We stayed at Sueno Hotels Deluxe Belek for seven nights in October to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. Having previously enjoyed outstanding stays at Voyage and Cornelia Diamond, we arrived with high expectations. Unfortunately, repeated room-maintenance problems, inconsistent food and cleanliness, and the handling of our Spa complaint left us disappointed.
Room condition and repeated moves
Our original Deluxe Sea View room was dated and poorly maintained. There was damaged furniture, a broken fridge door, an unpleasant bathroom smell and a bathroom mirror light that did not work. This was not the start we expected for a special anniversary holiday.
Guest Relations arranged an alternative sea-view room, which had no bathroom odour and initially seemed better. However, we then discovered a misaligned bathroom drawer, stiff and loose/misaligned taps, a shower pull-cord fitting coming away from the ceiling, and a light-switch panel that came loose when pressed. The beds and sofa bed also needed preparing, and we were left waiting when we wanted to go to sleep. The room was initially supplied for two guests despite there being three of us.
The air conditioning was another concern. Despite setting it to 19°C, the room remained around 25°C overnight, with a loud fan-like noise and humid airflow. We were later told that the hotel-wide system was operating in fan mode because the summer season had ended. Whatever the reason, we could not cool the room properly, which affected our comfort and sleep.
After further complaints, the hotel upgraded us to a sea-view suite with a balcony and offered a complimentary à-la-carte dinner with anniversary table decoration. We appreciated those gestures and want to acknowledge them.
Unfortunately, even the suite had maintenance issues: dislodged or poorly finished air-conditioning vents, visible insulation protruding around a vent, a non-working hand-held shower in the smaller bathroom and a misaligned drawer. One air-conditioning unit also needed a technical visit, although that particular fault was repaired.
By that stage, we did not want another move or more maintenance interruptions. We simply wanted to enjoy the remaining holiday, so we asked the hotel to record the outstanding issues and inspect the suite properly after our departure.
Food and cleanliness
We enjoyed our first buffet dinner: the food was tasty and there was a good selection. After several visits, however, the offering felt repetitive and quickly became uninteresting.
Sueno Square was particularly disappointing. There was plenty of choice, but much of the food was only lukewarm unless a fresh batch had just been put out. The kebab/döner stand was average, and service often felt disengaged. Tables were not consistently cleared and cleaned promptly.
The gym had a reasonable range of equipment, but it felt tired and the cleanliness was below the standard we expected.
Spa facilities and complaint handling
My wife and I had Spa Plus access included with our massage booking, while our daughter paid separately for access on the first visit.
Several facilities were unavailable or not working. The Jacuzzi jets in the hot pool did not operate, and a technician told us the pumps were out of order. A sauna room and a hot-water relaxation bed were also unavailable. In the steam room, a ceiling ventilation cover was partially hanging down.
We reported these problems. When we returned on Monday, work had been carried out in the steam room, but several other facilities were still unavailable. Facilities offered as part of a paid Spa experience should be working, or guests should be clearly informed of the limitations before booking.
The subsequent handling of compensation was the most frustrating part. Following our complaint, Guest Relations contacted us on 18 October and asked us to sign compensation paperwork. I signed the form on 19 October; it stated “free spa massage.”
No one explained how this would be redeemed or that it was supposedly intended only for our daughter. The form did not identify a guest or state that restriction. We understood it would be applied against our Spa booking, but no credit appeared on the bill.
For clarity, the final €452 Spa charge was four massages at €120 each, less the original 10% booking discount, making €432, plus €20 for our daughter’s first Spa visit. We were not disputing that calculation. Our concern was that this was the original booking arrangement and did not show any separate credit for the later written “free spa massage” compensation.
The hotel subsequently listed the room upgrade, complimentary dinner and original Spa offers as benefits already provided, and asked us to sign a revised compensation form cancelling the earlier forms. We declined because it did not resolve our concern about the original written offer. We paid the bill and left without that issue being satisfactorily explained or resolved.
Overall
Some individual members of Guest Relations were polite and listened carefully, and we appreciated the suite upgrade and complimentary dinner. However, those gestures did not remove the repeated disruption or resolve the later Spa complaint.
Our disappointment was not about expecting perfection or receiving more complimentary extras. It was about basic room maintenance, cleanliness, comfortable sleeping conditions, working facilities and clear communication.
For us, Sueno did not deliver the consistent five-star experience we expected for our anniversary. Compared with our experiences at Voyage and Cornelia Diamond, the maintenance, food consistency and service fell noticeably short. Based on this stay, we would not choose to return.
