Hotel Flamingo Resort in Santa Margherita

The breakfast was extremely basic and repetitive — in a 4-star hotel, having the exact same breakfast every day for 10 days is unacceptable. There was no variety of fruit at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The dinner options were Good but had the most basic salad bar I’ve seen and no proper side dishes to accompany the second main courses.

At reception, we were given no information upon arrival about the hotel facilities, which was unhelpful.

On one occasion, we were offered a complimentary lunch, but to our shock, it included old chicken that seemed like leftovers tossed into a salad — it was inedible. Even the scrambled eggs at breakfast were unappetizing, sometimes green in the middle.

To be honest, there were not many other aspects we particularly liked. We did appreciate that the kids’ club was free of charge and that some poolside games were organized, though the activities were rather basic. I don’t recommend this hotel and I would not come back here.

Very Disappointing Stay

From the moment we arrived, the experience was far below expectations. We had specifically booked a room with a double bed, but were given two single beds instead. Unfortunately, that was just the start of a series of issues.

The air conditioning barely worked, making it extremely difficult to sleep comfortably. The hotel manager was unhelpful and quite arrogant, and we had an unpleasant interaction with him. The general attitude at the reception was unwelcoming, and communication was a challenge — even basic English was barely understood during breakfast service.

Breakfast itself was a major letdown: nothing Italian, nothing fresh, and certainly nothing special. At 9:50 AM, I asked for eggs since there were none left, and was told (in poor English) that it was nearly 10:00, so breakfast was finished. For a hotel that claims to be 4-star, this level of service is simply unacceptable. The staff member was rude, and sadly, this reflected the overall atmosphere of the hotel.

The beach was covered in rocks, and basic towels had to be rented for €3 each. Bottled water — priced at €0.69 in stores — was sold for €3.50. Not even a welcome bottle was provided upon arrival. As for dinner, it was priced at €45 per person, per day — quite excessive for what was offered.

The hotel is also very remote. Using public transport (a combination of train and bus), it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the property from the airport. A taxi or Uber would cost around €120 one way, which is hardly practical.

Lastly, the pool was nothing like the photos shown online — it was much smaller and far less appealing in person.

This hotel does not live up to its 4-star rating. In all honesty, I wouldn’t even rate it two stars.

This was my second time at this hotel. Two years ago it was quite nice with the exception of breakfast which still hasn’t changed. First of all, I have traveled all over the world. I get that this is isolated, I’m ok with that although I would have liked to have had the chance to try some restaurants and done some shopping. Oh well.

So my issues ranged from no hot water for two out of the six days. And I’m attending a conference as a scientific professional who has to give a talk and interact with other scientists. Then there were the massive number of small flies in my room. I repeatedly tried to kill them. I repeatedly complained. For two days they never cleaned up the pile of them behind one of the curtains. One day they just left me a can of bug spray - which if I tried to kill the ones in the bathroom which has a very high ceiling- the bug worst just fell back firm on me. The bugs were everywhere. It was DISGUSTING. I woke up one morning with dead bugs on my toothbrush and all around the sink!!

The couch in my room was stained and old. I put my luggage on it because there’s no way I would ever sit on it. In addition to the two no hot water days, one of the days I had no AC making the bugs and bug spray issues even worse.

Then there’s the breakfast. Two coffee machines that half the time were broken or had an issue. The lines every morning were crazy long. Most days it took 20 or more mins to get a cappachino- absolutely ridiculous. The scrambled eggs were completely inedible. Under cooked Gloopy slop. As others also noted / the cheese and charcuterie trays were literally empty every time I tried to at least get that. People were taking large amounts and the trays would be empty in minutes. Most days I went hungry to the conference.

Dinners were ok to good - lots of food albeit mostly carbs. But plenty of food. Our banquet in particular was outstanding.

Had my room not been paid for by the conference, I would have requested a refund. Honestly- this was an absolutely unacceptable situation. I complained several times but there was no responsiveness or offer to move my room. Just a shoulder shrug and a can of big spray left for me to deal with it myself. VERY unhappy since many of my colleagues did not suffer any of those issues (although quite a few of us did have the no hot water issue).

We’ve traveled all over the world, but this was definitely our first and last time at this hotel. The experience was nothing short of a disaster. The staff were unfriendly, unprofessional, and downright rude. Communication was nearly impossible as nobody spoke English or any other language besides Italian. When we asked for assistance, there was a complete lack of empathy and unwillingness to help. On top of that, the hotel charges EUR 6 every time you want to change towels, and the cost of sun loungers at the hotel beach ranges from EUR 20 to 30 per day. The only thing that was free were the basic chairs!
We were excited to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine, but the food was another major letdown. The breakfast buffet was already empty by 9:00 am, and unless you persistently asked for refills, the staff made no effort to replenish the food. For dinner, I ordered a "Cordon bleu" but was shocked to receive a plain schnitzel with a slice of lemon on a paper – no side dishes, not even fries! The food looked unappetizing and tasted like it was a waste. We often found ourselves hungry due to the poor quality and presentation of the meals. To top it off, they served wine in water glasses – an insult to anyone who appreciates dining properly.
The only redeeming factor was our spacious Junior Suite with two balconies, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to make up for everything else. For the amount of money we spent, we expected so much more. This hotel is classified as a 4-star, but in reality, it doesn’t even deserve one. Save your money and avoid this place at all costs. We certainly won’t be coming back!