Sowell Résidences Les Chênes Verts

“Take me back!!! A fab family break!”

We’ve just arrived home from our 10 night stay here and what an amazing stay we had! To be honest I was a little worried having read some of the previous reviews but from experience I know everyone’s expectations are different. We had booked this holiday as it was great value so I was never expecti… more

We’ve just arrived home from our 10 night stay here and what an amazing stay we had! To be honest I was a little worried having read some of the previous reviews but from experience I know everyone’s expectations are different. We had booked this holiday as it was great value so I was never expecting luxury. Yes, rooms are basic, we were fortunate that they upgraded us on arrival as they thought we would be more comfortable in different accommodation. Beds are not the comfiest but we all slept well after busy days. A lot of people have commented on how the rooms could do with an upgrade but this didn’t bother us in the slightest, we didn’t spend a lot of time in there and I’m not one for fancy hotels, I love the more rustic feel. The bar is great, special mention to Mihai who was always friendly and makes a great cocktail! The bar closes at 10pm but for us with young children this was perfect. There is no entertainment but we were once again happy with this as it meant we could spend quality time together playing card games. Meals were a highlight, we ate well for breakfast, lunch a dinner. A great selection everyday, deserts were divine! Wine is a viable with dinner and we definitely made the most of filling our carafes! Sorbets were a big hit with my youngest daughter. We never had a problem with getting a table, it’s busy but not chaotic. Loved that you could make up a picnic box for lunch, this was great as we could take something away if we were heading out for the day. Lunch is also served if you are staying in the resort and want to dine in the restaurant. Snacks are provided around 4pm, the chocolate cake is so good!! There are also snacks served around 6.30pm perfect to have with your daily aperitif! We spent most of our time at the rooftop pool and it never seemed too busy. I did feel that more shaded areas up here would be beneficial. The beach across the road is small and stones. I preferred this as I hate sand!! We spent hours collecting sea glass and exploring round the rocks. You can hirer equipment - kayaks, paddle boards, snorkels, chairs and parasols from the lovely Isabelle; she reasonably priced, so friendly and gave us a discount as we were staying at the SOWELL. Exploring further a field is straight forward, the bus stop is right outside the hotel and it’s a short drive to Saint Raphael, A’Gay, Dramont; all of which we explored. A short 15 min walk to Boulouris and you can hop on the train and be in Cannes within 30 minutes for roughly £50 for a family of four. All in all highly recommend and would return in a heartbeat.

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“Great vacation”

Very nice place to stay, appartments are well equipped especially for families, located in a nice area with a good beach directly beside the hotel, plenty of food and drink options including takeaway. Overall a great package!

“Stay with family of 4 adults”

Price vs. Quality of the room. The room standard represented 90's. Sofa in the living room was unconfortable, old and shabby with two different levels of sleeping - not acceptable for adults. The 2 AC were working with an annoying noise. No plates, dishes and silverware - big disadvantage, especial… more

Price vs. Quality of the room. The room standard represented 90's. Sofa in the living room was unconfortable, old and shabby with two different levels of sleeping - not acceptable for adults. The 2 AC were working with an annoying noise. No plates, dishes and silverware - big disadvantage, especially, when there was lack of info on the page and in a reservation confirmation (however, it would be too late as it is quite decisive factor) before driving 1200 km and thinking what to bring with us. Ants in the kitchen. Recommendations: refurbish the room and bring it to the XXI century. Other points. The all-inclusive hours for bar were too short - not only my opinion but other guests, especially, as the hotel is located in an suburbs of the town deprived from any other nearby bars and restaurants.You may have earned more, if the bar was open longer. Strong point in plus was the buffet breakfast and lunch with its variety of dishes (except from Sunday - it looked like collection of leftovers from the week - apologies for my harsh comment on that but it was our departure day and based on the previous day s we were very optimistic, but eventually, very disappointed). In fact, the catering saved lots of the yellow stars I gave in my opinion. Recommendation: keep the high standard of the catering throught the week.

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“Not what we expected, disappointed. ”

We read the reviews before booking and were confident we'd made a good choice. However , we made the mistake of booking the self-catering apartments although we booked all-inclusive too. It was all very strange to us. We arrived late at night and had to make up our two childrens' beds. Not ideal in… more

We read the reviews before booking and were confident we'd made a good choice. However , we made the mistake of booking the self-catering apartments although we booked all-inclusive too. It was all very strange to us. We arrived late at night and had to make up our two childrens' beds. Not ideal in the slightest as we were all shattered from a long day travelling. We asked if we could get some water as we checked in and had to pay for it, which was also confusing as we paid for all-inclusive. The rooms were not clean, which was highly disappointing. As we had booked self catering, we were told our rooms would not be cleaned for the 10 days we stayed. We were not permitted to clean towels either for the 10 days. We had spare bedding in our room so we changed ourselves half way through our holiday. There was also no hairdryer in the room. We were given two toilet rolls and had to buy more when we ran out, again, wasn't used to this paying for all-inclusive. There were weeds on the balcony and it wasn't swept or clean. The restaurant was basic and not well maintained, weeds in the seating area outside. Food was average with not a lot of choice as so small. What was good was that it stayed open until 1 so you didn't have to rush to make breakfast so we often had brunch. Pool and sunloungers were average. Beach ok. There are lots of little beaches a short walk away so you don't need to stick to the small, stoney beach opposite the hotel. The location is OK with a bus stop right outside so it's not difficult to get to Saint-Raphaël which is a much better location as you can get the train to Monaco and Cannes and a ferry to Saint-Tropez, we visited all three. The AC in the room is awesome, the best bit about this establishment in our open. The storage in the room is also great. When we arrived, we were given a highlighted piece of paper which told us what we were not entitled to and how we should leave the apartment. We were getting picked up at 6.30am and had to strip our beds! Bar shuts at 10pm and there's no entertainment which didn't bother us. I hope this helps as trying to be honest as I can.

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