues we had. But all he did was give us late check-out for two rooms. It was not a proper solution at all! They should have at least changed our room to a clean one.

We chose this place because the price was affordable with the offer, but it's really annoying when hotels make offers without caring about the service and cleanliness. It felt like I wasted my money because I had such a bad experience with a dirty place and a child with me. And if I needed anything, I had to call multiple times. The same thing happened to my friends who booked 4 dirty rooms and had to deal with rude staff.

And to top it all off, when we were checking out, a staff member asked us to write their name and their colleague's name and thank them for the clean rooms! Can you believe that? (Sunday and Vinod )

Personally, I would rather pay more for a cleaner place and not have to go through this kind of experience.

It's really sad because the hotel itself is beautiful, but if they just paid more attention to the details, it could...