THE FIRST THING THAT STRIKES YOU,

as you step through the lobby of this hotel, is the greenery. The garden area between the hotel and the beach is well shaded, well maintained and wonderfully breezy. It is the main focal point of the hotel and where the guests spend most of their time.

There are plenty of sun-loungers for relaxing, and there are also plenty of things to do if you want to be more active, such as beach volleyball, water polo and table tennis. For quieter entertainment, you can enjoy a game of chess, carrom or darts. Yoga is popular in the mornings and there is a small Ayurveda center offering massage and herbal treatments. Diving and snorkeling can be arranged on request.

Under dynamic new management since 1998, the hotel has been benefiting from a substantial renovation program, including the new "Camelot" theme, with King Arthur suites, a Guinevere conference room and the new "Castle" roof terrace nightclub.

Nearly all of the 86 rooms are beach or pool facing, with balconies, although some of these have a view of trees rather than the beach. Twenty-five rooms are air conditioned and the rest are air conditioned at night between 5pm and 8.30am. The décor of all the rooms is simple and fairly basic, but the 25 air conditioned rooms have more recently renovated bathrooms. Only the three suites have TV and mini-bar.

The majority of guests are on a half board or all-inclusive, with buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is also an à la carte menu at King Arthur's Restaurant. A lot of effort is put into the evening entertainment program which is set up either in the open restaurant overlooking the pool, in the garden, or on the beach. The entertainment includes cultural shows, beach queen contests, reggae and calypso nights, with live bands and a dance floor on the beach. The variety and standard of entertainment is very popular with the mainly German and English clientele, nearly half of whom are on an all- inclusive holiday.

It's a sociable, friendly place with good, personal interaction between staff and guests, a number of whom come back again and again.