Hestia Hotel Strand

This wasn't our first time at Hestia Hotel Strand, but it was our first time there as more experienced travellers, so now I can finally write a more correct review of this hotel. Hestia is and will still be a hotel we visit every summer. Of course, all inclusive 5 star resorts with huge waterparks and luxury bars are amazing, but we like to take vacations at smaller, cosier hotels too. And Hestia Hotel is perfect for that kind of travel. I'll try not to make this too long, and just say the important things to note, as well as some minuses during our stay. Check in Check in was very fast, there wasn't a large line, probably because we got there between 5 to 6 pm, and most people check in during 3 to 4 pm when the check in starts. The receptionist was very sweet, explained what we wanted to know, and made sure to try and help us as much as possible. Her English was great! In 5 star resorts the staff usually just speak Russian. Unfortunately I don't remember the receptionists name, but she was very sweet. There weren't workers to take our bags, but this isn't some luxury hotel and it's not too hard to take our own bags to our room. There was an elevator, that you could take if you had bags and your room was on top floors. If you had a car, you did have to pay for the parking spot. It was 5 euros per day. Overall check in went very smooth. Room Our room was on the second floor. We stayed in room 216. The room was very simple, but it was good for a 3 star hotel. We were 4, and there was one bed for 2 people, and 1 couch that could be transformed into a bed also for 2 people. But sadly there wasn't any blanket, and pillow for the couch so we had to go to the reception to get them. Still the beds were really comfortable and I had a good sleep. We didn't have a balcony but the view from our room was good. A part of the hotel, and some grass and trees, you could see a small part of the sea. Very small, still nice. :) The bathroom also had nothing special, I do recommend bringing your own shower gel and shampoo as there aren't any in the bathroom. Overall the room was what you would expect for a 3 star hotel, maybe even better. SPA The SPA is small, but very cozy and relaxing. It can get crowded during check in hours. I recommend for you to go at a time from 1 - 2 pm because that's when people check out and check in hours haven't started yet, so there's almost no one in the SPA! The negative thing that we experienced during our trip, was the fact that the massage pool was closed. And the worker didn't even look like he was trying to work as fast as possible, he showed up, worked for an hour and then disappeared for the rest of the day. So the massage pool started filling up with water only on our last day, this was very sad for us because we love the massage pool, and it usually is favoured by kids, so they all are at the massage pool and you can peacefully swim in the other pool without little kids splashing around and yelling. This time they all

All I can say is, thank God we are only staying for one night. This place is the pits: - the room smells like drains - despite the sun setting at about 10:30pm and rising at around 4am, there are no blackout curtains - the curtains they do have are barely big enough to cover the window - one of the big swimming pools is closed - they other ones were so dirty I couldn't bring myself to let my toddler go in them (and to give you some context of my standards, I'm the type of mom who let's him crawl on the floor of an airplane) - there is no gym. Many booking websites, including Tripadvisor say there is a gym, but there is not one. Reception does not seem to think this is an issue and told me I should just go into town and pay extra to use a gym there - they can not understand what a hotel gym is it seems - we have yet to try to breakfast but front the general vibe, I have very low expectations. Overall this hotel is pricing itself at a 4 star when it is more like a 2 star. Avoid.