Playasol Hotel

The beach suite's location is amazing. Sitting on the terrace right on the boulevard with a direct sea view makes me want to come back. Still, for over €200 a night, we expected more comfort. The bed was so hard it gave us back pain after one night, and the hotel felt a bit cold, with staff who weren't very welcoming or informative. We also couldn't take breakfast to the suite, and room service wasn't included. Those things would have made the stay feel more luxurious.

Being right by the beach was the one real plus, since we could walk straight out to the water. The beds were so hard and the pillows so flat that I had cramping in my back, hips, and knees every night, waking me while I slept. My husband was constantly tired from how uncomfortable he was, and the thin walls meant we could hear conversations and the TV in the next room as if they were in ours. The pool is shared with Playa Linda, so the area was badly overcrowded. Finding a chair in the morning felt impossible and cutthroat. The pool deck was so slippery that adults were slipping as they walked, and we watched a child fall hard and hit her head on the tile. Food was available several times a day with the all-inclusive plan, but much of it looked unappetizing, tasteless, overcooked, or reused. For what was essentially €600 a night, having to pay a euro each time you wanted to swap your initial set of towels for fresh ones was ridiculous. Most of the staff seemed rude and unwelcoming. My mother and I are both native Spanish speakers, and the rude tones and eye rolls we got when speaking were unbelievable. Gery and Belen at reception were kind and helpful, and Alexis was the only chef who made omelets with a good amount of filling.

The food is what won me over. Breakfast and dinner were excellent, cooked in front of you, with something for every taste. Dinner changed each night, with pasta, meat, vegetables, and desserts, and breakfast had good variety too. For what we paid in December, the value was really good. The rooms were warm in winter, and the air conditioning made it easy to keep the temperature comfortable. Cleaning was impeccable: our belongings were left alone, and the room was always tidy when we returned. The hotel is right by the sea, saving time and money on transport. There was live music one evening and arcade games. We visited in winter, so can't say how the pools are. It is a good hotel, but at first glance it doesn't feel like it deserves four stars. The rooms and bathrooms are old-fashioned, some windows were broken when we arrived, and the water smelled slightly. It wasn't especially cosy. I'd give it 3.5 stars if that were an option, but since it isn't, it gets four. Hope this helps :)

The pools and water slides are the best thing here. Still, if you're British and coming for a family holiday, I wouldn't recommend it. My family and two family friends' families are here now, paying around £1,600 each for an all-inclusive stay, but it hasn't felt like that. I felt stared at and unwelcome as soon as we arrived, maybe because I'm not Spanish and people could tell I wasn't from the area. We're only on day two, with three days left, and have felt we needed thick skin. We would have left already if we could. It seems more geared toward locals than tourists. The room is small but fine for two, just very dated. The ceiling fan sways from side to side on medium and high, like it might fall. The bathroom smells of sewage whenever I go in, so I end up spraying perfume around the room. Service has been hit and miss, maybe two out of seven. Some staff are nice, but others ignore you. At the bar by the entertainment, I waited around three minutes while it wasn't busy and staff were cleaning or bringing in dirty cups. I felt like an outcast until someone served me. Staff speak very little English, so communicating is hard and we have to use a translator. I understand that, but in a “tourist” area I expected people to be able to speak with us. The death stares don't help. The entertainment is only in Spanish, so my family and our friends' families can't enjoy it and end up calling it an early night. The food isn't great either. It's mostly the same things every day, often flavourless or not properly cooked, so I mainly pick cold food or dessert. We've had to buy snacks because the choices and taste don't fill us up. The drinks are disappointing too. The cocktails barely seem to contain alcohol. I'm a lightweight, but even after three drinks I didn't feel a thing and gave up ordering. There's not much choice, and apparently if you show money they'll add more alcohol, so I assume what you get with all-inclusive is what you get.