This was our second visit to the Victoria Golf & Beach Resort, Playa Dorada. We’ve never done return visits anywhere before, so you get a good impression of the kind of place this is.
Guests: This is ideal for couples, or older ones, looking for a quiet holiday. The evening entertainment is low key (local dancers, local bands, karaoke nights etc.) but there are bars/clubs nearby if you want something more lively. Often after the evening entertainment the guys from the hotel’s animation team will take you out there. The views are amazing across the golf course and the mountains, and the wildlife are a pleasure to watch, especially watching to see when the eggs along the nests in the river hatch
Facilities: There
are two pools; the main one is kept busy by the entertainment team, and the second is the quiet, adults only pool, where there is no music except for the local wildlife. There is a bar there to keep you fully refreshed though. There are 4 restaurants; one pizzeria only open on an evening, a main buffet restaurant (the food here is unlike many buffet restaurants, I couldn’t fault the food at all! There’s something for everyone), an a la carte restaurant for those formal evenings and a beach restaurant. Each serve fab food with enough variety to keep all tastes happy. All very clean and food is always very hot. I have not heard of anyone being ill from the food here. Bicycles are available for an hour should you wish to travel around Playa Dorada and can be picked up at the gate. A friendly warning tho – there are no brakes, you have to peddle backwards to stop!! There are also tenniscourts and, of course, a golf course (in the top 100 of the world!). I cannot fault the cleanliness of this hotel. Maid service is every day, with clean towels provided. They even give you beach towels which are changed each night ready for the next day! No need to even bring your own,
Beach: The beach is a very quick hop on the hotel’s buggy, or 3 mins walk. The waters on a nice day are crystal clear! If you like to snorkel, then walk around the beach to the left for a couple of minutes, and line yourself up in the sea with the kayak booth – that’s beautiful reef and rocks with millions of fish there. The beaches are cleaned daily so there is no build up of seaweed etc. on the golden sand.
Return Guests: This is a hotel which values loyalty. As a return visitor we were upgraded to a junior suite room for free and had access to the sister hotel The Gran Ventana and were able to use their bars and a la carte restaurants too. If it’s your return trip, the seafood restaurant on the beachfront is not to be missed!!
Staff: I have not met a nicer bunch of staff anywhere on my travels. They are all very happy, welcoming people who love to have a laugh with you. The animation team are also great, keeping you occupied during the days and nights, but if you’re not interested in games, just tell them straight. They won’t be offended.
Tour Operator: When it comes to the tour operator, I can’t recommend them highly enough. First choice were superb. The rep was great, and was always there when she said she would be; always there to help with a smile, nothing is too much trouble. The flight was great, roomy and had a good choice of film/games/TV to keep you occupied. Most of the people who upgraded to Star ClassPremier said they wouldn’t again, as there really isn’t much difference in the cabins for the amount of money extra you pay. ‘Normal’ seats are incredibly roomy and leather. A seat back TV is ideal and leg room is more than you get on most airlines. They have really improved their long0haul services.
Negatives: The only down side to our stay was not something the hotel staff were accountable for. Since our stay last year (May ‘06) the hotel seems to offer rooms to cabin crew, from many airlines. While some were ok, others, due to the fact they were in a large group, were not. One group was incredibly noisy, raucous and generally in-your-face. They took up large tables in the restaurants, took up far too many sunbeds together, created havoc in the pool and made us cringe on many many occasions. This is, of course, not something the hotel can really control, but I wish they would reconsider their policy on this as the people in question are really not in keeping with the hotels atmosphere.
Price: We booked directly through the First Choice website and checked the prices with rival companies and also our local travel agent who try and match if not beat, prices. None of them came close to the price we paid! We booked 3 months before we travelled and paid £1277 for two adults – all inclusive!
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Jul 25th, 2007
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