The Hotel Freja - Review
Summary
As I sat down at the lunch terrace of Hotel Freja’s Monastery Guesthouse, I noticed two BDSM poles in front of the table.
An IM from co-owner Frank came in, "You in the dark part of the monastery, the guest rooms are in the brighter side."
Off we went to the bright side, where I spotted a pentacle on the floor.
This review is about the Hotel Freja, a place that as my little anecdote shows, is very adult, but also very much a hotel and certainly qualifies as somewhere I'd cover.
That's because the hotel has a reception desk (staffed by a bot), bar, restaurant, pool, gym and of course en suite rooms. It's also, as I was told, inspired by the piece about SL Hotels (and this website) in the SL Spotlight before Christmas.
And actually, there was much I liked about the place, a lot of thought had clearly gone into it.
However it isn't for everyone. A run of the mill tropical resort this is not.
But, if you're looking for a D/s themed vacation, or (talking about the associated monastery guesthouse), somewhere cheap to stay, this could be for you.
Overall look and feel
The Hotel Freja is part of Maria's Dream Island, which describes itself as - "Your adult holiday island.. with a darker twist."
It consists of a lower beach area and "Frankville", a European style village up on the hill.
The Hotel is on the beach side of the region while the Monastery Guesthouse is on the hill.
Maria's Dreamland as a whole was quite a pleasant place to explore, there's plenty to see and do.
In terms of the guesthouse and hotel, I actually preferred the former over the latter, the decor and layout seemed a bit more up to date and imaginative (both places are new).
For instance, the way the room options are displayed on the wall in large panels at the Freja makes sense in theory, but in practice doesn’t look good, and it would be better just to have a casper panel terminal taking you to a website.
However, when it comes to the exterior (as opposed to the interior) of the Hotel Freya, I think the owners have done a good job. It looks like a number of simple beachside hotels I've seen, and the guitar shaped pool is a nice touch.
Overall - 4/5
The rooms
The Hotel Freja has rooms ranging from 145-495 a night (the higher price gets you the Royal Suite).
The rooms are all en suite, and have debauchery adult furniture and 'naughty pleasures' beds.
The monastery is much cheaper, rooms are 95L a night and there are discounts for longer stays. Here there's a shared bathroom in the hallway, the idea is to copy European backpacker style accommodation.
Despite being much simpler, I liked it more. There are lots of beach hotels in SL and a monastery guesthouse is a little different. As a theme I think this could be built on quite a bit.
Overall - 3.5 / 5
The facilities
The main hotel has a reception bot, which will answer an extensive list of FAQs
In addition to the bar and restaurant, there's a games / poker room and a beachside gym.
On the island itself there's a beach club ,a spa and the island seems to host regular events. Meanwhile 'Frankville' has shops and cafes.
The lighthouse area by the shore was a favourite, it includes a café and ice cream stand.
Finally, there are free (self drive) cars to take you around.
Overall - 4/5
The animations
Because I went solo, I didn't try any except a few seating ones. Suffice to say almost everything appears to have adult options.
Other considerations
Privacy - the rooms have orbs
Lag - wasn't a problem for me
Adult - very much so
Prices - start at 95L a night in the guesthouse
Conclusion
I can see how this place would appeal to some.
There's the adult holiday theme, the sense of community where you can meet like minded souls, and the island is packed with things to do.
Of course almost every resort has adult options in the rooms anyway, but if you are looking for something a bit more direct, this could well be for you
