"Another year, another visit. This was the 4th two-week stay at Dorado Beach, and we still love it. We have enjoyed the same type of nice. modern, clean and spacious room on the second floor (last three years). The staff is mostly the same as on previous visits. Very helpful staff in the reception, the restaurant, and not to forget the lovely ladies in housekeeping. All smiling and helpful. We do not book the all-inclusive plan as we enjoy the many fab restaurants in and around Arguineguin for lunch and dinner, but the breakfast buffet is very good with lots of tasty choices.
This year we found quite a few improvements. The main and most important one is the elevators. New, fancy and quick ! The old sunbeds were all replaced with new ones and the balcony furniture too. Comfortable chairs. In fact so good that we brought a chair inside as the sofa (that transfers into a bed) is not that comfortable for old backs.
As always , the only downside is the sunbed wars/reservation of sunbeds. The signs says max 45 minutes, but the rule is not enforced. I really don´t mind if someone wants to get up in the middle of the night to reserve a sunbed, but it´s really inconsiderate to turn up to use it late afternoon - or not at all..... You know who you are !
Having read some of the complaints in other reviews, I need to comment:
- If you get sick, it´s not the hotel's responsibility to bring you food. They don´t have room service. My husband got food poisoning at a restaurant in town one evening and the next day I brought him some food from the restaurant's breakfast buffet. Not a problem, staff was very helpful - also housekeeping that had to do some extra cleaning was very nice and understanding. A smile and common courtesy gets you a long way !
- if you don´t keep the balcony doors shut and the lid on the trash can, you might see an occasional cockroach and ants, - but we´ve only seen one cockroach during our 4 stays. Insects are normal for the islands. Does not mean the hotel is "dirty". Housekeeping/cleaning staff are doing a great job.
- if you have problems regarding the room, let reception know and maintenance will take care of it. We had an issue with the lock on the door as it seemed someone had tried to break in to our room. It was fixed in 5 minutes ! Last year we had an issue with the safe, - also some cutlery was missing in the kitchen - fixed in no time.
- if there is an issue with the room that cannot be solved, - getting another room is not always possible right away. If the hotel is fully booked it might take a day - or two - or three. Getting angry and screaming your head off at the reception staff does not make an available room magically appear.
We travel a lot and sometimes we´ve experienced fellow travellers that seem to forget their manners at home (if they ever ever had some). If you behave like an idiot, expect to be treated as one.
We will be back at Bull Dorado beach next year for our annual two weeks stay. Wouldn´t miss it for the world"