Several people ask what this hotel is like. This is my honest review having taken some time to recover from our poor experience, make sure we had all our facts right legally and whether we would inform the community of our experience at Easter of this year.We were return customers to this so called 5 star hotel having stayed previously 2 years ago and considered it to be one of the best family holidays we ever had. Management has changed and the hotel standards have dropped through the floor.We contacted the hotel months in advance to inform them that we had been awarded a fully internationally certified and accredited Assistance Dog for our autistic son. The hotel wrote back to us stating there was no issue and were looking forward to our arrival and assisting us with anything we needed. My son has limited words and being autistic has no awareness of danger.On arrival I was met with 4 members of staff at reception. Each described themselves as the hotel manager which was very very confusing. They started by stating that "We told you Sir you could not bring the dog with you".At this point I showed them the email from their own booking department saying it was fine. They spoke to each other in Spanish, asked for a photocopy of the email and then said we might not be able to accomodate my family as "we 100% do not allow dogs" I at several occasions attempted to explain that it's not a pet, it is a service dog for my son. At no point was I even offered a glass of water after our long trip from the airport, in contrast to the experience we had with sparkling wine on arrival 2 years previously for the 5 star experience. I had to send my wife and my family away while I sorted out this confusion, with the hotel staff making me feel that I was in the wrong because I accepted an email from the booking department stating our service dog, could stay when I should have contacted the hotel directly. I told them this was the main email address from the hotel that approved our booking with the service dog. At this point I had been waiting for over 45 minutes while they attempted to find me alternative accommodation, stating they were looking for a villa for my family. They did not tell me how much this alternative would cost and clearly I told their staff that it would not be the same experience as staying in an all inclusive hotel.I was then told again that we could not stay in the hotel as this is a family resort which was very degrading just because my son has a disability and requires a service dog for his safety.The staff then accused me of having my facts incorrect because the hotel has to adhere to Spanish laws. This is where I was outraged at this comment and told her that the hotel was in breach of Spanish law, Irish law and EU law on the rights of a person with disabilities and service dogs have full legal rights to access public establishments including hotels.When I threatened legal action, it was only then that the hotel staff went into the back room to discuss and decided to make an "exception" to allow us to stay. We were shadowed throughout the 2 weeks which was very uncomfortable and very demeaning and it ruined our holiday.The room that we had chose to stay in, was not provided to us, they placed us as far away from others as possible. More an out of sight, out of mind approach. Cleaning - we had to call reception to tell them that we were out of toilet role because nobody was servicing our room for days. Having stayed in this hotel, without any issues and having a perfect family holiday for my 40th, we decided to return at Easter for a family holiday for 2 weeks. It cost us near €7000 for this trip for 2 adults and 2 children.On our 2nd last night, water started leaking from the light fittings above our bathroom. We informed reception twice. Nobody bothered to come to inspect the issue. On our return to Ireland, I emailed the Director of Dreamplace Hotels who replied with a pathetic email stating Spanish laws were different. I spent several months researching with legal advice to find that the hotel was in breach of laws governing the Canary Islands and could have been fined up to €9000 for discrimination. This lack of understanding and acceptance was more shocking when I found that I could easily book a villa on AirBnB who actually have a full page highlighting that AirBNB accept all service dogs and all hosts must adhere to this policy.I have emailed the Director a second time to state their lack of understanding and awareness and that they were in breach of laws. No response. No care for families of children with disabilities. I would urge those thinking of staying in this hotel to choose another location.
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