Corallium Dunamar by Lopesan Hotels

"We recently stayed at the Corallium Dunamar and, unfortunately, came away feeling that this hotel is more of a 2.5–3 star experience than the 4 stars advertised. There are certainly positives. The location is fantastic, right on the beachfront, and we had a room on the 14th floor with absolutely stunning views over the beach and dunes. The hotel itself is pleasant and most of the staff were friendly and welcoming. However, there were too many areas that fell below what we’d expect from a 4-star hotel. The room Our room was perfectly adequate for what we needed. The amenities were fairly standard and a little dated, but everything was clean and functional. The real highlight was the view from the 14th floor. A special mention must go to the housekeeper on the 14th floor. She was an absolute pleasure. She was always smiling, incredibly attentive and clearly takes great pride in her work. She greeted us every morning and genuinely made our mornings better. She is an absolute asset to the hotel and deserves recognition. Unique Experience — not worth the upgrade At check-in we were sold the Unique Experience upgrade. Having been told about the additional benefits, we decided to upgrade, but unfortunately we didn’t feel there was enough additional value to justify the cost. The main benefit we actually used was the separate breakfast area, which had a different menu from the main buffet. Unfortunately, items were regularly unavailable, which was disappointing. There were two female members of staff who worked there most mornings, and you could tell when one of them wasn’t working because the level of service changed completely — and unfortunately, not for the better. When they were there, service was friendly, attentive and efficient. Without them, the experience was noticeably different. The buffet restaurant — by far the biggest issue This is where the hotel really loses points. For a 4-star hotel, we expected considerably more from the buffet. The food was extremely repetitive and frequently served lukewarm, almost as though the hot plates weren’t working properly. A lot of the dishes were dry and lacked flavour. We’re not fussy eaters at all, but after a few days we found ourselves eating mainly pasta and salad because there simply wasn’t much that appealed to us. The labelling was another major issue. I would estimate that around 95% of the food wasn’t labelled, leaving you guessing what many dishes actually were. This is particularly concerning for anyone with allergies or dietary requirements. There also appeared to be insufficient serving utensils for some of the hot food, meaning utensils were being shared between vegetarian, fish and meat dishes. This creates an obvious risk of cross-contamination. We even overheard a guest asking one of the chefs about the allergens in a particular dish. Unfortunately, the chef couldn’t tell them and didn’t appear to seek further clarification. For a 4-star hotel, this really isn’t good enough. The themed nights were also disappointing. The hotel advertises nights such as Canarian, Mexican and Italian, but the food didn’t always represent the cuisine advertised. Canarian night, for example, lacked some of the obvious traditional dishes you’d expect, such as Canarian potatoes. Mexican night consisted of things such as salads, pizza, stewed beef and baked fish, with tacos being about the only thing that really felt Mexican. The desserts were okay and probably what you’d expect from an all-inclusive, but again, very little was labelled. The staff Generally, the staff were a positive part of our stay. There were a couple of members of staff who appeared less than enthusiastic, but 99% of the time we found staff to be friendly and welcoming. The Unique lounge staff were particularly good when the right members of the team were working, and as mentioned, the housekeeper on the 14th floor was exceptional. Pools The pool areas are adequate, although the sun loungers can feel quite cramped together and a number of the parasols were either faulty or very difficult to put up. We didn’t personally take part in the pool activities, but they appeared to be popular with other guests. It was just a shame that once the activities finished, there wasn’t really any music continuing around the pool to create more of an atmosphere. Drinks The cocktails were another disappointment. The cocktails from the pool bar were incredibly sweet and difficult to drink, to the point that they gave us heartburn. The cocktails at the 7th-floor bar were even worse. They tasted unpleasant, there wasn’t enough ice and we couldn’t help wondering whether the machines needed some attention. The pool snacks, however, were lovely and perfectly adequate. Overall There is a good hotel here, but at the moment it doesn’t feel like a 4-star experience. The location is excellent, the views are beautiful, the hotel itself is pleasant and most of the staff are lovely. However, the quality and variety of the food, lack of food labelling, concerns around allergen information and cross-contamination, poor cocktails and limited value of the Unique Experience upgrade significantly affected our stay. We don’t expect perfection, but when you’re paying for a 4-star all-inclusive hotel and then paying extra for an upgraded experience, you expect the basics to be done well. For us, this is unfortunately a low 3-star/high 2-star experience rather than the 4-star stay we were expecting. There are some genuinely wonderful staff members who deserve recognition, and the location is hard to beat, but the hotel needs to make significant improvements to its food and beverage offering and the value provided by the Unique Experience before we’d consider returning."

"Unfortunately, our stay at Corallium Dunamar by Lopesan left us very disappointed, mainly because of the food and the level of service at the bars. The food was extremely repetitive throughout our entire stay and definitely below the standard I would expect from a hotel in this category. At the main buffet station during lunch and dinner, there were usually around eight dishes to choose from. Typically, two of them were different types of rice, another two were pasta, followed by fish of rather questionable quality and practically the same vegetables over and over again: green beans, a mixture of peas and other vegetables, or overcooked asparagus. When it came to meat, fatty ribs appeared remarkably often. I was also genuinely surprised by how regularly something as basic as fresh tomatoes was simply unavailable. At a hotel buffet, especially in the Canary Islands, I find it very difficult to understand why such a simple, basic product should so often be missing. As someone who pays attention to what I eat and to the quality of the ingredients, I unfortunately have to say that at some point we simply started eating outside the hotel. Having already paid for our meals as part of our stay, this is absolutely not what we expected. We were missing fresh, simple, good-quality ingredients, greater variety and the possibility of putting together a normal, nutritious meal without having to choose yet another plate of pasta, rice or fatty meat. What is also quite telling is that a huge part of the lunch buffet is taken up by bread, while the actual selection of proper dishes is surprisingly limited. Food is not consistently replenished either. This was particularly noticeable with fruit — once something was gone, you could wait a very long time for it to be replaced, or it simply would not be replenished at all. The quality of the drinks was another major disappointment. The cocktails taste extremely syrupy and certainly do not give the impression of being made with good-quality spirits. For an all-inclusive hotel positioning itself at this level, I would expect considerably better. The service at the bars is a separate issue altogether. Unfortunately, on several occasions we experienced a very unpleasant attitude. In particular, the lady working at the downstairs bar regularly gave the impression that she was genuinely annoyed by the fact that guests were approaching the bar and expecting to order something. Nobody expects a member of staff to smile every second of the day, but the manner of communication and level of arrogance were unlike anything I have experienced in a hotel of this category for a very long time. A paying guest should never be made to feel as though they are inconveniencing a member of staff simply by asking for the service they have paid for. Another baffling issue was drinking water. There was not even a bottle of water waiting for us in the room when we arrived, and for the first few days nobody explained where or how we were supposed to get it. Eventually, while we were walking around looking for somewhere to get water, another hotel guest noticed what we were doing and explained that we had to collect it from a designated area near the restaurant. I find it absurd that we had to learn something this basic by chance from another guest rather than from the hotel staff. I travel frequently, and this is the first time I have stayed in a hotel of this category where drinking water is not replenished in the room and, at the same time, nobody even bothers to explain during check-in where guests are supposed to get it. For me, the biggest problem is the gap between the price and advertised standard of the hotel and the quality actually delivered. In a four-star hotel, I expect more than attractive communal areas and a good location. Food, organisation and service are fundamental parts of the experience, and unfortunately these were precisely the areas that significantly lowered our overall opinion of the stay. It is a shame because the hotel itself has a lot of potential, a very good location and pleasant surroundings. However, during a longer stay, the repetitive buffet, mediocre quality of some of the food, failure to replenish items consistently, poor-quality cocktails and the attitude of some members of staff become impossible to ignore. From a Lopesan hotel carrying a four-star rating, I expected considerably more. Based on our experience, I would definitely not choose to stay here on an all-inclusive basis again."

"We were really looking forward to our stay at Corallium Dunamar but unfortunately it didn’t live up to our expectations especially considering the amount we paid for the Unique & Ultra All Inclusive package. Overall, this was a pretty negative experience, and unfortunately we don’t have a great deal of positive things to say about the stay. There were several issues throughout the holiday which, when added together, made the experience feel far below what we expected from a premium package. The biggest disappointment was the service and drinks. Premium drinks that were supposed to be included, such as vanilla vodka and Baileys, were often difficult to get, while it felt like outside guests paying separately were given priority. The cocktails at the pool bar are made using a smoothie style machine and initially come without alcohol, meaning you have to specifically ask staff to add your spirit. The cocktails made at the Nereo still seemed noticeably poorer compared with the drinks being served at the same bar to outside guests paying separately. It was frustrating seeing outside guests receiving better service and drinks while our premium all inclusive drinks felt like an afterthought. The same seemed to happen with the Friday and Sunday events, where outside guests appeared to be prioritised over hotel residents. We also found that bottled drinks included in our Unique & Ultra package were not routinely offered. Unless you specifically asked for bottled Coke, Sprite or Fanta, you were given drinks from the machine instead. For the price of the package, we expected the included options to actually be provided without having to repeatedly ask. Unfortunately, the food also caused concern during our stay. We visited the à la carte restaurant and were served raw chicken, which is extremely disappointing and, more importantly, a serious food safety concern. We also had to keep the same cutlery throughout courses so we had pre used knifes and forks for each course. The Restaurant buffet food was also not always clearly labelled, which is something to be aware of if you have allergies. Not much variety but some food is nice.. especially if you like chips. Our room also developed a leak from the room above specifically in the bathroom, and we had to move around two thirds of the way through our holiday. We received very little assistance with the move, which was frustrating after having already paid for a premium package. A bottle of cava was also accidentally delivered to our room addressed to someone else. I immediately contacted reception to let them know. I was then told that I could keep the bottle as compensation for having to move rooms because of the leak. While we appreciated the gesture, it felt rather strange that the bottle had initially been intended for another guest and was then offered as compensation. The hotel itself also needs some attention with a huge amount of stairs, poor water pressure and missing/loose tiles around the pool. The pool bar opening at 12pm during the main season also seems far too late. There is very little daytime entertainment and evening entertainment stops around 10pm even though the surrounding streets are noisy until past midnight. The towel situation was also inconvenient. Towels could only be changed between 10 and 11am meaning if you used your towel at the pool during the day and it became wet or dirty, you couldn’t change it until the following morning. This meant having to take wet, used towels back up to your room which isn’t what you would expect from a premium hotel experience. The Unique breakfast was definitely the best part of our stay and was genuinely lovely, although even here there were issues with availability. Potatoes weren’t available for three days in a row, and tomatoes were not available at breakfast two days even though they was on the menu. Check in was also very basic, with little information provided apart from a QR code and drinks list which didn’t feel particularly welcoming for a Unique guest. One thing to be aware of with the pool is that the sunbeds on level 6 are exclusively for Unique guests. If you haven’t upgraded, you cannot use those sunbeds and would have to sit at the tables and chairs instead, as there are no other sunbeds available on that level. They also have a bird trap that they claimed was not in use but full of bird seed inside and birds still trying to get inside the trap. Moreover with letting people in from the street and having no security guards is worrying for guests staying at the hotel. There are some positives the hotel is in a great location close to a beautiful beach and the Unique breakfast was genuinely very good, the hotel is clean. However, these positives unfortunately didn’t outweigh the negatives for us. For the amount we paid, we expected a much higher standard and a much more premium experience. The combination of the raw chicken, room leak and room move, inconsistent drinks and service, towel situation, maintenance issues and the feeling that outside guests were prioritised over hotel residents left us feeling very disappointed. Sadly, overall this was a negative experience for us and we wouldn’t return."