SBH Monica Beach Resort

"After reading previous reviews on Trip Advisor I was really concerned about my 9 day booking at the Monica Beach Hotel. However on arrival I was pleasantly surprised, the foyer felt open and clean and check in was managed quickly with politeness. (although it would have been helpful if staff at check in could of advised us of the payment and key for the safe, which we had to return to reception to complete after getting to our room). We had paid for a sea view room and were not disappointed, our room 274 was at the far end of the hotel, right on the front and had a lovely view of the beach and sea and was lovely and quiet. Everything in the room was clean and tidy as was the patio area outside. The shower was really good and strong, although hot water took awhile to come through. In general the hotel grounds are well kept and staff work hard to keep the gardens looking good. Three days into our holiday a bad storm hit which did bring down a couple of small ceiling panels in the foyer, there were also a few towels and buckets around to catch rain leaking through in a couple of places, however this did not affect our stay in anyway. That said I do think the hotel chain SBH should seriously look at maintenance/repair of the roof. We also had a couple of issues with our door catches (patio and bathroom) being loose, but once we had report it everything was repaired with a couple of hours. The food was faultless, and thank you to the chefs who worked so hard to serve so many people with such variety. Also a huge thank you to the staff who cleared the tables an re laid them, they were amazing and always so happy and full of enthusiasm. Out of the two bars (African and Pool) we much preferred the African , the barmen were always polite and friendly. At the Pool bar we found it disappointing that although there were several signs telling people not to smoke under the bar canopy, no one would enforce the policy and signage, so after an extremely disappointing afternoon when at least 8 people were smoking and 2 bar staff would not advise to them stop or move, we rarely used this bar. I should add that once we had spoken with Julian he did approach the nearest couple and they apologised before moving outside to finish their cigarettes The hotel does have a good entertainment team, who do their best to provide enjoyment for everyone, and Julian was exceptional at trying to include every person. Personally we found that the evening entertainment started a little late for us and it was tedious having to watch children's entertainment until 9.00pm every night. Seating was limited so if you didn't get there early enough there was nowhere to sit. That said it is a family hotel and the children seemed to enjoy themselves. To sum up, yes the hotel is a bit dated and needs some serious maintenance (roof), but the staff are brilliant and really make the effort to help you enjoy your holiday. Everything is clean and staff work hard to clean up after some very untidy multi-national tourists. We would happily return and should add that we also spoke with others that were on their return visits. My last comment is not really in regard to the hotel, but after the storm had passed, we went for a walk on the beach which had quite a few Portuguese Men of War on it (also known as Blue Bottles) these can give a very painful sting and are particularly dangerous to children. I would have been nice if the hotel put some warning signs up to advise parents of the danger."

"After reading some of the reviews, I was really worried about going to the hotel, but honestly, it's not ALL bad, but admittedly, it's not all good either. Check-in was ok, but not very informative of the hotel. We had booked a Sea view room, which we saw a small part of, it was on ground level and would benefit from a privacy curtain and not just the heavy ones,( which were old and grubby) it meant turning on lights during the day. The rooms are tired and dated and need a makeover, but they are clean.The whole interior of the hotel needs it too. The food was ok, not great, but you won't go hungry, and as others have said its variations of the same most nights, but they are cooking for the masses and to be expected. We didn't find all the staff to be friendly, only a few, but we appreciate the hard work, especially the cleaners, who come in daily. Also, the entertainment team, they are trying their best! One evening in the restaurant there was alot of management staff greeting people and being all friendly and nice, only the once, and all because there were questionnaires on the tables, one friendly night isn't going to make things "great" . The grounds are lovely and kept clean, and the location is right on to a lovely beach. There isn't a lot to do in Costa Calma. It's an ideal place for a lazy holiday. If you like to explore, then it might be worth hiring a car. We didn't have a bad weeks stay, but I wouldn't return to this hotel, and I would say it's a 3 star at best, yet it has so much potential."

"A lovely relaxing holiday. Initial impressions were very poor. Rooms are in dire need of refurbishment, very large crack in ceiling, looking ready to fall down and generally dated. Did not use the settee as it felt grubby. Amenities need repairing, such as reception toilets (holes in doors) etc. On the positives. Grounds kept lovely and very pretty and areas kept clean. Food was lovely and was as expected at an all inclusive. Staff all worked very hard. Beach bar had beautiful views and was such an amazing place to relax. The positives outweighed the negatives. But if maintenance was improved and rooms refurbished this hotel would be fantastic."