All may not be what it seems from the travel broch
Most patrons, during our stay, appeared to be content to spend their days by the hotel pool, or possibly to partake in the occasional organised outing by the package holiday company. That, quite naturally, is their privilege, but we checked prices locally in Hisoranu for these very same excursions and were astonished to be quoted up to 1/3 of what 'Jewel in the Crown’, for example, were asking.
Furthermore, when we were asked to settle our bill for the additional £3 per day per room air-conditioning (which automatically turned itself off each time we left our rooms), the exchange rate offered for sterling traveller’s cheques was extortionate.
Although any issues that we had were usually attended to promptly enough by the management, our own perception of the couple who own the hotel was that they were generally quite surly and uncommunicative.
Upon our arrival, we had most of our luggage carried by staff to our rooms at the far end of the premises. Upon our departure, the same staff merely leant against the poolside bar and watched us as we each dragged a large suitcase back to Reception (even our struggling 9-year old daughter was totally ignored). On our final day, we had to be up at 6-00am in order to pack for a 7-30am departure. At 5-02 am, the power went off – only to come back on at 7-23am. We were forced to pack in total darkness. No-one at all came to our rooms to explain or to assist us and our phone calls to Reception were consistently ignored. As we walked out to our transit bus, the owner’s wife appeared to have been aware of our departure, as she was stood by the door. No apologies were offered to us, indeed, not a word was said by her – not even Farewell!
For those of you on a budget and not deliberately seeking total isolation from civilisation (and most of us are in that category), far better value is available elsewhere. Try, for example, the much smaller ‘Friendly Hotel’.
Unique Quality: Other reviews about this hotel are generally accurate enough in what they say, but these, of course, are based merely on personal perceptions and experiences.
The main redeeming feature of the Celay is the large size of its pool, but this is offset by other factors which might suggest that there is, for many, much better value for money locally available elsewhere. Yes, the Celay certainly is clean and tidy, with rooms being serviced every day, but for most guests the hotel had a virtual monopoly on where it is possible to eat and drink and it is well aware of this fact. Poolside bar and hotel restaurant prices were, we discovered, far higher than anywhere else in the area, albeit admittedly still slightly cheaper than in the UK.
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Celay Hotel from Micro-lite
