Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri

This hotel feels more like a theme park or mall than a relaxing five-star resort. While we didn’t enjoy the impersonal interior design, we appreciated the spacious bathrooms, gardens, and the proximity to the beach and surf shop. The spa and its staff were excellent and the only true escape from constant noise.
Unfortunately, noise was a major issue: we heard traffic and other guests from our room, and mealtimes were chaotic with loud children and frantic staff. The large dining space lacked sound insulation, and during the holidays, both the buffet and reception felt understaffed and overwhelmed.
Communication and pricing transparency need improvement. We were repeatedly billed for water without clear pricing, and it took days to find someone willing to serve tap water. Parking is also quite expensive.
On the plus side, the buffet food was excellent, especially the fresh fish and salads. Housekeeping was inconsistent; we found stained sheets and a dead bug on a lamp.
With better sound insulation, clearer communication, more staff, and quieter dining options, this hotel could truly become the relaxing oasis it aims to be.

Misleading Room Photos of Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri, 5 star hotel, published via booking.com

I recently stayed at Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri, a 5-star hotel in Chiclana (Cádiz, Spain), booked through Booking.com. The room I received did not match the photos or description shown at the time of booking. The published image clearly portrayed a higher category room, which created misleading expectations and led to disappointment.

When I raised the issue, hotel management refused accountability, stating that the misleading photo was the responsibility of Booking.com. No compensation or resolution was offered.

I have filed a formal complaint with the Spanish consumer authorities at the hotel in Chiclana, and I will also be submitting a complaint directly to Booking.com. For a 5-star establishment, this experience was far below standard. Travelers should be cautious and verify room categories and photos carefully when booking this hotel.

We were planning our wedding at Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri for May 2025 and had high expectations due to its reputation as a 5-star luxury venue. Unfortunately, our experience was marked by delays, errors, and a lack of professionalism. Delays in Contract Delivery: It took over five months to receive the contracts for the wedding and guest accommodations, despite multiple visits to the hotel in June, July, and September 2024. Errors in the Contracts: The contracts contained numerous mistakes, including miscalculations of costs, incorrect guest numbers, and room reservations for only two nights instead of the requested multiple nights. Our wedding suite was listed as a "Deluxe Double Room" instead of the repeatedly requested suite with a sea view. Lack of Transparency: Despite repeated inquiries, we were told to "trust the process" and that the issues would be resolved. Unfortunately, we did not see concrete results. Cancellation Suggestion: On December 12, 2024, just five months before our wedding, the hotel suggested we look for another venue. The communication was handled directly by a senior staff member, the Sales Manager (Jefe de Ventas), who we felt was unable to provide clear solutions. When we escalated the situation and sought to involve a higher authority, we were contacted by the Area Director of Barceló Hotels Cádiz, who offered the same resolution as the Sales Manager, with the addition of a complimentary stay in the repeatedly requested suite. We felt that this offer did not adequately address the financial and emotional challenges we experienced. At that point, we decided to terminate further discussions as we no longer felt taken seriously as customers, and this further eroded our trust in the process. This experience has been incredibly frustrating and stressful, especially given the hotel's reputation. While we understand challenges can arise, we expected much more professionalism and clearer communication from a venue of this caliber. We hope this feedback encourages the hotel to improve its services, communication, and respect for clients, especially those planning such an important event. the bride and groom

What a 5 star disappointment!

Upon arrival, you're greeting by a woefully small and understaffed reception desk. The check in receptionist, Fran, was awful. There was no engagement whatsoever. He simply went through the motions, uninterested. Perhaps a language barrier (unacceptable in an international resort), perhaps homophobia towards myself and my husband, most likely both. When we asked if we could upgrade, we were told we could... but later found he'd charged upwards of almost €100 more than had we simply booked it online!

The hotel is huge but, instead of asking one of the bellboys around (who were all lovely) to help us, we were passed a map and left to find the room ourselves.

When we got there, after a 15 minute wait while it was prepared, we discovered (despite him knowing we were a couple) that the beds had been arranged as two singles. We called down, and within minutes a housekeeper (who was lovely) was there to change it.

Meanwhile my husband went downstairs to query the upgrade rate. Unfortunately, he was dealt with by Fran. He was told that we could book it at the lower rate, but first would have to cancel our existing booking with no refund as a penalty. As If!

The resort advertises many bars and restaurants (the reason we booked) but these open sporadically on various days of the week. Despite the fact we stayed on a Saturday, most were closed.

The restaurant we did find had excellent food and very pleasant service. Over lunch we spoke to a pleasant young man and he said he would pass our disappointments to a manager.

After lunch we retired to some sun loungers (undressed and to be made up yourself, not 5 star) and used their app to order our drinks. After 45 minutes my husband called the front desk to advise we were still waiting, they advised they would call the bar. After 1hr 30m we left, gave up, and used the mini bar in our room.

During this time, the on duty "manager" called. They agreed that the upgrade fiasco (and Fran's attitude) were not acceptable, and offered to book us a table with complimentary bottle of wine in the restaurant that evening by means of an apology.

Later that evening, we get to the restaurant, which is a buffet costing €80 for two. While the choice was varied, the space was crammed with screaming children, and people on half board holidays eating everything, including the tables. We had no reservation made, and no wine.

Our lovely waitress informed us there was an a la carte restaurant (one) open across from the buffet. We opted to dine here instead.

Service was good but one waiter couldn't speak English, and this was causing a problem not just to ourselves but to multiple tables. Again, this is an international 5 star resort.

After dinner, we wandered back inside to their piano bar. The *one* staff member they had behind the bar was charming, but impossibly overworked and service was slow. The area was filled with rowdy families and their feral children climbing, crawling, and running everywhere. It was awful.

Added to this, the pianist was either tone deaf or drunk. He played all the right notes, but in all the wrong order. He was so bad, in fact, he made the piano sound like it needed tuning.

We fled down to the "Sunset Bar," hidden from the main hotel, but this closed at 11.

Defeated, we went to bed.

A sheet awaited me. A sheet.

Breakfast was awful, manic, and like a 2 star hotel.

At check out we were not asked how our stay was, how we slept, nothing.

The bill was thrown at my husband.

We emailed Barcello, they never responded.

Management is needed on the floor, and staff training/replacement on reception is a must.

Never, ever again.

Barcelo: Barcel-NO! Royal Hideaway: Sancti Petri is a hybrid operation of a Convention Centre and Hotel and the Meeting Rooms for the Convention Centre are located in the central core of the hotel. The effect is that the hotel feels that it is half-closed all of the time. Further, the bars that service the Convention Centre are listed as part of the facilities for the hotel but they never open because the Convention Centre is closed. The Buffet Restaurant is also located in the central area and if you wished to have a pre-dinner chat and a drink, the choice is yomp down a hill to a bar near the beach (and then an uphill return for dinner) or descend down about 30 steps to the Dublin Bay Pub. The Dublin Bay Pub is a windowless room with MTV blaring from various televisions plus four lanes of American Bowl in the middle of the Pub? The noise is not exactly conducive with a quiet chat and a drink before dinner. Neither option was attractive and the other bars were closed. The same options apply after dinner of course. On the night that we arrived (2nd September 2024) I went to Reception to ask why everything appeared closed and to enquire if there was any other option to go for a chat and a drink. I was told that they could call a taxi to take us into town. We went back to the room and looked in the mini-bar and found a couple of beers, (no wine - in Spain?) but there was a small bottle of champagne. I looked around but the only available glasses were bathroom glasses. The champagne remained uncorked. We went out and purchased a bottle of wine locally only to return and find that the room didn’t have a corkscrew (in Spain?). We gave up. The room was small but adequate; the only real issue was the very limited wardrobe space. I can only assume that the Hotel was designed with the Convention Centre in mind with wardrobe space for delegates on short stays. Tea making facilities were provided but only one teabag (I’m not a fan of herbal infusions)? So, we tossed a coin to see who had the morning cuppa. Initially, I lost until it was discovered that the only milk was powdered. I haven’t seen powdered milk in a hotel room since the 1980’s. There were numerous other issues, but in summary, the holiday was booked on the strength of the hotel claiming to be 5-star under a decent brand name; Barcelo. The reality is that the holiday fell well short of our expectations. It was indeed pretty poor and certainly not 5-star. In future, Barcelo: Barcel-NO!