Originally Posted by
Koen dc
I've stayed at the 1 hotel South beach with my family. It was an unpleasant experience. The look and feel is certainly 5*. Check-in was a standard process. The rooms are beautiful, but noisy (we had to change rooms 3 times but I must admit that I'm really sensible to noise). It was difficult to find a place near the pool. Service was slow almost everywhere in the hotel.The staff is cold and almost robotic. The food was good, but you need patience. It has no charisma and lacks character. The amenities are pretty, but overall it lacks character and personality.
I think that this could be considered luxury, but imho there are plenty of better options.
I stayed there shortly after opening and my experience back then reflects your description pretty well. The constant noise in our room at early/late hours supposedly resulting from the service elevator motor nearby drove us crazy.
More show than substance on the service front with a property way too large for a luxury resort. The only hotel I was one second away to check out early and return to The Setai where we came from. They didn't fulfill the agreed action (room change with bags transferred) to the noise and nobody cared. Long waiting times to get a seat for breakfast, slow service overall. Way overpriced. But in this specific market location they seemed to get away with all that nonsense.
Instead, I will take The Setai any day.