Wonderful trip to GP Colonial

[Anne]

Thank you Jan Bates       Home today to the UK after 10 beautiful days at Grand Palladium Colonial. So our honest review…
Firstly, after your long journey be prepared for the airport..took 2 hours to get through. Seems little organisation, bottle nosed two flights with only a handful of passport checks open. And they are strict…dogs, suitcase checks and x-rays even after bag checks. On the way home was quick and easy. If its your first time like us the upstairs duty free area is more swanky and spacious.

So to the hotel…our first time abroad for about 10years. We flew with Tui, transfere included which was seamless once through the airport. Check in, tried to sell us room upgrade, tiring after such a long day. Now,we use our room to sleep and change, the deluxe rooms where more than adequate, complimentary shower shampoo and conditioner, clean towels, clean comfy bed. We were cold on our first night, just one cotton sheet but I asked room service for a blanket and hairdryer ( google translate note for our room service lady ) and these were there the next day. If we needed anything I just left her a note with daily tip $3. Esther was our only regular tipee, she was our only regular member of staff we saw, and we left her our remainder dollars and pasos when we left.

So we were in block 7, took us a couple of days to get orientated but we walked everywhere, lovely pathways with lots to look at, buggies where plentiful but we chose the walkways. The gardens are tended always, and the wildlife is spectacular. The views from most rooms I imagine is of trees, the birds sing early and are spectacular, we had native wild birds which included parrots and toucans. Breathtaking. Iguanas, ringtail coati”s and agouti, are all around, the coati’s will rummage your bags if they are left unattended and definitely try to join you at the buffets.

So food and drink…all plentiful. We used two resteraunts, the Thai and the show Japanese, both really good. We used room service twice, again food was good. Booking resteraunts was simple in the lobby with the consiage. We chose to eat at the buffets, simply because we wanted to totally relax with no time frames for getting ready and out. The buffets both had a wide selection of food for breakfast lunch and dinner, they didn’t really change but I never ate the same meal twice. The fruits were fresh and tasty, service good for drinks and refills. We left $2 after most meals if we’d remembered to take some cash out weather we tipped or not didn’t effect the quality of service, all the staff were friendly and happy, and please and thank you was always rewarded with a genuine smile from them. Its hot, they never stop working or ever looked fed up with you. Did I get a iffy tummy? Yes! But not due to how food was cooked or prepared, simply because at home I don’t use oils and fats in my cooking or drink sugary drinks…on holiday the food is cooked differently and the cocktails have high fruit juice concentrates.

The pools were super clean, plenty of loungers, towels provided. Lots of people put out their towels early…and spend little time on them, as everywhere, but we never struggled around the pools or on the beach to find loungers. The sea is beautiful, a little shingly and rocky in places…use common sense. We took shoes after reading reviews, but never wore them. We holiday in the UK and our beaches are hardly stone/shell free!

We had a fabulous holiday, did not want to come home. We are grateful for our time away in such a beautiful climate with outstanding natural beauty.

We have had a perfect holiday, very much needed, some reviews we had read before we left made us a little anxious. The weather is tropical, yep we had rain, we had cloud but the temperatures were idyllic, we are relaxed and refreshed, and will be back.

[Author]

Posts