"We stayed at Hotel Las Vegas from 14–24 July 2026 for 10 nights on a Full Board basis, travelling with my 15-year-old son.
I want to give a balanced review because there were things the hotel did extremely well. The hotel was exceptionally clean, the location was excellent, and we encountered some genuinely brilliant members of staff. However, having stayed in a range of three- and four-star hotels in Spain and elsewhere, the overall experience felt much more basic than the four-star standard we expected, and we personally would not return.
Check-in and information
Our check-in experience wasn’t particularly welcoming or informative. We had travelled from the very early hours of the morning and arrived after breakfast service. I was trying to understand what our Full Board arrangement included and was surprised by some of the information I was being given.
When I questioned some of the amenities and what wasn’t included, I was told that when our holiday representative attended I could speak to them and perhaps look at moving to a different hotel. I found that a very strange suggestion to receive while checking into the hotel. I don’t believe I was being a difficult guest; I was simply trying to understand what was being provided under a four-star Full Board booking.
Information about the facilities was also incomplete. For example, I was told that the adults’ pool on the ground floor was for guests aged 16+. When I pointed towards my son, the receptionist specifically noted that he had checked in as being 15 and therefore couldn’t use it. However, I wasn’t then told that there was a rooftop pool which guests aged 15+ could use. We discovered that ourselves later.
Interestingly, on three separate occasions when I subsequently used the adults’ pool, I saw much younger children there with their parents, including children who appeared to be around 10 or younger. I didn’t complain about this and can’t comment on whether anything was said to those families at another time, but I personally didn’t witness any issue being raised. It therefore seemed inconsistent with how strictly the age restriction had been explained to us at check-in.
We also weren’t told about towel hire or given information about the gym. We discovered the gym ourselves, only to find it locked with notices on the door explaining that access had to be reserved.
There was a telephone in our room, but ours didn’t work. We didn’t report it because we ultimately didn’t need it, so I can’t comment on how the hotel would have responded.
Rooms and Full Board
The room itself was clean, but the facilities felt very basic for a four-star hotel. There was no kettle, no cups or drinking glasses, no iron or ironing facility and no complimentary bottled water, either on arrival or periodically during our 10-night stay. We actually went to a supermarket and bought our own cups.
Kettles were available separately, but we were advised that there was a €20 deposit plus a €10 charge for seven days, followed by an additional daily charge if staying longer. I was told that kettles were no longer routinely provided because previous guests had taken them.
There was also no complimentary water or refreshment point in reception. I appreciate that this isn’t something every hotel is obliged to provide, but having stayed in many hotels where simple drinking or infused water is available in reception, its absence was another small detail that contributed to the overall experience feeling quite basic.
It is also important for guests to know that Full Board does not include any drinks with meals, including water. Drinks in the restaurant have to be purchased separately.
Full Board guests should also pay close attention to their meal entitlement on arrival and departure days. We arrived in the morning but breakfast wasn’t included on our first day. We did have lunch that day, which I later realised affected our options on the final day.
There was some confusion on my part because, with our late departure, I would have preferred to skip breakfast on our final morning and have lunch instead. I subsequently understood that because we’d already taken lunch on our arrival day, we couldn’t simply exchange the final-day breakfast entitlement for lunch. Once I realised this, I accepted that I had misunderstood the arrangement.
I would therefore advise anyone arriving early or departing late on Full Board to ask clearly at check-in which meals are available on the first and final days and plan accordingly.
Food — mixed experience
The food was one of the more mixed aspects of our stay.
I personally could usually find something to eat, and I particularly enjoyed the fruit and salad selections, which I found good on a daily basis. However, the wider buffet became repetitive during a 10-night stay and food was not always sufficiently hot.
My 15-year-old struggled considerably more with the choice and variety, meaning we spent quite a lot of additional money eating outside the hotel for hotter food and options more suitable for him. Combined with having to purchase drinks despite being Full Board, our additional food and drink spending was considerably higher than I had anticipated.
Food labelling was also inconsistent at times. On a number of occasions the label displayed did not appear to correspond with what was actually being served, so I found myself asking the chefs what certain dishes were simply to make sure I knew what I was eating. Having travelled and stayed in numerous hotels previously, this isn’t something I’ve generally found myself needing to do.
More concerningly, on three separate occasions we encountered undercooked chicken. On the third occasion, a number of other guests were also returning plates. When I approached a member of the restaurant team to explain, before I had even finished she asked me, “¿Es el pollo?” (“Is it the chicken?”), so she immediately knew what I was referring to.
Excellent restaurant staff
The service in Les Olives restaurant, however, was excellent and deserves to be distinguished completely from my comments about the food.
The restaurant managers, David and Noella, were absolutely brilliant at their jobs. Both were consistently welcoming, hospitable and willing to deal with anything that arose.
I particularly commend how they managed the restaurant during extremely busy buffet periods. Their queue management was excellent, and they weren’t simply standing back supervising — they regularly worked alongside the waiters and waitresses, preparing and turning tables themselves to keep everything moving. Nothing seemed too much trouble for either of them.
That praise extends to the entire Les Olives team. The waiters and waitresses were friendly, hardworking and welcoming throughout our stay. Whatever reservations we had about aspects of the food, the restaurant staff were genuinely one of the strongest parts of our experience.
Pools and outdoor areas
I didn’t use the main pool area at all during our 10-night stay. It isn’t particularly large for the number of guests using it and the surrounding loungers appeared to be in high demand. Once people had secured their loungers, many understandably seemed to stay there for much of the day, so I simply preferred using other areas rather than competing for space.
I enjoyed using the rooftop pool and the adults’ pool, and on plenty of occasions I used the loungers around the children’s pool.
The children’s pool itself is very shallow, around 0.5 metres, and there is clear signage stating that children should be supervised by a parent or adult. I therefore had no particular concern about a lifeguard not being permanently stationed there.
My observation was about the upkeep of that area. The pool sits beneath large trees and branches and tree debris regularly fell around the loungers and into the water. At times quite a lot accumulated and we would remove what we could ourselves. On one occasion I brought it to the circulating lifeguard’s attention. He came over, removed some by hand and moved some of the remainder aside before continuing with his duties. Given the location beneath the trees, I felt this particular area could benefit from more frequent clearing throughout the day.
The rooftop was a lovely feature and somewhere I personally enjoyed spending time. During the daytime, however, there was very little/no shade or parasols, which made it difficult for my son to spend prolonged periods there in the July heat.
A real highlight — the World Cup final
One of our genuinely memorable experiences at the hotel was watching the 2026 World Cup final on the rooftop.
The final was shown on the large screen and the atmosphere was amazing. The rooftop was very comfortably arranged with loungers, cushions and blankets, and it created a brilliant environment for watching such a major match.
The two waiting staff working on the rooftop that evening were also excellent. They looked after an extremely busy area very well and remained attentive and welcoming throughout.
We watched one of the other matches in the hotel’s main restaurant/lounge area on its large screen, but the rooftop experience for the final particularly stood out and was one of the highlights of our stay.
Entertainment and teenagers
Unfortunately, outside experiences such as the World Cup final, there was very little at the hotel that appealed to my 15-year-old.
The children’s entertainment appeared aimed at considerably younger children, and there wasn’t much for teenagers. At one point during our stay I saw just one child in the mini club colouring with the member of the animation team.
When I later raised the lack of entertainment with management, I was told there had been an issue with a member of the animation team being absent and that entertainment for older children was something they were looking at.
For families with teenagers who enjoy spending significant time at their hotel, I think this is something worth considering.
Maintenance and individual staff positives
I also want to recognise how well the hotel responded when something genuinely needed fixing.
Our shower was leaking on our first day. I reported it to reception and maintenance attended within a very short period of time. The staff member was polite, dealt with the problem appropriately, maintained a clean working area and left everything clean afterwards. That was excellent service.
There was also a young man at reception who assisted with luggage storage, and he was extremely polite and helpful.
General housekeeping was another strong point. Our room was cleaned regularly when required and the hotel’s overall standard of cleanliness was excellent.
Reception experience
Unfortunately, some of our interactions with reception were amongst the weaker aspects of our stay.
There was a later misunderstanding concerning our final-day meal entitlement. I approached reception simply to ask whether we could have lunch rather than breakfast on our departure day. The interaction became unnecessarily uncomfortable and I felt I was being spoken to in a patronising manner, including a piece of paper being produced as though the arrangement needed to be written out for me to understand it.
After reflecting, I realised that we had actually eaten lunch on our arrival day and therefore my understanding had been wrong. When I subsequently spoke with the reception manager, I acknowledged this and apologised for my mistake.
However, I also explained that my concern wasn’t about being refused something we weren’t entitled to. It was about the manner in which the interaction had been handled, alongside my wider experience of check-in and the limited information we’d initially been given.
The reception manager listened to what I had to say, apologised and said she would address the issues with the relevant staff, which I appreciated.
I also discussed my overall impression of the hotel and feedback I’d heard from repeat guests. During our stay, I spoke with several people who had returned multiple times but felt that aspects of the hotel had changed and said they wouldn’t return again. Management explained to me that there had been changes in ownership.
Overall
I don’t consider Hotel Las Vegas a bad hotel. It is exceptionally clean, very well located and has some excellent staff. Les Olives restaurant staff were outstanding, particularly David and Noella, maintenance responded brilliantly, housekeeping was excellent, and the rooftop World Cup final was a fantastic experience.
I can also understand why the hotel has repeat visitors. For someone primarily looking for a clean and attractive base in a central Salou location, particularly if they intend to spend much of their holiday outside the hotel, it may suit them very well.
However, we personally wouldn’t return.
Having stayed in both three- and four-star hotels in Spain and elsewhere, including hotels at different price points, the overall offering here simply didn’t feel like the four-star experience we expected. The basic room amenities, charges for facilities such as a kettle, Full Board excluding all drinks, food issues, incomplete information at check-in, limited facilities and entertainment for teenagers, and some of our reception experiences collectively outweighed the positives.
For us, a good hotel isn’t simply somewhere to sleep between excursions — we also like being able to enjoy the hotel itself as part of the holiday. Travelling with a 15-year-old, Hotel Las Vegas simply didn’t provide enough for the type of holiday we enjoy.
Cleanliness and location were excellent. Some members of staff were exceptional. But overall, the hotel looked more four-star than the experience actually felt.
Overall rating: 3/5."
