"I will review from start to finish:
Check in: Arrived to a large open reception & was greeted by a friendly member of staff who checked us in. We then left the reception desk to be stood trying to fathom where the lifts were. Some direction would have been welcomed as we had to ask a member of staff. We received 2 stainless steel water bottles for the duration of our stay.
We arrived onto our floor after asking a member of staff where the lifts were located. We located my Mums room as she needed some assistance with her case. A rather abrupt room attendant told me I could not leave my suitcase outside my door whilst I assisted my Mum just a few doors down. She continued to talk at me in Spanish despite me telling her I did not understand, but I finally got the point that she was referring to my case.
Got into our room & found there to be 2 double beds pushed together, to make a very large spacious bed, however, they had the tendency to come apart leaving a gap in the middle. The room itself we found lacked storage. There were no drawers, & a small amount of wardrobe space for 2 people. The bathroom was sufficient with a walk-in shower. The hair dryer was fixed to the wall & was only a small travel-style hairdryer. Ladies, bring your own for long thick hair.
The balcony was ample with a small table & chairs, & a rail which was fixed to the wall, useful for wet swim wear. The air conditioning we found to be quite inefficient, often it was quite warm, despite the dial being set to the coldest it could be. One night we came home & the smell of food was coming from the air conditioning fan, & it smelt like something was being cooked in the room. We figured that our room was on the side where the kitchens were.
The room on the whole was ok, but was quite dated.
The dining room/buffet:
A good selection of various foods, which on day one was wonderful. As each day passed, the same dishes were being repeated, often fish, lasagne, Pork stew etc. I particularly enjoyed the cheese & bread selection, but most days the food was the same as the previous day. We found some of the staff to be quite rude, one member very discriminatory towards my Mum. One night we sat at a table which had a sign on showing “Prioridad” a picture of someone in a wheelchair & an elderly person on a zimmer frame. We sat down & Laura, approached us, & gestured that we were sat at a priority table. She motioned with her hands that none of us were in a wheelchair, & no stick/zimmer was present. I pointed to my Mum who is 78 & told this very rude waitress that my Mum struggles to walk far, due to mobility issues. I made a complaint to reception, & explained that the sign clearly says priority for disabled or elderly. I was told I would need to report it to the restaurant manager. The following morning I reported this to the manager who completely misunderstood what I was saying & thought that I was complaining about lack of tables for the disabled or elderly. He kept repeating, “ don’t worry” & told me they would make sure there were more tables with a priority note on. The experience with this waitress really upset my Mum & spoilt our evening as it caused a lot of people to stare & created unnecessary embarrassment! The staff clearly need to be told that not all disabilities are visible, & not to assume.
The pool/outside area:
Tonnes of loungers, no need to be up at 5am to reserve them. We would often head out around 11am, & there were always plenty. The pool itself is a great size, but very cold. There is a lifeguard on duty at all times too. One of them, sat talking all day & was looking at his phone on & off. His phone case was orange, I remember this as it was out more than it wasn’t. Quite worrying if someone actually needed assistance as he was constantly distracted. On another day a different lifeguard was on duty, he was very vigilant, & was constantly observing the pool & clearing the excess water from around the pool area which was quite sloppy.
The pool bar:
Found some of the staff quite rude on this bar. Kelly & David were lovely & would often give a smile, some of the others couldn’t manage that. The drinks on the whole were good, we often had Sangria. I think everyone needs to learn the basics of Spanish when visiting this hotel, as it is very clear that they really do mainly cater for the Spanish, despite many other nationalities visiting. One member of staff continued to speak to me in Spanish even though I had clearly ordered my drink in basic Spanish. He said something in Spanish & then another language, so I looked at him confused & he abruptly said, “is that all” in English. Not a very friendly team of staff in some cases.
The food at the pool bar is ok. Enough to fill a hole whilst around the pool, & there is plenty of seating. This bar itself doesn’t open until 10am, so for those not wishing to have breakfast in the buffet, cannot get a coffee until this bar opens. There should be somewhere else you can get a coffee in the morning. For those up at 6am or earlier, there is no option as the buffet doesn’t open until 8am.
There are soft drink pumps outside which can always be accessed, along with a water pump.
Entertainment:
Wasn’t the best to be honest. Quite basic. We noticed again a session of Bingo, was purely for the Spanish. The music played was catered for the Spanish as most older couples got up dancing & clearly knew the music. Nothing really for any other guests. We noticed one night, the music was mainly for the Spanish guests, & a lot of other guests got up & left.
The location of the hotel is great. Come out of the gate around the pool area, walk across a small bike lane & you’re on the promenade with the beach right there. It’s lovely & flat, & can be walked in either direction. There are a couple of restaurants to the right, with a couple of quirky shops. The sand on the beach is gritty, sadly it’s not lovely white sands, so we chose not to have a beach day. There is small road train that goes each hour, but times can be obtained from the little red hut. There are road bikes for hire, the ones where 4 people can get in & pedal. There is a little hop on hop off bus which we did, but bare in mind there are 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. We got off at the harbour/port & ended up there for over 5 hours as there wasn’t another bus until 5:45pm as the bus restarts at 5pm followed by the last one at 7pm. We tried to get a public bus back from the port, but there wasn’t one, & we couldn’t locate a taxi, so we ended up pretty stuck.
On the whole a good week, but the hotel definitely needs some improvement."
