"I am a seasoned traveller and stayed here for 7 nights all inclusive with my two boys aged 9 and 13. I knew it was a 3 star hotel and set my expectations accordingly.
The rooms - Yes they are small, the double room is the same size as the rooms for a family of 3 or 4, they just put either a single bed or bunk bed at the bottom. We had a room with 3 single beds. It was fine for our needs and there was plenty of storage space including a huge wardrobe. Our suitcases fit inside that and under the beds. We were in Block B, top floor (3rd floor) and I had paid for a pool view with Jet2. The view was beautiful, of Block A pool, most of the hotel grounds and the sea in the background. The air con worked well. There are a few English tv channels (50-55). I asked at reception for extra pillows for the beds and they were brought up within the hour, no problem at all. I did not hire a fridge as I filled our bottles with iced water every night before bed. The bathroom was a shower over the bath, as well as a bidet! The rooms were cleaned daily except for 1 day, and the cleaners did a good job. Put towels on the floor if you want them replacing. We did not hear any noise from neighbouring rooms at all.
The hotel - The hotel was spotlessly clean all round. The grounds are lovely and the facilities are second to none! For a family hotel, kids absolutely will not be bored here. There is so much to do. The kids disco is around 8.15pm and the main entertainment I think was 9.15pm. They would have music after that. The stage is huge and there are so many seats, you shouldn't be stuck for a place to sit. The boys all congregate on the football pitch when the sun goes down to play football as it's much cooler. Parents can sit and watch. You can buy a ball from the shop for 9.95 or hire one from the hire shed nearby for a 10 euro deposit, refunded upon return of the ball. The kids all played very nicely together. It was mostly English guests and kids, and then I'd say Spanish (older generation) and a few German/French. There are inflatables every evening for the younger kids too (free). There is an arcade which you'll need some euros for. The staff are lovely and aren't pushy to get you involved in the various daytime and evening activities. The beach is right next to Block A and is stunning. No sunbeds on the beach at the moment though (nothing to do with the hotel, dispute with local authority apparently). The hotel has a shop which sells pretty much everything, although it is quite expensive.
The pools - There are 2 main pools (A and B) -, a small splash pool next to B pool, a bigger splash pool with small slides, a tipping bucket etc, the waterslides pool, and an adults only pool. I went end of May and the pools were lovely, within 5 seconds of getting in they felt warm. Kids were jumping in at 9.30am and they did not feel cold. The pools open at 9.30am (gates are locked before this) and yes, a few people do start to queue an hour before (totally unnecessary). We spent all of our time at Block B pool and got there at 9.25am each morning. The biggest queue is by the restaurant, the queue by the stage is tiny so we just joined that and easily got a sunbed every day. They blow a whistle and open the gates at the same time. Absolutely no need to get there crazy early. The waterslides are fun, you cannot wear goggles though. You also aren't allowed inflatables in the main pools, max size is a small ring.
The food/drinks - We were all inclusive. The food in the main buffets is the only thing that slightly lets the hotel down. It isn't horrible, there just isn't a huge amount of choice at lunch and dinner. The breakfast is good, and the fresh pancakes/omelettes were lovely. My kids lived on the pancakes with nutella. Lunch and dinner were always very similar, lots of salads, pasta, rice, chips and then a couple of meat/fish choices. As you walk around the food stations, you'll notice that it's just the same 3 or 4 items repeated. On the plus, you also have the Burger Bar (located at Block B bar) that is open 12pm - 10pm. Free on the AI are chips, burger, nuggets, onion rings (to die for)and a cheese and ham toastie. The other items you have to pay for, but you get them around half price if you are AI. The Angus burger is absolutely delicious! It costs 4.95 on AI but is SO worth it, it is huge and comes with cheese, bacon and fresh salad. We had those every day if we weren't keen on lunch/dinner, and to think you can have chips, onion rings and a drink with it, it's not bad at all for the price. We didn't like the free burger, didn't taste like it had ever seen a cow, and the nuggets were dark meat so we didn't enjoy those either. The pizza corner is by Block A and the pizzas are lovely, best when piping hot. The free ice creams (behind the bar) are vanilla and strawberry in pots. The fancy ice creams you can see are payable. The drinks were good. Soft drinks are all branded (coke, fanta orange and lemon, sprite etc) and there is strawberry and lemon slush, all of these are self-serve. You also get beer, wine, sangria, cava, and local spirits free. No cocktails included, but you just learn to make your own - I loved cherry brandy and coke or strawberry slush, or sangria with apricot brandy and orange fanta. Just order 2 drinks and mix them. There is coconut rum, peach schnapps, vodka, gin, rum, whiskey etc. Also hot drinks are self serve and there are all sorts of coffee (decent) plus tea, hot choc etc. Cold water and ice available at all times too, to fill your bottles.
The area - There is a bus stop outside the hotel and reception will help you if you don't understand the timetable. The beach is a must. I hired a car and we went to the zoo for a couple of hours. It is a lovely little zoo and has a couple of play areas for younger kids, plus a splash pad at the end to cool off. It isn't a full day out though, half at most. We also visited the waterpark up the road at Marina Pack hotel. After 2pm it is half price, 10 for adults and 5 for kids. It was very quiet, given it was a weekend and school holidays. I'm not gonna lie, it is a bit run down and not very clean. My youngest son enjoyed it but my eldest son hurt himself on the first 2 slides (maintenance is definitely required) and refused to get off the sunbed due to the amount of things floating in the water. There were only 2 staff manning the whole place, 2 young lads who couldn't speak English, so sometimes some slides weren't open while they were running others etc. So if you do go, set your expectations low. You have to buy tickets from Marina Park hotel reception. We also visited the Midnight Taj Indian restaurant and were very disappointed. It was quite expensive so I thought the portions would be big, we were wrong. We all left hungry. Plus we had to wait well over an hour for the food and the service was very poor. Apparently the Chinese next door is good though. There are a few shops dotted around, but not your usual 'tat shops' that you get in most resorts. Backgammon up the road is good for food/drinks/sports and has lots of (payable) things to keep the kids entertained. There is a 'supermarket' next to Backgammon too.
Overall, we absolutely loved the hotel. The kids made friends and had so much fun. Everything has been thought of for families. It is 3 star so remember that and you'll be happy. As I said, rooms are quite small but you won't be in it much with so much to do. The holiday is what you make it, and if you go looking to pick faults I'm sure you could find a few, but the positives massively outweigh any slight negatives and it is a fantastic hotel for families."
