Hotel El Paso & PortAventura Theme Park

"We got back from Hotel El Paso yesterday, travelling as 2 children (8 and 7 autistic boys), 2 parents and 2 grandparents. I was very worried about arriving after reading reviews in recent months but could barely fault our week. It was my children’s first trip overseas and we are already looking at rebooking for next summer. Was it perfect? No, but it isn’t advertised as 5 star luxury. The location was ideal for theme park access. We went over a few times for just a couple of hours because it was quite overwhelming for my boys. This was a huge bonus for us though as we could come and go as we needed. It is also roughly half an hour to the beach. We found that this was too much for my children but my parents got a taxi over for roughly 10 euros. In terms of the hotel itself, we found it to mostly be very clean. We were there during the horrendous storms which flooded parts of the hotel but even the aftermath of this was cleared up very quickly. I will say that there was often a bit of a musty smell around the building of our room, but this wasn’t bad enough to complain about. All of the staff that we spoke to were very friendly and helpful. There was a problem with our booking when we arrived but the staff had it sorted quickly. The queuing at mealtimes did get quite long sometimes, but I think this is expected at an all inclusive buffet. The food itself was fine, again just what you’d expect. I am vegetarian and my children have very limited diets due to autism but none of us went hungry. My children definitely enjoyed the included ice cream round the pool! I was worried my children would be bored by the pool with lack of slides and no inflatables allowed but to be honest it was difficult to get them out! For the family holiday that we needed it was absolutely perfect."

"We think this hotel is brilliant for anyone with kids wanting to go to the theme parks. We arrived about 10 am and had two rooms . We had to give them our telephone number so they could contact us when the room became available.we had a message that one was ready about 3 but had to ask about the other at 4 and they said it was ready. We knew that we would have to wait for rooms and went by the pool. Reception were really helpful and we didn’t have to queue to check in As we were there for a week all inclusive with Jet2 they store your luggage for free. The poolside bar was open but no alcohol is served until 12. The rooms were great, we had balconies overlooking the pool. We had a room for 3 and one for 4 . The decor looked fresh. It is not modern and we didn’t want that as it is a Mexican themed hotel. The shower was powerful. The aircon was just right, we put an old credit type card there permanently as someone had suggested. It doesn’t work if your doors are open . The cleaners left clean towels every day. There is no tea or coffee making in the room which I don’t expect for a hotel in Europe .There is a coffee machine and water by bar to help yourself . The hotel buildings are lovely and there is a huge pool area which is beautifully designed. There are several lifeguards. Inflatables are not allowed and I think this is so the lifeguards can see everyone. There is a little bit of sand in the bottom of the pool which is understandable as there are sandy areas by the pool. There has never been a problem obtaining a sunbed. Workers are cleaning and maintaining most of the day and everything is clean. Every member of staff has been friendly and helpful . A plastic reusable cup is required for the pool bar which costs €1. There is Estrella beer and certain drinks and ice creams are included. There is a cocktail machine and the cocktails are are ok not great. The food is the usual all inclusive buffet and was good. Orange juice at breakfast is proper orange juice and not squash as often happens. The only criticisms are that the food is not labelled very well . I am vegetarian and found that the sauce marked ‘tomato ‘ for pasta contained meat . The bar in the evening is not very good, it is in a small room inside the hotel . It is very busy and there is always a long queue. Drinks can be taken to outside areas from there. It is not really clear what drinks are available for AI but the staff will help. We booked this holiday for the kids and they have had a fantastic time. The ability to go in and out of the theme park is great. It’s not ideal to spend a whole day in the park when it’s really hot. We have been in the morning had lunch there and returned. We have gone in the evening several times and gone on rides and then watched the parade and fireworks. It is only a short walk from the hotel to the parks and about 20 minutes to Salou . I have never seen such a packed beach as Salou beach in August"

"Bar staff are incredibly rude, room are ok but very basic, food is also very repetitive so would advise not going all inclusive and go enjoy the lovely local restaurants in town, was ok but we will definitely not be coming back to this hotel"