Hi All
I got back from HVGB yesterday and thought I would post my review of the resort, especially after reading so many horror reviews on here and trip advisor made me almost cancel!
Flight: We flew with First Choice in their Star Class Premier Cabin and it was the best flight I have ever been on. The leg room and seat width was fantastic, you could almost curl up in your seat should you wish to take a nap. The meals were the best quality I have ever had on a plane and the staff were very courteous and served many complimentary drinks at your request. The flight itself was very smooth, if not a little boring, however, there were plenty of entertainment channels and recent movies to watch, along with games to play if thats what you wanted to do.
I was expecting some run down room with leaky ceilings and blocked toilet however was pleasently surprised. We stayed in the Royal Suites part of the resort and our room was great (65-2) It had a large bed, plenty of drawer and wardrobe space and a powerful shower, along with a terrace and hammock and was close to all the facilities of the resort. The VIP pool was a godsend, it was a quiet two weeks whilst we were there and we had no trouble in getting beds and an umberella. The pool bar was fab, and the barman, Miguel, is a legend! He kept the drinks coming all day every day and made a mean rum punch. The pool was clean and well maintained throughout the day, I would say the only draw back of the pool area was that for a large part of the holiday the jacuzzi seemed to be out of action.
We never used any of the other pools, but we did wander across to the wave pool one of the days just to see what it was like and walked around the activities pool everytime we went to eat, both were busy but had available beds at all times, there was no german towel antics reserving beds the night before or early morning either!
The food was good, and despite a few bowel problems we didn't really suffer badly with any D&V whilst we were there. There was a large choice in the buffet resturant at all meal times and a day didn't pass when we couldn't find something we liked, and it was always nice too! The waiter service for drinks etc was speedy and the tables were re laid quickly.
We went to 3 of the 4 ala carte resturants with the Mexican being our favourite, the service was quick, and the waiters had a ball! The food was amazing too, I never managed to finish a single meal there, the serving sizes were very generous. Which was unlike the Italian. They didn't have enough menu's so were waiting around for people to finish using theirs before we could even look at what we wanted then the waiters were slow in taking the order, and then it wasn't worth the wait! The portions were tiny and it didn't taste so great, walked out feeling like I hadn't even eaten and we both had dodgy tums the day after. The Oriental resturant was very nice, it was the nicest in respect of decor etc. Service was promt and the food was great.
The entertainment was a bit Butlins esq, although the kids seemed to enjoy it. My ears felt like they were bleeding a bit listening to Steve Welsh up in the Aquannox bar at times, and despite him being 'advertised' as someone who never did the same set twice he sung the same song every bloody time we were in there!
We never watched any of the shows on an evening so couldn't comment.
There always seemed to be activities taking place, we didn't join in as we were just having a total relaxation holiday but if you wanted to, you wouldn't struggle to find something to do. I'm glad we were VIPs though as I wouldn't have wanted to spend my days round the activities pool as the music was quite loud at times and always something going on, whilst I appreciate that was what it was for, it wouldn't have been good if you just wanted a bit of piece and quiet.
The staff were all helpful, the reps were great and sorted any problems you may have had quickly.
The beach was lovely too, the only problem being the winds picking up in an afternoon and the sand blasting against you, was quite sore!
We booked our excursions through the reps and enjoyed every minute of them. We went on the Outback Safari which was very good, although I would recommend taking travel sickness pills if you don't travel well as the 'roads' are very bumpy! We also went to Ocean World and swam with the dolphins which was amazing!
Weather was fab whilst we were there most of the time, It rained 3 times for very short peroids of time and then on our last full day there we had storms and lots of rain and power cuts, but the rain didn't seem to be causing problems, didn't see people falling all over and there was no sewerage or things like that..... Power cuts were a bit rubbish but they didn't last for too long.
The worst thing was the mosquitos! I must have had desirable skin as I got bitten about 50 times despite wearing spray, patches, and having a mossie lamp thing in our room :-( Although my boyfriend didn't get bitten once so not everyone is the same.
Overall, had a great time, would recommend it, and would also go back!
Probably missed loads off, so happy to answer questions if anyone has them!
Jenny