Porto Bello Beach

Cleanliness: Repeatedly praised for being "spotlessly clean," "beautiful," and "immaculate," with daily room cleaning and well-maintained facilities .

After reading so many good reviews we came away slightly disappointed with Porto Bello Beach. Aesthetically the hotel was stunning, one of the nicest we have stayed in. Spotless throughout, apart from the stairwells in the room blocks which needed a good sweep and clean. Housekeeping did a great job in our room every day. The pool areas were clean, no sun bed wars and good loungers. The room was lovely, nice and spacious, with beautiful views and a great shower. The air con was the best we've had and kept the room lovely and cool. We arrived at 11.30pm and had to navigate finding the room in the pitch black. With children, suitcases and no lifts. We saw guests day and night being taken by golf buggy, but nobody even showed us where to go. Water and sandwiches had been left in the room for us though, which was appreciated. The food in the main restaurant was fantastic! A huge choice, different nearly ever day, clean and we only had to queue to get in once. The staff in here are an absolute credit to the hotel. They work so hard, are polite, kind and always have a smile on their faces. We never saw a dirty table or spillage the whole time we were there. I think staff in other areas of the hotel could really learn from them. We also enjoyed the Greek and Mediterranean restaurant, but found the Italian underwhelming and the staff were a little abrupt. What lets the hotel down is the bar down by the beach. It was pretty much always empty, which says a lot. There was no atmosphere, the lunchtime snack bar was really poor in terms of choice and quality. Which seemed odd, considering it shared the kitchen with the Mediterranean restaurant. We always tend to use these at lunch, as we don't feel hungry enough for a full meal. However, we ended up having to use the main restaurant more than we wanted. The staff were incredibly rude in here. I ordered toasties for myself and daughter. The lady looked at me like something she had stepped in, didn't even acknowledge me and just turned away. When the food was finally ready she just slung them on the counter, again not looking at me. Another woman also shouted at me when I picked up a wrapped coffee stirrer instead of a straw! The female bar staff at the pool were almost as unfriendly. Reception were not much better. Everything seemed like an inconvenience. The cleaners hadn't left water in our room. We were about to get on a bus, so I asked if there was a spare small bottle they could provide. A receptionist shouted at me saying ask the housekeeping, we don't have that here. I am a receptionist myself, that type of attitude is not acceptable. Another man just seemed to be slumped over the end of the desk on his phone every day, which looked really unprofessional. Cocktails were strong and drink choices were good. If only you could one! The queues were ridiculous, especially in the lobby bar in the evening, not great when there is no air con in that area. The biggest let down for us was the en