The Island Hotel

Markus Maurer

The GDM Island Hotel is listed as a 5-star luxury resort and offers numerous rooms with private pools. However, our stay was terrible, so we cannot recommend the GDM Island Hotel at all. We wanted to spend a few sunny days in the south in October 2023. We arrived at 12 noon and wanted to check-in. However, the room was not ready until 3 pm. The first room they took us to (No. 668) was located about 400 meters from the reception and restaurant. It was on the ground floor and was terribly cramped and dark. The bathroom was right next to the bed and was only separated from the room by a curtain. Upon request, they offered us an alternative room (No. 999) 500 meters away. This one was much larger but still quite dark and gloomy. Most rooms in the facility have narrow louvre windows in the bathroom that cannot be completely closed, allowing insects to enter freely. The bathroom ventilation in our room didn't work, and the air conditioning was leaking water. The bathroom sink unit had come off the wall. Plastic strips were attached along the bathtub, presumably to cover up mold. There were no power outlets in the bathroom, only one in the hallway, one on one side of the bed, and one behind a chair on the floor. The flat-screen TV was ancient and far away from 4K quality. The loungers on the terrace were covered in leaves and seeds, making them unpleasant and unusable. After two days, we were offered a room with a sea view right above the pool and evening live music, which we declined. The white loungers and daybeds around the pools were unclean and not inviting. To reach the small and narrow sandy beach surrounded by rocks, you had to cross the road. Its use was free for hotel guests, but there were no showers, and reaching the only unsanitary restroom in the pool area required a long walk through the hotel complex. In the restaurant, you had to wait to be seated by a server. The staff at the reception and in the spa were not particularly friendly. There was a small supermarket on the property, but this led some guests to drink from cans by the pool. The hotel was located in the flight path, so you could track the weekly flight schedule. The hotel's surroundings were terrible. Fortunately, we had a rental car and could explore the beautiful places on the island ourselves. We have visited many perfect holiday destinations, but we were completely disappointed by this stay.

Eilis Geib

We had a wonderful week at The Island. Everything was perfect: the friendly service, the amazing food, the pools, the lovely cats, the beach and the weather. The only that could be improved is the amount of shower gel& shampoo in the room. Another point, that is really important to us: we hope that the cats are cared for during the winter, when the hotel is closed, especially the cute kittens. They are so young and can't care for themselves. We would love to greet them next year again. All the best, family geib

Thomas Goldby

A nice hotel, stayed a while back so a little delayed review. Good rooms, facilities onsite, breakfast was the same for all the 8 days we stayed, DJs were mostly good in the afternoon. Overall a nice place to relax and unwind.

Nigel Hall

Starting with positives: Beautiful grounds with many mature trees and shrubs. Breakfast buffet was superb. Location was very nice with a number of very good restaurants and bars close by. However, booking into reception was chaotic. In our room our bedsheets were stained, we found broken glass on the floor and a cockroach. All reported to reception staff. Reception staff told us they were full so couldn't move us to a different room. We paid extra for late checkout for our room, till 6pm but found we were locked out without warning when we returned after lunch. We had spoken to reception the day before to confirm late checkout but had not been told that our room card would be disabled at 12 noon. When we asked reception why we couldn't get into our room they said that the small print on the information sheet they had given to us on arrival explained that we would need to have our room cards reprogrammed However, when we later checked the information sheet only stated that we needed to inform reception in advance - which we had done the day before! There was nothing about the need to reprogram our room cards or that we would be locked out of our room. Very poor customer service.

Nasre Bensouda

The hotel was really nice! The rooms were clean and the food was amazing! The location was ok so there was not so much to do. You need to rent a car or to go by bus for other locations and villages. The service in the kitchen and the bars was beyond amazing! Really nice people always smiling and helping with everything you ask for. Not the same for the reception tbh, they helped us indeed but you always had the feeling that you are disturbing them if you ask… But in total it’s a nice hotel! That I would recommend!