Estival Park Almaris

"We will NEVER return to Estival Park hotels. You could not pay me to come back. LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS! As I am sat in the reception now writing this review, another British lady is upset and complaining g about how she’s been treated. It’s really terrible here. Almaris is a 2 star hotel with overall 1 star service. We will never return, (this includes Silmar next door which is just as bad for food). We sit here now with deep regret of wasting our hard earned money on a terrible holiday. If you like freezing bad quality food, unclean rooms and rude staff then this is the place for you. This is an in depth review as we are angry about it all and don’t want anyone else to have the same experience. I’ll start with the only positives - Entertainment team in the day by the pool were high energy and made a good effort. The evening entertainment at Silmar was ok (but all in Spanish, a little translation now and again in a few languages to make all the children feel included would’ve been nice). It is a Spanish heavy hotel and 90% of staff don’t like the English, they make that very clear. They also have a dedicated French entertainment team which was odd and they pay no attention to anyone else - Basically this is a hotel for the Spanish and French only. - Hotel grounds kept clean. - Location good, 5 minute walk to the beach. No other positives at all. Negatives… Firstly, myself and two young children ended up very unwell with fevers and vomiting by the end of the holiday. Lack of quality food and overall stress from the hotel was a factor. We asked for late check out until 12, told no, then said please even by just 30 minutes (as it was an early 10.30 check out), told point blank no and the fact we were unwell didn’t matter as we still need to be out by 10.30. This was the night reception team, I understand the rules but they have absolutely no care in the way they deliver a message, making guests feel like rubbish. We sat in reception after checkout feeling incredibly unwell, and could see our room (on reception floor) wasn’t even looked at by cleaners until gone 12. Rooms / Grounds / Pool - We had two rooms, one was a duplex with balcony, but the balcony was a fully enclosed plastic fish bowl with zero air flow, overlooking the bins, (woken by very early bin Lorrie’s multiple times, and recycling bins, glasses smashing all day long). IT STINKS you cannot go out onto the ‘balcony’ it fills your room with the smell of hot rubbish. If you hang clothes out they smell absolutely disgusting like they’ve been in a waste site. This should not even be classed as habitable. - The other room was a double superior room that did not have a balcony, it had a brick wall courtyard with a brick wall ceiling (it’s actually laughable it was so terrible, like a dungeon). Asked for a room change on both but not possible until day 6 of 7 of our holiday...which was pointless. - Because of the terrible stench I had to complain after a few days and ask for a complementary laundry service as our room was part of the bins so all clothes on balcony smelt appalling. But even that wasn’t simple, after two people at reception and two phone calls to their office I finally got a bag of clothes agreed to be laundered for free. - Overall decor everywhere is in need of updating. The buildings outside are going black, looks dirty, damp and old. The room especially uncared for, a lot of big marks and damage, everything tarnished. - Flushing noise in the room woken every night. Our bedroom backed onto a bathroom and it was like being inside a toilet everytime they flush all night. I’m not sensitive to noise but this was loud. - Door/walls do not prevent noise, you can hear children running up and down screaming at all hours. Also being on reception level 0 - you can hear the restaurant and bar area very loud underneath you. - Room never cleaned (until day 6 after complaining). We had to buy slippers to be able to walk on the floor as your feet would be black after coming out the shower walking on the floor. - No in room kettle or safe included. Mini fridge is hidden away, we didn’t even know it was a cupboard (no handle), so found that 1 day before leaving. Pool area / snack bar - Pool area completely surrounded by run down black marked buildings so never full sun on the entire pool at any time so not great if you like to sunbathe. You need to be down by 9/10am to get a sunlounger or you have no hope. Not enough sunloungers for the size of the hotel. It’s like sardines. The pool area is very cramped. - Adults only roof top pool is nice but NOT ALL INCLUSIVE, the website is misleading. It’s €15 per day per person for a sunlounger and one single drink. You have to buy all your drinks up there. - ‘Pool bar’ is inside and you get told off if not fully covered up, which is difficult when you’re trying to enjoy your day by the pool. Have to dry and put tshirt and shorts on every time you want a drink. We got told off anytime we forgot to put a pool cover up on. But if they see a non English guest in a bikini top, the bar staff say nothing. Typical attitude of this hotel, I actually pointed it out to them because we felt so targeted and the man just shrugged and walked away. - Toilets are also inside so you have to fully dress and dry. They shout at you if you don’t. My son is 3 so still toilet training and when he urgently needs to go, I’m rushing him in but being told off by staff for not putting a top on him. He’s 3 for goodness sake. Eventually we found some toilets hidden behind the back of the pool (not signed) on the last two days, but they are DISGUSTING and not cleaned regularly. - Partners wrist band fell off so he carried it on him whilst by the pool (would go to reception later for a new band). Again staff shouted and refused to serve him, shewing him away. - Snack bar does good chips and burgers ok etc. but it’s shut during 12/1 to 3pm for lunch. So if you want to sit outside and just eat from the snack bar for lunch, you can’t, you’re forced to sit in the dining hall eating cold food after queueing for 30 mins. - Pools themselves are fine and kept clean, but small. So many people you can’t really swim. Cleanliness - Cleanliness is ok, room had a basic clean before arrival, but tops of beds, tv, mirrors etc were dusty. The daily room cleaners made the beds and emptied the bin, that’s it. Floors/bathrooms were never cleaned (until day 6 after I complained), but they mopped our Spanish neighbours rooms most days and left ours not done. We smiled and said hello to the cleaners every day but still you got nothing. We had this experience in BOTH rooms, so again even the cleaners don’t bother if you are English. - The restaurant was clean but on many occasions plates are left to pile up on your table and not removed. Difficult as a family of 5 including 2 children. - Also staff leaving dirty trolleys with bins right next to your table whilst eating. My baby in a highchair could reach into the bin, and they didn’t care. So inconsiderate and unhygienic. Food / restaurant - Terrible, cold and bad quality. - Don’t expect a fresh omlette / pancake as that doesn’t exist. Don’t expect ANY hot food, not even warm food. Watery cold mushy vegetables for nutrition. (Salads were basic but ok). - 30+ minute queues breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then no one shows you to a table, you just get sent into a massive dining hall to find the one or two tables that may be free. - If you put a pushchair or highchair anywhere not convenient for the staff, then you get shouted at. I understand they need a clear walk through, but they send you in and there is no appropriate table for your family …. What are you supposed to do? - We were a table of 5 and multiple times you queue for 30 minutes then still told no table for you and don’t send you in….. like what?! The restaurant is not equipt for the hotel size and the fact three hotels can go to one restaurant, it isn’t actually a good idea. - Eating and entertainment times not good for children. Dinner starts at 8pm in Almaris and kids disco starts 8.30pm in Silmar next door (no kids club at Almaris). I’ve never had such late times in a hotel, my children eat at 6.30/7. - No kids buffet - The food is FREEZING COLD. Even the new batches they bring out are cold which is odd. In the whole week we had one warm meal, which was a fresh paella. It felt like luxury to have some warmth on your plate. - The quality of ingredients awful, everything drink and food in this hotel is the cheapest. - If you have an allergy do not bother coming here. Dairy was an issue for us and no clear restaurant manager to speak to. After 2 days it got ridiculous as my children had nothing of quality or nutritious to eat, so I complained. They are the least accommodating hotel for allergies I’ve ever experienced. They state they offer options and they do but it is LIMITED (e.g gluten free bread and soya milk that’s it). I’ve been to 3 star hotels with better food service who always help us. Eventually they managed to find one packed dry muffin that was dairy free so thankfully that kept my son happy for 7 days. I’m glad he’s easily pleased. The chef was polite and I appreciate her trying, it wasn’t her fault, but unfortunately the kitchen runs on quick cheap methods that supplies cold food in bulk with no consideration for alternatives. The (not) all inclusive - There is no bottled water in the all inclusive it’s a machine that’s not open 24 7... You HAVE to buy there plastic refillable bottle (€6 I think). if you fill up in your own bottle (my children had sippy cups) they shout and tell you there bottles only. We ended up telling them to leave us alone because it was becoming ridiculous that you can’t even fill a child’s cup up with WATER. - ice creams are cheap machine stuff, you have to pay for proper ice cream/lollies (which made our holiday expensive with my sons needing lollies due to dairy allergy). - cookies, snacks and better alcohol all PAYABLE - Adults only pool no all inclusive drinks. - Coffees are also machine, you have to pay for better. No kettle or tea/coffee making in the room that’s an extra….. it’s not all inclusive. I can only thank a few staff for being hospitable and polite. Everyone else in the hotel was cold and dismissive or openly rude to us. - Argentinian man (cannot remember his name sorry) in Almaris bar area, polite and friendly. - Young man with short dark curly hair in Almaris bar area (didn’t catch your name). Always smiled and made an effort to interact with my son. Thank you for making him smile. - These two people deserve some acknowledgement as they made us feel a little better. But even these people here, it was basic hospitality, all staff members should be like this and not rude. The people behind the bar were incredibly rude. - Most daytime reception team were also fine, but night reception team not so friendly. La Pineda has a lovely sandy beach. Good promenade of shops, arcade, parks and restaurants. Sunloungers are €30 for 2 and an umbrella, they take cash or card. You can buy deck chairs and umbrellas at the local Shops too. So the area is nice and I would recommend La Pineda, just not Estival Park hotels, stay somewhere else for your own sake!"

"We had a wonderful stay at this hotel and would highly recommend it. As a family from England, we had read some comments about unfriendly staff and the French-focused entertainment, but this certainly wasn’t our experience, so please don’t let that put you off. We never felt left out because lots of the evening entertainment was in English, and even when activities were run in French, I joined in and had great fun! We stayed all-inclusive, and the food was very good. There were different choices every day, often with themed evenings, and there was plenty to cater for our three fussy eaters. The kids sweets in the evening were also a big hit! There were occasionally queues at busy times, but they were very efficient and we never waited more than around 10 minutes. The hotel was exceptionally clean overall. The only small point we noticed was that the bathrooms appeared to be swept but the sinks and other surfaces weren't always cleaned as thoroughly. The on-site gym was free to use, which was a bonus, while the spa had additional charges, as you would expect. Our duplex room was spacious, with plenty of storage for four people and a lovely view of the pool from the balcony. All of these rooms are located on the ground level, although you do need to go down a set of stairs to reach the pool and restaurant. The beach is amazing and only around a five-minute walk along a flat path. Some days the sea had waves, while on other days it was as calm and warm as a bath! The only downside was the cost of the sunbeds at €15 each. La Pineda is a small resort, so there isn't a huge amount to do but there is a bus stop directly outside. The bus into Salou costs around €3 one way and takes approximately 25 minutes, making it easy to explore the area. All in all, we had a wonderful stay and would happily return. English guests, please don't be put off by some of the comments – we felt very welcome and thoroughly enjoyed our holiday!"

"We are currently here at Almaris. Positives: Nice modern clean rooms that are fully air conditioned, ours overlooks the pool but still quiet at night so have been sleeping well. Food is decent, always lots of options, not repetitive. Although only lukewarm. Rooftop terrace is lush as it’s nice and relaxing although it’s an extra 30 euros per couple per day for a daybed. Which isn’t mentioned at the advert where most pictures show this pool. They recycle the glasses and you have a token to use which reduces a lot of plastic waste. Surrounings of the complex is beautifully maintained although again you’re not allowed to use most of it apart from the 2 main buildings and the gym and spa. So not allowed to go to the quieted pools or get a drink at the other restaurant. Hotel is nice and clean throughout Negatives: No water in the room for when you arrive, no small fridge or coffee making facilities. Hotel is extremely crowded near lobby and bar area. Nowhere to really relax unless you want to be in the middle of it. Staff is rude, you always feel like they’re doing you a massive favour if you dare ask for anything at the bar. Nobody greets you around the hotel. Tiny pools in main hotel and even at the other sister hotel with beds pushed together. Overcrowded Advertised as beach front with private beach. None of this is true, it’s a good 10 min walk to beach and you have to pay for bed 10 euros without shade, 30 (for 2 ) with umbrella. The hotel has a bar at the beach but all inclusive doesn’t apply there. No cocktails are included in AI, they’re at extra cost. Restaurant is tiny with massive queues so we mainly use the other hotel that is a much more pleasant environment. All inclusive isn’t really AI as you are only allowed to use it for certain places, not in the a’la cart or beach bar nor the rooftop bar. Parking is a bit of a hassle. It gets booked up but luckily we found a place a few hundred meters away for 7 euros per day otherwise it’s 18 at the hotel if you can get in. Unfortunately Fridays are not available at the big carpark due to market so we booked 2 days at the hotel carpark. On beach front you can park for 12 euros per day but you need to be early as it fills up fast. Animation is in French and staff only spoke to the French speaking guests. Overall it’s not a hotel where we would return to unfortunately."