Grupotel Taurus Park

The hotel works well for a short stay, and the local beach, shops and restaurants are about a 15-minute walk away. I only spent one night here. The staff were welcoming and friendly, the entrance smelled lovely, and my room on the 9th floor was cosy, neat and had a perfect ocean view. I paid extra for the buffet breakfast. It was okay, with plenty of options.

The elevators were a nightmare, with too few for all the guests and long waits. Housekeeping was only okay. Towels and bedsheets weren’t changed regularly, and I’m not sure how much cleaning was done. The place gets very crowded during holiday season. Parking was okay and near the attractions, and there are two grocery stores within walking distance. Breakfast was good, but I didn’t like anything at the very expensive dinner buffet. There are better restaurants nearby. The gym smelled, and I didn’t use the Turkish Bath or spa because they seemed unclean.

The staff were wonderful and kind, and the beds and breakfast were fine, with lots of options. Still, we left in the morning after problems in both rooms. The hotel partly refunded our last day. Our first room was in rough shape: the door frame was battered, with holes in the sheetrock, and we could hear everything outside the door. The bathroom looked nice until we saw mold in the shower. At almost 4 AM, the air conditioning started blowing air that smelled of cigarette smoke. We shut it off and opened the balcony door, but the whole room still smelled like cigarettes. We changed rooms at 4 AM. That one smelled fine and had no air-conditioning issue, but it had the same mold and battered door problems. No hotel should have cigarette smoke coming through the ventilation or mold in the showers. It felt more like a 2-star hotel to me, despite the lovely staff. If you can find a clean room and have no other option, it might work.

The staff were nice and the hotel was clean, but I didn’t have a good stay. The beds and pillows were poor quality, and the air conditioning was very noisy. Breakfast felt more like 3-star quality in terms of variety, with a poor, limited bakery selection. I expected better from a 4-star hotel. As for the El Arenal area, it’s terrible and low-quality.