Lopesan Costa Bávaro Resort Spa & Casino

The bars were okay, but we'll never come back to Lopesan. We liked Hard Rock last year and hoped to get a better hotel this time. This place seems newer, but the service felt like two stars. If you don't speak Spanish, don't go: people often couldn't understand us, and it felt as though we were asking them for a favor. Many employees seemed unhappy at work. Booking restaurants was difficult, and I found the food one star. I just wanted honest food, not Michelin. Even the buffet placemats smelled strongly as if they weren't washed. I first thought it was the server's table, but the next day we checked another one and got the same smell, so I sniffed the table itself. Boom. Room service was awful. We called four times over six hours to get the sofa bed made for our son. Calls to restock the minibar and snacks went nowhere because they didn't understand English and I don't speak Spanish. A simple burger and fries plus chicken tenders took an hour, arrived overdone, and the fries were like a sponge. We couldn't eat it. The casino was poor, with many slot machines out of service. The first machine reset and went black. When I looked for help, a girl said, “Happens all the time,” and laughed. Blackjack dealers counted on their fingers to check whether they were winning or losing.

The gym is the best and biggest I've ever seen in a hotel. That's the one positive I can think of, and please don't answer by pointing it out, because I wouldn't recommend this place. I travel three or four times a year and feel I know what makes a good hotel. I'd picked between Lopesan and the W, and wish I'd gone with the W, which was marginally cheaper. I've got Instagram accounts with 250k and 11k followers, and I'm going to post about everything that happened. We checked in on 30th May and are staying until 8th June for my wife's 35th birthday. After a nine-hour flight, nobody came to help with our four large suitcases. We were sent to the adults-only reception, then waited an hour before a manager noticed us and got someone to assist. I'd emailed Jenifer ahead of time to arrange a birthday banner and decorations. After a drawn-out check-in, we got the keys to swim-up room 1018. Workers walk and drive down the path by it, and neighboring houses have loud parties and honk their car horns. For a £4200 room-only stay, that was a kick in the teeth. There was no birthday banner, so I went straight back to reception and was told to wait for the manager. I also asked for a swim-up room with a view other than a wall and path. The manager took 45 minutes to arrive. She apologized for the missing banner, saw my email to and from Jenifer, and promised it would be done by 3 pm the next day. It never happened. It's day four, and thanks, Lopesan, for making this extra special for her. The toilet stopped flushing, the shower has lots of damp on it, and the TV remote didn't work until we got a replacement. Customer service has been terrible. Staff look angry, and hardly anyone speaks English. Today, day four, at 12:30 pm, there were no towels left for the sunbeds, and nobody knew when more would arrive. I'm sitting at the bar waiting just to get in the pool. This isn't what a five-star hotel should look like. I don't often leave negative reviews, but this one is justified. Stay blessed, Saad.

The biggest problem for us was poor service across the resort. We also felt staff were more open and positive after receiving a tip, which shouldn't be necessary for good customer service. Staff coaching seems needed to make things better for both guests and employees. We stayed five nights. The lobby was grand and beautiful, with its artwork, furniture, and plants giving the resort a Mediterranean look. We'd asked for a garden view, but the receptionist said our room had been upgraded to a beach and water view. Instead, we saw the hotel's side road and a wall of palm trees blocking the view. We were tired from our flight and arrived late in the afternoon, so we let it go. The room itself was okay, but the fridge didn't work and one bedside lamp was broken. Housekeeping was good for the first two days, then slipped. Twice we found the door not fully closed and locked, which made us worry about our belongings. Once, the replacement towels were very damp, so we asked room service for dry ones. More seriously, after lunch and swimming one day, we returned to find the lock and door closer hinge broken, with parts missing. A worker was surprised and had to fetch parts to fix it. We waited until it was repaired before getting ready for dinner, so we could sleep feeling safe. On the last day, the room wasn't cleaned except for a rushed bed-making. There were no fresh towels or toilet paper, and the sandy floor hadn't been swept or mopped. We had to request towels and toilet paper again. We also had power cuts on the first and third nights. The third-night blackout lasted four hours, the emergency lights kept failing, and there was no running water. During the rest of the stay, power would go off and come back a few seconds later. Emergency flashlights in the rooms could help guests stay safe in these situations. The buffet food was good and, in our opinion, somewhat better than the à la carte meals. Buffet staff seemed happier, were nicer to talk to, and paid more attention to our table. At El Charro, the food was good, but we waited an hour for appetizers and mains while people who arrived later got their orders first. La Boheme's food was good and service okay. Mareas gave us much the same experience as El Charro. Gondola was best for both food and service. Staff looked after everyone, whether dining in pairs or a large group. When one of our orders was late, a staff member checked on us, offered drinks, and quickly followed up on the order. That sort of service would improve all the à la carte restaurants.

The buffet was delicious, clean, and kept fresh by the staff. We also liked the food and service at the French, Asian, and steakhouse restaurants. The Italian place had great desserts, but not much else. “The Valley,” the 24/7 American restaurant, was awful. It took an hour to get a burger, and Wendy’s is honestly better. The beach was beautiful and clean, and the pool area had fun daily activities. Rooms were clean with lovely amenities. At the bars, though, the service staff seemed annoyed to be doing customer service. I'm American and my wife is Mexican, and staff were always nicer to Cubans and Puerto Ricans at the bars. A few restaurant waiters were friendly and attentive, but they were exceptions. Keep your expectations low at the bars and you can still have fun. Beach bars serve beach cocktails. The English Pub and American Sports bars had cool decor and atmosphere, but exactly the same menu. I hoped the pub might have English ales or British cocktails, but it didn't.