"This was a third March visit to this hotel. We love the location of it- smack bang in the middle of Puerto Rico and Amadores, with a lift that takes you all the way down to the promenade. Honestly, this is one of the main reasons we keep coming back. The location is just perfect.
Positives.
We checked in around 6pm (thanks Jet2 for that 2.5 hour bus ride!!!! Get a taxi and do not rely on the transfers, they take FOREVER!) and were directed to room 4508. Check in was great, offered a glass of cava or juice.
When we have previously stayed we have been in Block 3, Block 2 and upgraded for a few nights to the private pool rooms. Block 4 is a prefect location for us- super easy to get to everything and close to the lift down to the promenade. We also had no lift breakdowns this year! In previous years there was always one broken!
The room was massive, huge balcony with a perfect view of the ocean and sunset, plenty of storage. My understanding is that block 4 has not been through the renovations yet and that this is happening from April onwards. The room was kept very clean, with clean towels and sheets every day. Great fridge that kept everything cold.
Breakfast and lunch was lovely. Lots of choice, freshly cooked meats and fish, plenty of fresh fruit and salad items and the staff are working super hard to clear tables and take drinks orders. Absolutely no complaints.
There are still plenty of drink options on the all inclusive- Amstel on draft, bottles of Cruzcampo, bottles of coke, coke zero etc. Love the hot chocolate from the machines at breakfast. Partner said the coffee was ok.
All of the staff are incredibly friendly.
Negatives
Now for the not so good!
Room
- The shower flooded the bathroom every time we used it. We tried to tilt the shower head away from the door, we didn't have it on the full pressure. Nothing worked. (What I will say is the shower pressure was AMAZING!) Thankfully when we checked in they gave us two pool towels at reception and we also had two in the room, we rotated two of those at the shower door to help with the flooding (it wasn't just a trickle, it poured out!)
- One of the sinks the plug didn't work and the second sink was completely blocked so that water did not drain.
- The toilet door is just a frosted glass that has no privacy at all into the main room- same with shower. Not an issue for us, as all our previous rooms have been exactly the same so we knew to expect this.
- The Air conditioning just does not work (I think at this time of year they turn it down!) The room stayed a consistent 19-20 degrees, despite as having the unit set to 5! We slept with the balcony door open everynight, but any later in the year this would be unbearable.
Food
- It has gone down hill a little on an evening. Some nights were really lovely and every night we could find something to eat, but some of the food quality has gone down hill and you can see them reusing foods from the night before (lamb one night on the fresh grill, next night its in a stew kind of vibe.) But as I say, we always found something and you can check the menu on the website, so if we didn't fancy what was on offer one night, we went out to eat, which we always do even when we book all inclusive so not an issue at all for us.
Drinks
- One of the things we have always LOVED about this hotel, was the option to take drinks from the bar back to our room. We are not night birds, and we are not a fan of hotel entertainment, it's just not for us! At the hotel we would have a later dinner, and then grab a bottle of cruzcampo each from the lobby bar, they would ask if we were having it there or in our rooms, we would say room and they wouldn't open them us. Same with bottled water and coke zero. We could then enjoy a peaceful drink on the balcony (I know I sound like I am such an old bore, I am only mid 30s haha but we just love this.) It was also great for extra water in the rooms or a coke zero!
2 days into our stay, they say that the manager has stopped them doing this and any drinks we got from the lobby bar had to be opened and drank at the bar, no explanation, no reasoning just a straight no (although very apologetic from the bar staff, we could see they were feeling fed up with this rule change!) This led to us (and plenty of other people) saying they would drink them at the bar and then sneaking them to their rooms already open. I can understand if people were taking loads back to their rooms, but it was one drink each, maybe an extra bottle of water and then we weren't taking up seats in their very busy lobby bar?! SO weird.
Overall we had a great holiday, but the drinks thing did really annoy me. The hotel is pretty expensive and I always felt like it was justified, but now it feels like they are being difficult for the sake of it! Would we go back again? Probably for the location- but maybe bed and breakfast next time?"
