Apartamentos Castillo Beach

The bungalow was small but really nice, though we’d booked one with a kitchen and didn’t get it. They said the cleaner came every four days, but we never saw one during the stay and had to wash our own towels and sheets. The food was disgusting, with very little choice, no salad and not even a fried egg at breakfast. There was no outdoor seating area, and one receptionist was super unfriendly. We’ve just got back today. Try to avoid it.

The complex is huge, with about five pools, a supermarket, a Brit shop, bars and restaurants. There’s also a basketball court, tennis court, little football pitch and small park. Laundry cost €5 to wash and €4 to dry, with detergent provided. The all-inclusive food was okay, though my family and I didn’t find much we wanted to eat, but that’s down to preference. Some staff were rude, while others were really friendly and helpful. One bar worker would automatically bring us five cups whenever we came in. The bathroom was dirty on arrival, with what looked like blood spots and dirty sink drawers. A cockroach came in on our last night. They scrubbed the inside of the pool once in my five days, but left muck in a corner, and didn’t clean the outside at all. It’s a 20-minute walk to the beach, with an uphill walk back. There was no hand soap, only two towels and no bath mat for the whole stay. For the first two days, the bath drain didn’t work and water came up through a floor drain, flooding the bathroom. Someone fixed it, and it seemed fine after that.

The accommodation left a lot to be desired. We spent four nights in a bungalow and were disappointed from day one. Reception gave us a badly drawn map, and it took 20 minutes to find the place. There were broken glass shards under the furniture, so it clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly. We got three toilet rolls for about five days and no bathroom products, not even hand soap. Towels were changed every three days and sheets every week, but we didn’t get the cleaning after three days that we’d asked reception for. The woman on duty said she wasn’t doing it. The pool was only cleaned superficially, and there weren’t enough sun loungers for all the bungalows, or even one per bungalow. The staff were unfriendly and there was a sharp exchange just because we asked for a bath towel. There were two large towels and one hand towel in the room. I work in this field, and I know plenty of things weren’t done. I paid for a lot of services I never received.

I’ve stayed here several times and never had any problems. It’s a cheap, 2 star place, so you get what you pay for. The all-inclusive food is terrible, though, so I’d recommend self-catering. Otherwise, I’d recommend it as an affordable place to stay.