Aplend Wellness Hotel Borovica

Let's get the good things out the way first; Location is great, beautiful part of the Tatras. Spa facilities were cute and clean - albeit small, if we hadn't had them to ourselves when we happened to visit, it would have been uncomfortable. Quite liked the old fashioned, wooden style of the place and the reception water feature. Now onto the bad... The features and fittings are quite dated, along with some of the staff's attitudes (more on that later). There were no teas and coffee facilities in the room - which is a standard feature of a 4-star hotel and, while small, something we quite missed first thing in the morning. Also, the provided robes and towels were old, thin and threadbare. One robe was ripped down the seams, the other had no loop holes for the tie. Again, small points but eventually adds up to a very lackluster feel for the overall high price. The mattresses were old, sprung models that felt well worn. The bath/shower arrangement was silly - a tiny bath too small to sit in, and a tiny showerhead plus half screen which made it impossible not the soak the rest of the room if showering, but the water pressure was decent though. We were given a coupon for 2 'complimentary' arrival drinks in the bar, but never had the opportunity to redeem this as it was closed for the first (and only...) 3 days of our booked 6 night stay. Upon arrival, having a half board package, we went to dinner first. The arrangement was chaotic for the two evening meals we had there. Disinterested or confused staff, no drinks menu provided. Set 4-course meals - a laughable 'amuse bouche' (guacamole on a piece of bread), horrible, watery soups made from leftovers, main courses which were style over substance and lacked flavour. Desserts were the star of the show, even though we don't have much of a sweet tooth, but the pastry chef seems to be a wasted talent (unless it was bought in). At other tables mains were appearing before soups and being sent back again... On the second night walking into the restaurant we were greeted by a large stack of dirty laundry, right in the entrance way, making us think that they were not open initially. Upon pointing this out to the hapless waiter, he just laughed about it. Breakfast was no better. We arrived only a little after opening to find no coffee, no juice, cloudy water and unlabelled, unidentifiable buffet items next to the cheapest quality hams and cheeses available and a poor selection of partly stale bread. Upon waiting for 15 mins to see if we were just a bit early, and still no coffee appearing and no one asking us, the waiter nearly bit our heads off when we enquired, and stropped "well I can make you a coffee!" (Which was, in fairness, quite tasty in the end). Hot food items were limited and poor quality - we had laughed at another review before that mentioned this, but found the eggs were incredibly under seasoned. The second day we tried to arrive half an hour later in case we had just been a bit enthusiastic

Let's get the good things out the way first; Location is great, beautiful part of the Tatras. Spa facilities were cute and clean - albeit small, if we hadn't had them to ourselves when we happened to visit, it would have been uncomfortable. Quite liked the old fashioned, wooden style of the place and the reception water feature. Now onto the bad... The features and fittings are quite dated, along with some of the staff's attitudes (more on that later). There were no teas and coffee facilities in the room - which is a standard feature of a 4-star hotel and, while small, something we quite missed first thing in the morning. Also, the provided robes and towels were old, thin and threadbare. One robe was ripped down the seams, the other had no loop holes for the tie. Again, small points but eventually adds up to a very lackluster feel for the overall high price. The mattresses were old, sprung models that felt well worn. The bath/shower arrangement was silly - a tiny bath too small to sit in, and a tiny showerhead plus half screen which made it impossible not the soak the rest of the room if showering, but the water pressure was decent though. We were given a coupon for 2 'complimentary' arrival drinks in the bar, but never had the opportunity to redeem this as it was closed for the first (and only...) 3 days of our booked 6 night stay. Upon arrival, having a half board package, we went to dinner first. The arrangement was chaotic for the two evening meals we had there. Disinterested or confused staff, no drinks menu provided. Set 4-course meals - a laughable 'amuse bouche' (guacamole on a piece of bread), horrible, watery soups made from leftovers, main courses which were style over substance and lacked flavour. Desserts were the star of the show, even though we don't have much of a sweet tooth, but the pastry chef seems to be a wasted talent (unless it was bought in). At other tables mains were appearing before soups and being sent back again... On the second night walking into the restaurant we were greeted by a large stack of dirty laundry, right in the entrance way, making us think that they were not open initially. Upon pointing this out to the hapless waiter, he just laughed about it. Breakfast was no better. We arrived only a little after opening to find no coffee, no juice, cloudy water and unlabelled, unidentifiable buffet items next to the cheapest quality hams and cheeses available and a poor selection of partly stale bread. Upon waiting for 15 mins to see if we were just a bit early, and still no coffee appearing and no one asking us, the waiter nearly bit our heads off when we enquired, and stropped "well I can make you a coffee!" (Which was, in fairness, quite tasty in the end). Hot food items were limited and poor quality - we had laughed at another review before that mentioned this, but found the eggs were incredibly under seasoned. The second day we tried to arrive half an hour later in case we had just been a bit enthusias