Forte Village Resort - Bouganville

The good: The grounds are amazing and well kept. Plenty of activities. The room was clean. The rest: Check-in was very lengthy at a non-peak hour (we arrived at midnight) and the check-in staff seemed uninterested and unbothered. The room was quite dated, with a door that didn’t lock. Very basic room amenities - no robes, faulty lights, poor air conditioning in 35C heat. The hot items from the buffet breakfast were all cold. The fried eggs were like plastic pucks. Tables left uncleaned. Staff lacking and not giving enough attention. All pools appear as accessible in their official app, but only one was really available to us - the others were reserved for different rooms or were under maintenance (in peak summer). General upkeep of facilities was quite poor. All these comments were passed on to a manager who asked us herself about our experience - her reaction was that of immediate dismissal for everything we mentioned. Overall average at best, especially for the price. Would not recommend.

we can tell you that we really liked the complex. There really is a large selection of options for the whole family. The beach is spacious and you can always find a lounger with an umbrella. The bungalow was also renovated and suited us very well. The cleanliness was very good. Unfortunately, there was a lack of F&B. The half board offering was very poor and, in our opinion, at 2-3* level!☹️ There were hardly any things left on the buffet in the morning from around 9:15 a.m. It was refilled and refilled very slowly, if at all. We also complained because there wasn't even any bread left. It was slightly improved for 1 day, but then unfortunately it was the same thing again. There is only 1 chef who cuts every slice of cheese, salami, etc. for 100 guests. Very poorly coordinated! The evening meal is unfortunately not made with much love, but is more of a mass-processing affair. Unusual for Italy, a lot of it is overcooked and tasteless. The 2 included restaurants are usually overcrowded and otherwise completely overwhelmed and the food is at canteen level.

We were excited for this holiday as it cost in the region of £12,000 for 7 days (2 adults and 3 kids) and have enjoyed other parts of Italy so really didn’t have any nerves regarding issues. Upon arrival we were a few hours early so had to wait for the room which I understand but we made our way to the kids pool next to reception, I have to say as a first impression it was horrendous, filth around the pool, generally looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned all summer. At this stage we were filled with dread as to what may be at the next hurdle. We were under the impression that we were getting a refurbed bungalow so was shocked to see a dated cramped room with an even more dated cramped adjoining room attached to the back that would potentially be used separately for a single person/couple. The rooms were attended to daily by great staff but I guess are under pressure to get the beds made etc so can’t really get it to the clean standard you’d expect at this price. I did go to reception to make the staff aware that the room wasn’t satisfactory and was told it would cost me £800 - £1000 per night to upgrade. Gianni the manager who was a pleasant man wasn’t able to help but I do understand he’s not the owner and is probably trying his best to accommodate everybody whilst managing budgets for staffing. We tried most places for food and we thoroughly enjoyed that side of it however the one exception was the evening buffet at Pinneta which honestly i’d struggle to give 1 out of 5, you weren’t even able to pick the food yourself it was awash with staff to hand out food that would be more fitting in a homeless shelter. The majority of the pool areas were never attended to in terms of cleanliness so always felt dirty and was always standing on something in the pool (not dangerous but annoying). By far the most annoying thing was the constant dodging buggy’s and bikes with small children in our party, it felt like I spent 7 days diving into bushes to avoid being run over. I can’t comprehend money being invested in entertainment staff in the breakfast room at 7:30am when this place needs people really keeping on top of its housekeeping. I don’t think anybody cares for a singer at 7:30am. To summarise this trip 1 - Staff are amazing throughout 2 - It really needs a thorough clean 3 - Bring your expectations down if you’ve been to Dubai/Maldives/Greece as this isn’t as close. 4 - Clean, Clean & Clean!!! 5 - Don’t expect paradise and you’ll do ok!