Having viewed this site prior to booking our holiday I decided that there's only one way really to find out, and that's to go!! Everyone's tastes and standards are different so read reviews but ultimately what is fantastic for one family may be a disappointment for another.
Hotel; Very clean however VERY basic bedrooms, ours had a prison type metal bunk bed at the foot of two singles put together, reminisant from a scene of Porridge!!!!
The whole hotel has either tiled or marble floors which was VERY noisy,even a fairy in slippers would have sounded like a herd of buffalo stampeding across the Sarangeti !! Had the rooms had carpets then this would of deadened some of the noise. Unfortunately our room was next to the stairwell so we heard all and sundry coming and going, and to add insult we overlooked the tarmac carpark rather than the villas or sea, flippin typical!! They do have bikes you can take and ride, you just leave a 10 euro deposit. beware of Jellyfish and make sure you look for
the flags, Green-ok. Amber- at your own risk. Red- stay out of the water.
Food/Drink OK on the first or even second day, however the same old chicken,veal, lamb,cheese,salami and of course don't forget CHIPS did get very wearing. The soup is all powdered, and be prepared to wait in line (unless you don't have any manners like some residents!) If you like a decent cup of tea or coffee then don't get them from the machine as all the water used tastes of salt,the only water good enough is the mineral water (of which you cannot fill your own drinking bottles!) We ended up buying some tea bags, heating up the mineral water in the microwave provided and then adding the breakfast milk. Other than that the cafe by the rocks on the adjoining beach does a mean cafe con leche (white coffee) for 2 euros.
Pool; As per the other reviews, unless you are out and waiting by 8.30 forget about any decent sunbeds or parasols, and getting up at that time on holiday kind of defeats the object of R & R !!Pools didn't look like the one's in the brochure!!
Entertainment; Overall I was very impressed with the entertainment,I loved it, however the only moan I would have is that the main show/act doesn't start till 10pm which would mean if you had kids a sleep during the day could help
Staff; Room staff were very pleasant, bar staff could have done with cheering up, as could of the dining room staff, however overall I thought the staff worked VERY long hours, and if I had to do that kind of a working week I would probably be a bit grumpy too! The reps were helpful and Jolly Jo and Emazing Emma were wonderful, barmy as a brush but that's what the kids loved about them.
My major gripe about this holiday was that we thought it was only a 3* rather than a 3*+, and bearing in mind that it is an all inclusive hotel, we took my wifes niece with us we thought she could have snacks all day long if she wanted, This was not the case, any snacks served were at set times (ie.6-7pm kids tea and 10pm-12pm latenight snacks) these HAD to be eaten in the dining room as did the Ice cream, nothing could be taken out to the terraces, so if your little wants an ice cream during the day, you either have to buy one from the bar or as with anything in the dining room, you have to change into dry clothes and eat it in there. One resident brought this up with a rep and their only answer was "that's the hotels policy" well I'm sorry but that's not good enough, it was flippin hot and there's only so much salty water drinks you can manage!!
I did cringe several times whilst we were there at the "Brits abroad" attitude, however we also met some lovely people too. I think this resort was definately at the better end of town,however the town itself was VERY tacky,Blackpool abroad, I would have prefered to have seen some more rustic and authentic spanish restaurants rather than Pizza,Steak and of course CHIPS!!! One week was enough for me though. For me it was too much money for a basic holiday, next time we'll go 4 or 5 star, it's worth the extra as far as we're concerned!!
RESORT - Lovely beach at foot of hotel, however we could NOT go in the sea as there were too many jelly fish. There is a flag system that is checked by the beach staff so you will be warned if they are in the sea. Lots of people got stung but we loved the pool so it didnt spoil our time. 10 min walk to Calan Forcat - small water park, shops and bars. We hired a car and visited several small beaches - Cala Mitjana - hilarious for the kids as there were some nudists there!!! Lots of places for you to just stop on the road take a towel and dive into the sea.
All in all we had a great time, the weather was a little cloudy at times and it was VERY windy in the resort but we all got tans and we made some great friendsd.
ENTERTAINMENT - Good family fun, archery, shooting, killerpool etc. The grown ups got very competitive and we had lots of fun booing eachother at certificate giving time. Evening shows - some were good the african dancers and mexican show. Magic show was good for kids, but beware of the PARROT SHOW. Go down to the town instead.
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Excellent. I must say I never go for all inclusive because I prefer to roam around and see all the restrarants a place has to offer, but I am sure that when I have children to please I will be grateful of that option. In your case it doesnt sound very flexible though, which must have spoiled things. A good read.
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