Best Punta Dorada

"Most beautiful place we have been to staff was lovey and very helpful location is stunning the food was great we was upgraded on our room with the sea view and it was amazing and clean 10/10 we will definitely be coming back"

"I stayed here with my parents from the end of July into the first week of August. The hotel has many very positive reviews, so we were really looking forward to our stay. Overall, we had a lovely 12-night holiday and there is a lot to like about the hotel. However, there were also a number of things that fell short of what we expected and, in my opinion, could be improved. The positives * Large, modern rooms * Powerful showers * Efficient air conditioning * Excellent mini fridge in the room * Use of the safe included * Excellent housekeeping and cleaning service * Clean towels provided daily * Pool towel rental available with a refundable deposit * Very friendly reception staff * Amazing views * Peaceful location * Free access to shower rooms on the day of departure * Secure luggage room available * No rush for sunbeds in the mornings * Comfortable, good-quality sunbeds * Tasty food * The ice cream machine in the restaurant was a great touch! The negatives Restaurant service I felt there were simply not enough staff working in the restaurant at times. We were sometimes greeted and shown to a table, while on other occasions nobody acknowledged us, so there was little consistency. Waiting for a someone to take our drinks order could be upward of 10 minutes! Plates would sometimes remain stacked up on tables for quite a long time before being cleared, which is something we aren’t used to seeing in a hotel of this standard. There was also no beer included as part of the All Inclusive offering in the restaurant. I assume this is because there was no draught beer available and only bottled Estrella. Unfortunately, this meant paying a €1 supplement for each bottle, which seemed rather unusual for an All Inclusive package. The show cooking was a good idea, but some basics, such as fried eggs, really should be readily available rather than requiring guests to wait for them to be prepared. Another small but frustrating issue was that the tea bags were nowhere near the hot water machine, meaning you had to go back and forth to make a cup of tea. Snack bar The snack bar was very limited for All Inclusive guests. The bar staff were also responsible for preparing the food as well as serving drinks, which seemed to put unnecessary pressure on them and inevitably affected the service. Bar service Unfortunately, the bar service was quite inconsistent. Some members of staff could be quite abrupt, and on occasions it felt as though certain guests were being prioritised over others. One exception was Erika, who was absolutely lovely throughout our stay. She was friendly, helpful and a real credit to the hotel. There was sometimes table service for drinks in the evening, which was a nice touch, but it didn’t appear to happen consistently. Another strange issue was that soft drinks were sometimes served in paper cups in the evening. On several occasions I had to ask for a proper glass, and it almost seemed unusual that I was asking for one. In a hotel of this standard, I would expect drinks to be served in appropriate glasses as standard. There were also drinks such as Aperol Spritz that weren’t included in the All Inclusive package. This was unusual compared with other All Inclusive hotels we’ve stayed at. Pool area The pool area could have been maintained better. We were there for 12 nights and only saw the pool area being jet washed once. Tables could still be dirty from the previous day, and cigarette ash was sometimes left on the floor following the evening entertainment. There was a green algae line around the pool wall tiles the whole time we were there. The one bin around the pool were also frequently full and sometimes weren’t emptied until the end of the day. There didn’t appear to be anyone specifically responsible for clearing glasses from around the pool during the day. Guests would often end up taking glasses back themselves because there didn’t seem to be enough staff around. The lifeguard and one of the younger maintenance staff members appeared to do a lot to keep the area tidy, but overall I felt the pool area needed more regular attention. The pool itself only has metal steps for access, with no gradual entry or sloped area, which may be worth considering for guests with reduced mobility. Entertainment The evening entertainment was very hit and miss. A couple of the acts were excellent, but others were quite disappointing. There also didn’t seem to be much variety, with the programme consisting mainly of singers and a saxophonist. Some dancers or different types of acts would have added more variety. The entertainment programme also appeared to run on a one-week cycle rather than a two-week programme, which meant that guests staying for longer could potentially see the same acts again. Entertainment didn’t start until 9:30pm, which felt quite late. It would have been nice to have something beforehand, such as a quiz, bingo, or even a small children’s disco. The animation team also had very little presence during our stay. They seemed to do one water aerobics session, one game and then leave. I appreciate that this may be the style of the hotel, but a little more interaction and activity would have been welcome. Other points There isn’t a Jet2/holiday representative based at the hotel, so you have to cross the road to the sister hotel if you need to speak to a representative. There is also no gym at the hotel itself; guests have to use the facilities at the sister hotel. I also felt there was a general lack of management presence around the hotel. On a couple of occasions, guests were using the pool late at night when it should have been closed, and the only person who appeared to challenge this was the barman. Overall Overall, this was a hotel that definitely grew on us during our stay. We had a lovely holiday and there are many things that we really enjoyed: the peaceful location, amazing views, modern rooms, excellent housekeeping and good food all made for a pleasant stay. However, there were quite a few little things that unfortunately let the hotel down. Most of them are relatively easy things to address — particularly staffing levels, consistency of service, pool-area cleanliness and the All Inclusive offering. I think the hotel has a lot of potential and, with a few improvements, could be an excellent place to stay. One final observation is that I think the hotel could actually work very well as an adults-only property. There is very little for children to do on site, and the peaceful atmosphere seems much more suited to adults looking for a relaxing break."

"The hotel was about 30 mins walk from Salou, it was in a quiet location, close to a number of small/ medium sized beaches. On a good bus route. Fantastic hotel, the food was excellent, the staff were really helpful, the rooms were spotlessly clean. I will book again and return to the same hotel next year."