"An honest review of our stay. We booked this holiday through TUI and didn't realise until after booking that guests could be allocated to one of two hotels within the complex: Silmar or Almaris. We were placed in Silmar, although after seeing both hotels we would have preferred Almaris, which appears to have been more recently refurbished and felt brighter and more modern.
Silmar itself wasn't terrible, but it did feel dated and a little dark in places. It also seemed much busier, particularly at meal times. Guests can use the facilities and restaurants in both hotels, so we mainly chose to eat at Almaris. The food selection was plentiful, with lots of choice at every meal and a snack bar available throughout the day. However, the biggest disappointment was that the food was rarely hot – most dishes were only lukewarm.
One thing we really missed was having tea and coffee-making facilities in the room. As an early riser, I found it frustrating not being able to get a coffee until breakfast started at 8am, and unfortunately the coffee served there wasn't great.
The pool area was pleasant and well maintained. We were always able to find sunbeds when arriving around 9am, although by 10am most had been taken.
What really let the holiday down for us was the atmosphere and entertainment. As British guests, we often felt overlooked by the entertainment team. Despite making an effort to be friendly and join in, we felt largely ignored. Most activities and interactions seemed heavily focused on French guests, and many activities were conducted in French. This made it difficult to feel included.
The bar staff were a mixed experience. Some were perfectly pleasant, and there was one particularly friendly lady who was always welcoming. However, others came across as quite abrupt, sometimes slamming drinks down on the bar, and we even witnessed staff shouting on occasion.
La Pineda itself is a small, quiet resort. We would highly recommend the Irish pub along the seafront, where the food was hot, the service was friendly and the atmosphere was welcoming. There is also an excellent pancake and dessert bar further along the promenade after the water park.
The beach is lovely, although there are no sunbeds on the main stretch unless you walk further along, and there weren't any water sports or beach activities available.
Overall, we had a comfortable stay with a nice pool, plenty of food and a good location. However, everything felt just "OK" rather than great. The lack of friendliness, limited entertainment for non-French guests and generally average experience mean that, while we enjoyed our holiday, it isn't somewhere we would choose to return to."
