Portaventura Gold River, Salou

...at a couple of the PortAventura hotels previously (El Paso and Caribe) and were keen to see the latest addition to the park complex, a themed hotel created to resemble a western town. It is a 502 room hotel set in several acres backing onto the PortAventura theme park and was opened in July 2009 in a ceremony performed by the actor Larry Hagman, famous for his role as JR Ewing in the 80’s TV series ‘Dallas’.
Arriving by car, the western motif ...
...also gives access to the PortAventura park, and we were given an express pass for the more popular rides which would have been useful if the park had been crowded, but in the event we did not use them.
Room:
We were allocated a room on the third floor of the main City Hall building of the hotel. The themed décor of the interior of hotel was very attractive but it’s large central atrium design means that the shrieking of children in ... more

If you loved the idea of the film 'Westworld' but don't fancy getting shot at by a malfunctionuing robot this resort could be for you!

My partner and I visited the new Hotel Gold River in late September 2009 for two nights, as we had stayed at a couple of the PortAventura hotels previously (El Paso and Caribe) and were keen to see the latest addition to the park complex, a themed hotel created to resemble a western town. It is a 502 room hotel set in several acres backing onto the PortAventura theme park and was opened in July 2009 in a ceremony performed by the actor Larry Hagman, famous for his role as JR Ewing in the 80’s TV series ‘Dallas’.
Arriving by car, the western motif is evident as soon as you leave the main road that continues to the park entrance, with an impressive sculpture of the fictional town’s founder and the approach to the hotel studded with cacti, ornamental grasses etc., which are as it happens perfectly at home in the climate of this region. The front of the hotel is dominated by another huge sculpture of a stagecoach, where the friendly concierge offers to take your luggage and directs you into the car park.
Parking:
Perhaps not important for many British visitors, but we were concerned about parking faculties after past experiences at another hotel at this resort. At this hotel the car park was hidden from the main road by landscaping and the whole complex has a gatehouse with a barrier. Though it was apparently unmanned when we arrived at 15:00, the next evening some Spanish friends arrived to collect us at 19:00 and were stopped by the gate-man and asked for our names which was reassuring - however, we didn’t get stopped and he was no longer visible in his cabin when we returned after midnight. On arriving at the hotel itself however, a security guard was doing a tour of the car park, which was reassuring. There was plenty of room too, the car park was less than ¼ full, no doubt as this was the ‘mid’ season.
Check-In:
Reception staff were efficient, there was no queue and as it was already after 15:00 we were able to access our room immediately. We were asked to select our desired breakfast slot, which are at 15 minute intervals between I believe 08:00 and 10:00, and were given cards to be presented on arrival in the breakfast room every morning. The room keycard also gives access to the PortAventura park, and we were given an express pass for the more popular rides which would have been useful if the park had been crowded, but in the event we did not use them.
Room:
We were allocated a room on the third floor of the main City Hall building of the hotel. The themed décor of the interior of hotel was very attractive but it’s large central atrium design means that the shrieking of children in the reception area echoes up to every floor. The room itself was light and spacious with a fresh decorative scheme in a quasi-Victorian style, with metal bed heads and patchwork quilt bed-covers. This was a standard room which contained two double beds, flat screen TV with a reasonable selection of channels and a fridge (but no mini-bar). The fridge was housed in a cabinet and seemed to be overheating, we left the door of the cabinet open the duration of our stay as we were concerned that it wouldn’t be able to keep our bottled water cool (and champagne, it was my birthday after all!) . The rooms have air-conditioning but windows can be opened, the air-con will shut off automatically if you do so. Unfortunately if you open the window you can avoid the noise of the air con but then you can hear the western music loop that plays all day all around the exterior areas, which after a busy day in the park you could do without. I have heard criticism of this hotel from people who would have liked a balcony, and perhaps the architects could have incorporated them into the design without compromising the appearance of the hotel, but we spent little time in the room and it’s view of the semi-industrial Tarragona hinterland, though there are mountains in the distance, wasn’t that great anyway. If they had balconies they would only end up strewn with holidaymaker's washing anyway!
The bathroom was attractive with a shrink-wrapped box of toiletries waiting for us, including the usual soap, shampoo and bath/shower gel, plus a plastic razor and shaving foam. There is a hairdryer, and a retractable clothesline positioned over the bath which is handy-since there's no balcony to hang it on.
Connecting to the internet was not very straightforward, it was not made clear in the hotel literature where and how this could be achieved and I was obliged to ask at reception. Despite saying it was not available in the rooms, we managed to connect from there, perhaps because we were only on the third floor, though the connection seemed a bit tenuous. We were not disturbed at all by noise from other guests in neighbouring rooms, but this may be because the hotel was only partly occupied. On the downside room service was perhaps not as thorough as we might have liked, on arrival there was a large greasy handprint on the door of our room which was never cleaned and similarly a dirty window went unnoticed by room service.
The Hotel Complex:
The streets are lined with buildings which are actually annex blocks of the main hotel but disguised to look like the individual buildings in a typical western town. Main Street runs slightly uphill from the City Hall building to other parts of the hotel complex: Lucy’s Mansion, which is the more exclusive block of the hotel, the River Bungalows cabin accommodation and the (non- functional) Old Train Station. There is another road off this one that leads to the park, and three swimming pools, a small shop, a minimarket, 3 bars and 4 restaurants are situated around the central square and in various places in the 'town'.
I have been to Disneyland Paris’ Hotel Cheyenne before and while that is not the same category in terms of star rating, I have to say the quality and the detail of the buildings and décor at Gold River is far superior -it even has its own graveyard- and successfully western- theming a swimming pool is quite an achievement in itself! As we were there just after the Halloween season had opened, one building overlooking the graveyard was decorated specially, as it is the new location of the ‘Burn Hotel’ which I believe was previously located at the Hotel El Paso. I have never stayed in this accommodation but apparently it is open on weekends over the Halloween season and features actors and special effects.
A big plus of this hotel is it’s proximity to the park, just a short walk of a few hundred meters (depending where your room is situated within the hotel), and you arrive in the ‘Penitance’ western area of the PortAventura park itself (see my forthcoming review of the park).
Breakfast:
The breakfast room is pleasantly decorated but has little natural light. It’s a huge impersonal canteen-style room, these are always noisy but I know from experience that this style of mass catering is unfortunately always a part of the theme park hotel experience. We found the breakfast very good, with a wide range of items both hot and cold to satisfy guests of most nationalities. Our only criticisms were that though they had British style sausages there was no brown sauce of course, the ‘hot’ food was lukewarm, and there was some under-ripe melon in the fruit salad. One of the park’s cartoon characters circulates among guests every morning, (Popeye, Woody Woodpecker etc.) On exiting breakfast one morning, a survey was being done which we were happy to participate in, and a good sign that they are looking to improve.
Restaurants & Entertainment:
In the evening we chose to go to the New Texas restaurant – as it was apparently the only one open! A large open room, we would have preferred some partitions for a little more intimacy, but again, this is theme-park style catering. Buffet food was reasonably good and not excessively priced; the T-bone steak described in the menu which we ordered was in fact a rib steak but excellent and well-cooked nonetheless.
The bar on the other side of the square has a show every night at 10:00, with different artists throughout the week, typical family-friendly stage acts that fit with the hotel concept like knife throwing, magic and acrobatics.
Summary:
The Hotel theming is superb in it’s scale and detail and will delight children and adults alike, and for a break of a few days or a week with it’s easy access to the park, it’s a great choice among the PortAventura hotels. We’ve experienced quite a few hotels in the US and Europe and, making allowances for the fact that this is a theme-park hotel, this is an establishment of a good standard, and a fun place to visit, but It has to be said he four-star rating is misleading, this is not a true 4* hotel by international ratings.
We always choose to take our holidays out of season and we accept that certain things will not be available but it would be nice to be able to see exactly what facilities will be closed (e.g. the restaurants) and be able to consult information like the entertainment schedule, maps or even menus before we arrived, which could be included on the PortAventura website. The hotel literature is quite complete, but you receive it on arrival so cannot do as much advance planning to make best use of your time. The western music that plays constantly from about 09:00 could get on your nerves especially after a noisy day in the park, or if staying for more than a few days. As the hotel only opened in July, the vegetation needs more time to mature but is very effective as indeed is the whole hotel concept, so…
I recommend this hotel, and I can’t wait to go back, !
 

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