Hotel Gold River & PortAventura Theme Park

"Recently returned from a three-night stay at PortAventura’s Hotel Gold River and honestly… wow. We were absolutely blown away and genuinely sad to leave. From the cleanliness and attention to detail to the quality of the experience and friendliness of the staff, everything came together to create a truly memorable stay. I can honestly say I have very little negative to mention. If you’re considering staying here, here are a few tips from our trip: 1. Upgrade to The Callaghan’s if your budget allows We paid a little extra to stay in The Callaghan’s, which are essentially premium rooms in a smaller, separate building away from the busier main hotel areas. After long days in the park, having somewhere quieter to retreat to made a huge difference. The rooms were also incredibly spacious and well-equipped, with shampoo, body wash, a fridge, and hairdryer included. 2. Go to breakfast early Try to have breakfast no later than 8:30am to avoid the rush and enjoy a more relaxed start to the day. Although the park officially opens at 10:30am, hotel guests are typically admitted around 15–20 minutes earlier, and queues build quickly. We’d recommend getting to the gates around 9:30am so you’re well-positioned for opening. 3. Don’t be put off by food reviews Before travelling, I read several reviews criticising the breakfast, but even as a picky eater, we thought it was excellent. There was a huge variety: cooked breakfast items, breads, pastries, pancakes, churros, fruit, cereals, yoghurts, meats, cheeses and more. Some reviews complained the food “doesn’t cater enough to British tastes” — but you are in Spain! Embrace the local food and culture rather than expecting a full English on every corner. We were half board, so I can’t comment much on the evening buffet. 4. Evening food options are more limited One downside is that many park restaurants close when the park closes, which can leave limited options in the evening. I do wish some park restaurants stayed open until 7–8pm. Instead of paying for the buffet, we often ate at the River Restaurant (essentially the pool bar), which offers pizzas, burgers, poke bowls, and lighter options. We especially appreciated the healthier choices available throughout the resort — salads, fruit, poke bowls etc. It’s not all theme park junk food (although some indulgence is mandatory on holiday). 5. Taxis are easy and reasonably priced Reception can order taxis for you. It takes around 10 minutes to get to Salou, costing roughly €15. Our airport transfer was approximately €35 from the airport to the hotel and €25 on the return (not sure why the return was cheaper, but no complaints!). 6. Use the room key points scheme One thing not explained clearly at check-in was the purchase points scheme. Scan your room key when making purchases throughout your stay, and you can redeem points later for discounts on souvenirs. You need to spend over €40 before redeeming, so I’d recommend saving your souvenir shopping until later in the trip to maximise the benefit. 7. Gift shops all stock different items Not all gift shops sell the same merchandise, so if you see something you like, make a note of where it is. Don’t assume the main entrance shop will stock everything. 8. Ferrari Land tip: go at opening Ferrari Land opens at 4:30pm. We’d strongly recommend going then to avoid the big rush around 6pm, when the main park closes. Our favourite rides were Red Force and Flying Dreams (Around the World). Red Force was brilliant. Ferrari Land itself felt much colder and more commercial compared with the charm of the main park, and the gift shop was eye-wateringly expensive (€65 for a cap!). PortAventura merchandise is much better value and, in our opinion, nicer too. 9. Download the app before you go The app is essential — easy to use and packed with useful information including queue times, show schedules, and maps. One tip for UK guests: if you want to book your breakfast slot in advance via the app, you may need a VPN set to Spain to access the booking function. 10. Explore the other hotels Don’t just stay in your own hotel area. The other resort hotels all have their own pools, bars, and restaurants, which is great for variety. We really liked the look of Colorado Creek and spent some time by its quieter pool. We’d consider staying there next time. Mansion de Lucy also looked lovely and intimate, though understandably more exclusive given its higher price point. 11. The walk back isn’t bad at all The walk from the park entrance back to Hotel Gold River takes around 10–15 minutes max. Just follow the blue line across the car park. I’d read reviews claiming it took 45 minutes, which I genuinely cannot understand unless they got very, very lost. 12. Ride strategy matters Start at the back of the park with Shambhala, then do Dragon Khan (opens at 11am), and save Furius Baco for later in the day. Most people start with Furius Baco since it’s near the entrance, so morning queues are much worse. Uncharted was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced, but I personally wouldn’t queue 2 hours 45 minutes for it again. If queues are high, just buy the single ride Express Pass (€19) — worth every euro for the time saved. 13. Don’t skip El Diablo Neo This costs an extra €6, and we nearly skipped it — big mistake. It ended up being one of the best value experiences of the trip. 14. Some shows require a purchase A couple of shows (such as Can-Can and La Cantina) require compulsory purchase to attend. We just bought drinks, but you could easily plan this as lunch or dinner if organised. 15. Recycle your cups Soft drinks are served in reusable plastic cups. Keep your receipt, and if you return both the cup and receipt on the same day, you get €1 refunded. Overall A fantastic stay from start to finish. Visiting PortAventura really highlighted how underwhelming the UK theme park experience has become in recent years. 10/10 — would absolutely recommend for all ages. We’re already looking forward to returning. Next time, we’d stay a little longer to include the water park and allow for 1–2 dedicated pool days too. Thank you for the memories, PortAventura! ❤️🎢☀️"

"If you want to spend a few days at "PortAventura" World park, the Gold River hotel is a very good choice. It is located few minutes walk from the park, allowing you free access to the park(for the hotel's guests), allowing you maximizing the time in the parks. The rooms are really basic. Don't expect anything above the minimum. If there was an extra closet in the room it would be really great, since the current one is really small, and 80% of it are hangers and not shelves. Breakfast is really good, tasty and with a lot of variety. You have to book your slot at least a night before. It is nice, since it is balancing the ques that usually you have in hotels during breakfast time. I would recommend to arrive with a car. There is a free parking space attached to the hotel. There was plenty of space there.(I believe that during July/August it would be much more crowded). With a car you can drive 10 minutes to Salou, enjoy the restaurants there, or walking near the beach. We had dinner once in the hotel. It was nice, but there is a long que, so come early in you want to dine in."

"We spent one night/2 days at the park. It was French holidays so it was very busy. We arrived early and were checked in but we had to store our bags in a lockeroom round the corner from reception which we had to pay for and it was very confusing to do! We had booked B&B so our only option was to pay for dinner as there was no where else to eat unless you wanted junk food in the park all day and night. We paid £58 for dinner for two and were shown to a table but it was a free for all at the buffet and the food was not hot only luke warm. Quite varied though. There were no drinks only water if you wanted a drink you had to buy them from the bar and bring them through. The room was like a colonial room in America with a metal framed bed. Half the programmes on the tv didn't work. The shower is over the bath which you have to climb into and is quite slippy so becareful. We read on line that guests can get into the park at 8.30am before it opens at 10.30am and this was confirmed by reception so we booked breakfast at 8am and was told to do it on a QR code but it didn't work so I had to do it at reception. Breakfast again was a free for all and so we ate and went off (there is orange juice and coffee available this time). We went to the park entrance and the gates were closed. I went back to reception to be told we could only go at 10am not 8.30am so reception is very confusing. We had got up early for nothing. We packed and paid to store our bags again and went into the park and by 10 we had to queue to get in and it was packed. The staff at the front of the hotel didn't look like they wanted to be there. If you are going to the parks you would be better off staying off site and getting a taxi to the parks you will then have more choice for dinner and drinks and not have to store bags. The grounds of the hotel are themed on a wild west town and the attention to detail is amazing. We went to Ferrari Land at night and had to walk from the hotel across a large car park to get to it which was quite nerving."