Serena Hotel - Punta del Este - Unico Sobre la Playa

Discovered this adults-only hotel via the internet quite by accident, but what a great accident! Located on the more sheltered Mansa Beach section of Punta del Este, this is the only hotel that is located right on the beach and with fantastic views over the South Atlantic Ocean as well as the city itself. The hotel overall has a modern beach vibe, with neutral tan tones and natural wood accents. Rooms are spacious and clean, with very comfortable beds. The pool area is very cool, with cabanas and beach chairs, as well as direct access to the super wide beach that stretches for miles in both directions. Food was excellent, and a special shout-out to Walter (Wally), the head waiter who made sure every guest felt special and valued. This hotel is a must for anyone heading to Punta del Este!

My husband and I recently spent four nights at the Serena hotel while on our honeymoon in November. We were unfortunately very disappointed with our stay. Based on our experience, the good: - The hotel is in a beautiful location on the beach - Several of the staff members are very friendly and helpful (special thanks to Francisco for helping us with our check-in ordeal) Then, the bad: - Both hotel restaurants were closed for the duration of our stay, with no advance warning or discount offered. - The night we checked in to the hotel, we had to switch rooms three times (first broken air conditioner, second the door to the room would not latch shut, third broken safe that wouldn't stop beeping). We were told that the hotel would extend "a courtesy" to us to compensate for the hour-long ordeal. This courtesy turned out to be 3 Ferrero Rochers. - The rooms themselves are cramped and poorly sound-proofed (no seal around the door), and our mattress was saggy. - Despite what their website says, the Serena is NOT an adults-only hotel (one of the reasons we picked this hotel for our honeymoon). During our stay, we encountered at least half a dozen children, including a fussy baby in the breakfast room and a young boy doing cannonballs in the pool while shouting up to his mother on her balcony. When we checked out, the receptionist asked if our stay was ok and we voiced our frustrations. He attempted to talk to the reception manager for us. They claimed that they could not offer a partial refund because the room was booked through a third party, and instead offered us a late checkout or sandwiches (both irrelevant as we were leaving to catch a bus), or a discount on a future stay (even if we didn't live 9,000 km away, we would not be staying at the Serena again). We asked if they could at least pay for our taxi to the bus station, and were told they "weren't comfortable" with that. Through all of this, the reception manager refused to come out of their office to speak to us, forcing the employee helping us to go back and forth from us to the office relaying messages. There are so many other beautiful hotels in Punta del Este - don't waste your time with the Serena.