Hotel Gilgal

Aside from location, late checkout (a bonus given we had a late flight back) and the fact that we got to keep the bigger room for the price of a smaller one when we had to extend our stay by 3 days this was by far the worst hotel we've ever stayed at, and ridiculously expensive given the terrible service received. Rooms weren't being cleaned, sheets or even towels changed or toilet paper replaced for days until I chased both reception and housekeeping. Even when I was - eventually - told someone would be sent to clean the rooms in an hour no one would be in after 2-3-5 hours! When the Bulgarian (I hope I got that right) maid and her male partner did eventually show the sheets which were covered in sand (kids for ya!) would just be left as they were, and so was the bathroom. After making several requests and, subsequently, complaints I did manage to get the sheets changed a couple of times in 2.5 weeks, and - yay - the bathroom sink cleaned a few times. Despite having been very polite and reasonable I was then treated like the most demanding of guests and asked (by the older front desk manager) each morning as I passed reception whether I wanted the rooms cleaned that day. When I inquired why they couldn't just be cleaned every day as they would be in any other hotel he said sure, no problem, following which, you've guessed it, they weren't! When I couldn't be bothered anymore and told the man (in response to whether I wanted the rooms cleaned, that is) that I only wanted the towels changed that day I came back later that evening (having been out all day!) to my same old dirty towels - on the floor, too, as that, I'd been told, was the only way to get them replaced! An absolute joke. That's not to mention when the housekeeping did show it would almost always be at the most inconvenient times such as late afternoon when we'd just come back for a quick rest, shower and change of clothes, and more often than not they'd refuse our polite request to come back in 10-15 minutes. Then again, hardly a major issue given the little time and effort spent on cleaning those rooms!

The Bulgarian maid deserves a separate paragraph not just for rarely having bothered to clean the rooms (when she did, she'd leave used gloves on the bedside table and hair on the new, clean towels) but also behaving inappropriately towards me, my children (she'd stare at us anytime we passed her and her mates who were seemingly hanging out in the lobby 24/7, stop us on the way to and from the rooms to ask odd and/or awkward questions, was condescending towards my 16 y/o daughter etc) and my partner who appears to have experienced the worst case of privacy intrusion of the four of us (mind you, I wasn't there for the latter but I assume that was also her as it fits with the character - either way, easily checked as I remember the date the shocking event took place, 23.07.22) whom she asked whether he and I were married (unbelievable!) and whether my kids were his (even more unbelievable!) before offering him a drink with her and her mates (no comment!!)

The handyman Yuri (I hope I got the name right) who was always nice and helpful and the young Russian speaking front desk manager (whose name, sadly, I do not know) who was a big help when my youngest accidentally spilled boiling water on her fingers on our last (Friday!) evening were the only members of staff who helped make our stay tolerable.

Sinister is probably the best description for this place. Dark, uninviting, strangely quiet. Built or renovated in the last millennium and apparently without much maintenance, the rooms are in horrible aesthetic condition. Scaled bathroom fixtures, dripping faucets, low water pressure. Bad smelling pantry and dusty curtains, equally unappealing olfactorily. Just enough room to get around the bed (unless you open the pantry).
Even though the reservation states that breakfast is included, it is not. There isn't even a restaurant, unless it's on another floor. Honestly, I didn't feel like exploring this place. It doesn't happen often, but I was glad to leave.