Helnan Marina Hotel - Grena, Denmark 

Clearly Improved Hotel Stayed here on business, with this hotel booked by my customer; I looked at it on Trip Advisor and it filled me with dread. Still, there is little choice in Grenaa. I was pleasantly pleased. The pool is complete, although I didn’t use it. The staff are pleasant. The room is recently refurbished, judging by the marks where the old bathroom fittings were. Perfectly clean, lots of wardrobe space, spacious room with table and two chairs, desk, free internet access and a trouser press. Used room service that is good value. Really, there is little wrong apart from a lack of personality. Beach is a 200m walk across the road making this a very pleasant stay.

We booked for the summer intending to stay for several nights, via the Helnan web-site. Under the heading, "Recreation", the hotel was described "having a cheerful atmosphere and inspiring frameworks, which characterise a service company thinking of its guests. Helnan Marina Hotel has a wonderful atrium with outdoor pool and a number of indoor facilities, such as playroom, sauna, solarium and billiards." It is accompanied by a photograph of a child swimming in a pool. This description is simply not true. When we arrived at about 7pm, we were appalled to discover that it was a building site with an all pervasive smell of drying concrete. The central area had a hole in the ground, which is where in due course the swimming pool probably will be. There were otherwise no facilities at all. The family room was very small, with the children (both under 5) expected to sleep in a bunk bed which was locked into the wall. In the first room, the top bunk, however, simply could not be released and therefore we were moved to a different room with exactly the same arrangement. In this room, the top bunk could be opened but it had effectively no protection against a child falling out. There was a small metal barrier but when inserted into the frame of the bed, it came below the level of the mattress. I informed the receptionist who agreed it was unsafe. I asked whether it would be possible to have another room so that at least the children could sleep in a bed which was safe. This was refused, although the hotel was empty save for a handful of other guests. The receptionist did provide a fold-out travel cot which our three year old had to sleep in. The door to our room had an interesting spy-hole arrangement in that there was just a hole in the door. This was, however, convenient if any passers-by had wished to look in and check if they should knock! The standard of hygiene in the room was unacceptable. The bathroom was dirty and there was mould growing in the shower. Breakfast was ordinary. The only good thing about the hotel was the free internet access in the lobby which enabled me to book an alternative hotel, so that we were able to leave after one night. I have since written to Helnan to draw their attention to the untruthfulness of their website. Although they have acknowledged my letter and the website, they have plainly chosen not to correct it. I would never stay at another Helnan hotel again after our experience. This is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in.