Marina Elite Resort — Hotel in Mogán

I have stayed in hundreds of hotels, this is the only one that I will never return to.

Arrival: The issues started as soon as we got of the TUI transfer coach. The hotel doesn't have anywhere to unload so we were dumped on a main road outside, at 2am, without any light and plenty of trip hazards and curbs. No TUI rep in sight.

Rooms: Our first allocated room was filthy. The drains in the bathroom smelled horrific and there was a very unpleasant smell coming from the wardrobes in the bedroom which was unbearable. We moved rooms the next day along with lots of other guests who had similar problems.

New room was (again) filthy. Dead cockroach, toilet was disgusting with the toilet seat and flush broken. The toilet seat had detached from the toilet so using it was tricky. This was reported to reception twice using their WhatsApp service and was still not fixed prior to our departure a week later.

Room cleaning was non existent with dirty towels. The hotel provided shower gel ran out and wasnt refilled.

The air conditioning is useless. Reported to reception and again, no action taken. When I complained I was told I could have a fan for the room but it would cost be €28 euros!

Some electric light switches didn't work, minor problem I know but if there is a light switch, it should work.

General hotel: The layout of the hotel is ridiculous. Spread out over a huge area with guest services in hard to reach areas.

The lifts are a joke. If you, or any of your party, have mobility issues then look elsewhere. The lifts are tiny (hardly room for a pushchair) and only take two people at a time before warning that it's over weight. Add a good 10-15 minutes on to your journey around the hotel at busy mealtimes because of this.

General cleanliness of the hotel is unacceptable. There is rubbish, power tools, empty food crates and even guests blood (pool accident) just left. This is hazardous.

There was consistent smell of marijuana around parts of the hotel which, other guests suggested, was staff smoking.

Bars only open when they have staff available and not the times they advertise. Some popular drinks (vodka) were allowed to run out although the beer was pretty decent.

Food: The food is good with a bar inside the restaurant. Good selection if not sometimes a little bland and cold, but compared to some all inclusive hotels, meal times are good.

During our visit one guest found glass in her food and had already eaten some of it. There was concern from her husband when she was passing blood over night and a hospital visit was on the cards.

Pool: There are 2 pools, both very small with not enough umbrellas. Cleanliness is an issue. One guest cut her foot in the pool and left a trail of blood back to her lounger. Several days later and this blood had not been cleaned up! This is a serious health and safety risk.

Staff: The most disappointing problem with the hotel is the staff. Apart from a few, all the staff are rude. The staff levels are too low and according to the rep, the hotel struggles to hire staff due to the reputation of the previous owners.

It's a €15 euros deposit to rent a pool towel. I changed mine everyday for a fresh one. When I returned the towel for a deposit refund I was accused of stealing a towel from someone else as their computer didn't show that I had paid a deposit. Clearly, the person who took my deposit didn't key the details into their system but the staff assumed, and then loudly and publicly accused me of, stealing the towel and trying to fraudulently obtain €15 euros!

Good: The hotel reception area and main dining areas are clean, fresh and tidy.

Locations isnt great but it's only a 10 minutes walk around the coast to the beautiful resort of Alfi. Next to sea.

Conclusion This is never a 3 star hotel and I am sure other people wouldn't have had the same experiences as us, but I would genuinely recommend no one visits this hotel until TUI completes their takeover of this hotel. The TUI rep was handing out compensation vouchers to complaining guests.

Do yourself a favour,...

One of the maids had stolen money from another couple, sent them to the police station once they raised the complaint. When they did this, they mentioned to us how apparently cameras have been wiped, etc etc which made us feel even more unsafe. whilst they were gone, we saw someone that worked at reception try the door and knock on to see if anyone was in. he then proceeded to stand and watch the door for approximately 20 minutes before a maid went in. once they came back, they lifted up the sheet and the money was placed there minus €80. the couple went down to reception to thank the manager for sorting it out and said they don’t want to take it any further. The manager then said that the couple were playing with fire, threatening them.

one night We were sat on our balcony which faced over the other couples apartment. we heard a big bang and a member of the couple rang me to say someone’s just broke into their room and her partner had slammed the door shut. They came out of their room and saw a black audi parked on the road, it sounded as if they had just shut the doors and it had the interior lights on. it was clear that the bang was them forcing the door shut on this person trying to get in. this lead us to be absolutely petrified as the manager had threatened them earlier that day and now this had happened. we soon discovered that our lock unlocks itself if a keycard is used on the outside so it’s very pointless.

Came the next night, we saw multiple rats roaming around, luckily we were high up so never saw any in our room but multiple round the gym, restaurant and around the apartments. This was reported to the manager and his response was that it was mickey mouse on holiday. We also heard more reports of people trying doorhandles that night and others were talking about a blacked out audi driving around on the road that splits up the complex.

In the room there was mould all over the shower, bedding and towels which were never changed, and rubbish just left in the bin which apparently were meant to be changed daily. The floor was always filthy, and if they did sweep they’d brush it all out onto the balcony or outside the front door. This is probably what attracted the mice/rats! I did request fresh bedding on the fourth day after the maids had been at reception as I was sick on the second day, which meant some was on the skirt of the bedding. It said on the leaflet handed to us bedding would be changed every four days, hence why i left it to this point to ask. This didn’t happen, and I even messaged the hotel stating this and they simply ignored.

Speaking of messaging them, they were rude in most responses which resembled their actual in person behaviour.

The food I will not complain about as going into an all inclusive buffet, I don’t have my hopes up as I know it’s not a luxury 5* michelin restaurant. However, when a “themed restaurant” is advertised for us to dine at twice a week isn’t actually open, same goes with the third bar being the beach bar due to a cockroach infestation, there is definitely a valid reason behind a complaint there. We weren’t notified about this being closed, which is quite misleading. It also states “evening entertainment”, fair enough it doesn’t say it’s on every night, however you expect it to be when it doesn’t say anything about no entertainment on a Monday or a Tuesday. There was table tennis, but with no ball? When I asked reception about a luggage store, we were told there wasn’t one we have to leave them in reception? Safes which were reportedly broken into? And “pool towels” - we got given two medium towels and two small towels, neither of which would’ve suited an adult for a pool towel.

Lifts were always broken, very inaccessible hotel yet describes good fit for families, gym includes lots of broken/missing equipment. Branded alcohol displayed on pictures, fair enough use the cheap stuff but don’t mislead people. No branded soft drinks either?

location is good, 10 min walk to anfi beach, 3 minutes on the bus...

Stayed for 10 nights all inclusive with partner and 2 kids (9 and 12).

Check in was fast, since we arrived early hours of the morning. Although during the day I saw queues going out the doors...

Staff were pleasant enough.

Room was good, aircon cold. Beds a little hard (but I like that). Some ants on the balcony, told reception and they sent a cleaner within 10 mins and sprayed them. Left the spray for us to use, but didn't see many after that. No cockroaches seen at all, so that's a plus! Safe was 2 euros per day.

There are 2 restaurants, main restaurant on floor 7 and pool side bar. The main restaurant was absolute chaos, very crowded and everyone shouting for some reason. Food was hit and miss, sometimes cold sometimes edible. The poolside restaurant was always quiet (im guessing because 80% of the rooms would have to walk the thousand steps and 4 lifts to get there, kept them away). Food was fresher and hotter. Worth the journey.

Beer I didn't like at all and im not fussy with beer. Bar staff let me put some tropical cans in their fridge and they served me when I asked. Spirits were acceptable.

The soft drinks and coffee machine was always infested with wasps, literally crawling up the nozzles. So when I wanted one I'd ask the bar to use their machine. Many, many wasps hovering around the pool, bins and discarded drinks. They need more frequent cleaning in communal areas. (Cleaners for the room did a great job).

The pool next to the eating area was the more fun pool, floats of all sizes were allowed, except when one particular life guard was on he would complain. The lower level pool no floats at all so didn't even go there. Vibe around the pool not great, they played music sometimes, but very quietly so you can't here it. We used a Bluetooth speaker and no one complained. We went swimming at 2am, no one stopped us or moaned.

There is a beach bar on lowest level, walked in 1 night and said to the wife "its like a morgue in here" and we left.

Alot of Spanish guests here, they make it clear that they dont like tourists, staring, muttering, deliberately standing in your way and they like to jump the queue when waiting for a taxi...

The "beach" directly outside the hotel is just rocks no sand, but Anti beach is a 10 minute walk, and is very nice, soft clean sand and clear waters. Quite a few good restaurants and bars there. Other than Anfi you need a taxi to get anywhere else, reception call them for you.

Many steps and lifts to get anywhere with the hotel, only an issue for prams and elderly or disabled.

Gym very well equipped with quality machines (I was too lazy to use it).

Pool table that has seen better days but gets the job done. You can hire ping ping bats and balls for a 5 euro refundable deposit.

The 1 night we stayed in the entertainment was a circus show. All cramped in a small area with many Spanish being louder than the performance.

Little supermarket on floor 6, cheap prices sells everything you need.

Would I return? No.

Although we enjoyed the holiday overall, most of our positive memories were when we was away from the place.

Value for money? YES. You do get what you pay for. For the price we paid, it was definitely satisfactory. (this was the cheapest jet2 holiday for 10 nights all inclusive in July).

To summarise: If you're like us and intend to go out most days and night, treat the hotel like a good base camp, breakfast fine, out all day, attempt the dinner and then going out in evening again then its great.

If you are a stay on site everyday kind of travelers then avoid.

To the management: play some louder music around the upper level pool area. We are on holiday and need some vibes.

Cleaning around poolside, hallways and drinks machines needs to improve drastically. Staff were walking by the spillages with 50 wasps all over it.

Compliments for the bbq and Mexican themed dinner, much better quality of food. Kitchen Staff and room cleaners do a good job. Reception staff always friendly...