Sparkling Hill Resort and Spa - Adults-Only Resort

I visited Sparkling Hills with a friend this week. The resort itself is beautiful. The property is picturesque and the pools/steam rooms are what dreams are made of. However, what they have in amenities, they lack in service. It is near impossible to get a hold of the front desk (calling to make a reservation and also while staying there). The front end staff at the spa were also incredibly rude and impatient. It seemed like we were an inconvenience for booking treatments. We weren’t given any direction on where to go or which appointment came first, and when I walked back to inquire, I was ignored by the employee while she tried to sell product to another customer. I was so thankful for the hairstylist, who took the time to help us and to make it a better experience. Lastly, on our way out of the resort, we decided to pick up some product from the spa. We were promptly scolded for not wearing our robes and told we couldn’t be in there. When I told the staff member, we wanted to buy product, she didn’t help, and proceeded to walk away. Comparing it to other resorts and luxury hotels, it felt really disappointing. I hope they can improve upon this area to make it a more pleasant experience for their visitors.

Honest review - I was underwhelmed. I've heard of this place for years , when I went it didn't live up to expectations. Spa appointments were near impossible to get, the infinity pool was packed, no lounge chairs available, when I went to leave vallet wasn't on staff yet so I had to go find my own car, the phone rings off the hook, no one ever answers. Now there were upsides for sure, the food was great, servers in the restaurant was lovely, but its very remote and quite pricey for what you get.

Stayed 3 nights with mixed feelings. While there are dire warnings to book spa services at least 4-6 weeks in advance, its impossible to do do. The online booking simply doesn't work. And while I finally got a 90 min massage booking (over the phone), when I got there it had been changed to 60 mins because the "schedule couldn't accommodate it". How's this possible? Also, I asked at one point for a simple toe nail polish swap (shellac not gel!) and they refused to provide the service unless I booked the full pedicure. Noteworthy: The upholstery on the lounge chairs in both the Tea Room & Serenity Rooms is FILTHY....stained, dirty, icky. No excuse for that. Something has happened at Sparking Hills between my first visit and this second experience...The service is lacking. There are too many rules and someone (management) has lost sight of the "customer experience". While the location, steam baths, pools, rooms are beautiful, without service, Sparkling Hills simply isn't good enough. It is telling to me that there was no follow up customer survey from the resort. They likely already know they're hanging by a thread. I hope they do something about it. On a last note, we had a lovely dinner one night on the terrace...but the breakfasts were bland, and the "pastries" tasted like they came from the grocery store. First experience was so good but I won't be back until I hear of a drastic management/culture/service change.

While staff was friendly and service at the restaurants was great....unfortunately there were more negatives during our 1 night stay then positives. 1. Check in was busy and there were no trollies available for luggage. (there's also no staff there to help you with your bags). We had 3 cases of wine that needed to be brought up to the room (it was 30C) . at check in the staff member told us the Valet would bring our wine up to our room after they parked our car. 40 mins later the wine was still not brought up to our room, so I phoned down and said we would go and get it as it cannot stay in the car any longer in those temps. She apologized and said they would bring it up right away. We went down to the pool and when we came back 80 mins later the wine WAS STILL NOT BROUGHT UP. I phoned down again and said we were coming down to get it. As my partner was leaving the room, the wine arrived. If you know anything about wine, you know it cannot sit in a hot car for 2 hours. hoping it is still good... 2. Our room was hot. I called the front desk at 9:30pm to ask about the AC (which he told me doesn't go below "20/19c") Ours was set to 19 but it felt like it was 25C in our room. The employee said maintenance would "reset" it but it would't bother us as it was outside the room. And they would bring us up a fan. The fan arrived 5 mins later. We then went to sleep (it was still warm in our room, but the fan helped). At 11pm we were startled awake by a knock on the door. We did not answer. 5 mins later our phone rang. It was the front desk asking if the AC was working. While we appreciate that they were checking in- what the heck were they thinking calling at 11pm, 90 mins after I called down?! This was ridiculous. And having someone knock on the door that late?! not ok. And no, the AC was not working properly. 3. 10am check out is just too early. And after you check out you do not have access to any of their facilities. So if you are only staying one night, you don't get access to the pool during the day on either the day you check in our the day you check out. The pool/spa was nice, but loud. There were 2 parties of women that were having a good time, which is fine- but loud. It didn't bother us, but for some ppl this may not be the vibe you are looking for. Gernie's restaurant was lovely. The view was spectacular, the food was great and the service was fantastic. The highlight of our stay. For the price point you have just got to be better.

The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The spa services are mediocre and not worth the price. The hotel does not give access to the spa after checkout. Makes the weekend short and poor value. The massages were not provided by registered massage therapists.