The Nici Hotel

I cannot give you any insight on the facility or what they offer. Except to share what happened. I can only share my experience through booking to securing a refund as when I arrived with my partner there was a problem with the Jacuzzi and because I had been unable to book any spa treatments, massages and the like for our "DAYCATION" we decided not to stay.

I had booked two spa packages without any treatments for a total cost £170 ( a saving of £80 on the regular price) this included a two course set lunch chosen ahead which seemed a bit weird at the time but we later found out the food offering at the hotel is a separate company. Before booking online I did call the hotel twice, once to find out about gluten free food options and to book some treatments, difficult to do online and had to sit on hold for 30 minutes both times which should have maybe been a red flag. When I decided to go ahead and book, it had to be done online and the website does give you fair warning, 3 times I think, once you book there are no cancellations. Something completely understandable if you know food is being prepared ahead just for you and brought in and or there are a limited number of people who can be accommodated each day. To be honest didn't think much about it, didn't see any reason to need a refund.

We arrived at 9.00am to discover the Jacuzzi, something we were looking forward to was broken and with no available treatments we didn't just want to hang around and wait for lunch. Again I didn't think much about it, I just asked for the money to be credited back and a confirmation email letting me know it had been taken care of.

I didn't hear anything all day so I sent an email on the hotel contact form, again no one answering the phone explaining what had happened and asking someone just get back to me and let me know my refund had been processed.

That evening I got a call from the Spa manager, Olivia who projected we should not have left, there were lots of other things to enjoy and we could return when the Jacuzzi was fixed. No refunds. I explained this was a one off treat for my guest, who didn't live close by and as there were no available treatments, even trying to book 4 or 5 days in advance, a broken jacuzzi left us with nothing to do, the reason why we left.

It was a difficult call. In the end she did concede to the refund but it wasn't straightforward and she told me it could take 2 weeks. I have since read a bunch of reviews which are mixed at best. I am not saying had everything been working we wouldn't have had a great time, who knows maybe we would. Just heads up should anything go wrong it may be trickier than you'd imagine to get your money back.