“Pleasant early October break”

We visited the hotel at the beginning of October. I’d been anxious about negative reviews but our experience was generally good. All members of staff were helpful and polite and we had no real issues. We were allocated a room at the side of the hotel with a pleasant view of the trees and the sea... more

We visited the hotel at the beginning of October. I’d been anxious about negative reviews but our experience was generally good. All members of staff were helpful and polite and we had no real issues. We were allocated a room at the side of the hotel with a pleasant view of the trees and the sea in the distance. We were not charged for a sea view. The hotel is very well kept and our room was clean and comfortable with a huge bed and lots of space. Food was generally good - a good selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner (we were on an AI rate). We didn’t try the pool bar for lunch as there were limited choices. Wine selection for AI was very poor. We diluted with sparkling water! Only one wine allowed of red, rose and white. No Cava in restaurant although allowed in bar or by the pool. Odd! Our pre dinner g and ts in the bar were fine. Entertainment was very hit and miss. The Soul evening was excellent but some of the offerings by the entertainment team fell short of enjoyable. Swimming pools were huge and great to swim once you got over the slight chill. Not many people used the pools for swimming! Loads of sun beds but they are not very comfortable and many need replacing. We used a cushion which helped a bit. The hotel is in a lovely setting but is very remote. We had a car so this wasn’t a problem for us - we visited the local town - El Rompido - which has a great nature walk from the car park by the lighthouse. Also recommend a trip to Ayamonte. A good value holiday and we were blessed with amazing weather.

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“Lovely stay ”

We arrived at the hotel at around midnight on the Sunday, check in was very quick and easy and the hotel had food prepared for our arrival. One issue we had though was that we weren’t informed my TUI that the hotel was completely closing for the season at 12pm on Sunday even though our flight was... more

We arrived at the hotel at around midnight on the Sunday, check in was very quick and easy and the hotel had food prepared for our arrival. One issue we had though was that we weren’t informed my TUI that the hotel was completely closing for the season at 12pm on Sunday even though our flight was at 8pm, reception didn’t seem to be aware of this, however the issue was resolved with TUI and we have to spend the day at a different hotel. The room itself was very nice, big double bed with extra pillows and duvets in the cupboard, the cleaners were outstanding, cleaned the room every single day no complaints about the room other then no milk for the coffee and tea. Me and my partner went half board, there were two places to have lunch at the hotel the pool bar and the buffet, the pool bar food is delicious and at a decent price, personally only went to the lunch buffet once as it cost 40€ but I guess it’s a 3 course all you can eat. However you are given the option to swap dinner for lunch if you want to get dinner someplace else. We don’t drink so didn’t try the beverages but we made use of the free water fountains around the hotel to fill our bottle. The breakfast and dinner at the hotel were very nice, mostly the same every day but still enjoyable. The pool area is lovely, was very quiet and plenty of empty sun beds, the pool is cold but it’s what you expect with an outdoor pool. The night time entertainment is fantastic we really enjoyed it, however a 10pm start is quite late but with dinner not starting till 8pm it was fine. Overall throughly enjoyed our stay, very relaxing and very friendly staff with clean facilities.

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“Our stay at the Garden Playanatuarl Hotel & Spa”

The place was clean and tidy. The only issue is that we had paper cups for coffee and tea in the room and there was no replenishment of coffee and tea asked the cleaner and was told you have coffee and tea the first day as a present. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I went to the front desk... more

The place was clean and tidy. The only issue is that we had paper cups for coffee and tea in the room and there was no replenishment of coffee and tea asked the cleaner and was told you have coffee and tea the first day as a present. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I went to the front desk with no problems in giving coffee and tea. Makes you think about why the cleaner doesn't leave replenishment of coffee and tea in the room. Maybe the cleaner saves all the tea and coffee to take home for themselves.

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“Nice Hotel with beautiful surroundings no atmosphere.”

Booked this hotel as it was my birthday the day we arrived. Had a disappointing transfer with Tui left FARO 09:50 and arrived at the hotel 14:15. This was not the fault of the hotel but I was not expecting to spend most of my birthday on a bus. The hotel was very clean and spacious and the recept... more

Booked this hotel as it was my birthday the day we arrived. Had a disappointing transfer with Tui left FARO 09:50 and arrived at the hotel 14:15. This was not the fault of the hotel but I was not expecting to spend most of my birthday on a bus. The hotel was very clean and spacious and the reception was very friendly on check-in. I was disappointed that despite being all-inclusive we only had a handful of fruit tea in the room which was never replenished although I did ask for coffee as I don't drink tea. Also no milk in the room. I was advised these were only given first day as a present. We had the same glasses throughout our stay and we washed them ourselves daily. The hotel was noisy at night sounded like trollies were being moved around or similar not sure if it was due to tiled floors that made it noisy. The food was lovely in the restaurant although the last week we were told the hotel was closing for the end of the season this coming Sunday you could tell as the food variety was not the same as the first week. 2 lovely large swimming pools with plenty of sun loungers, although they were freezing cold. You could swim in the indoor pool in the spa between 12-4 if you purchased a swimming cap at 3 euros each. Towels were available at 10 euros each deposit and 1 euro to change them. The spa was lovely had a facial which was very relaxing and the staff were friendly. Entertainment in the evenings started quite late The African singers were amazing and the acrobat show was good. The animation team did quizzes and Karaoke which was good fun although I thought their show was very childlike. The animation team did activities during the day like aqua dance in the pool if you were brave enough to go in, archery, bingo, table tennis and walking. The Pool bar if you were all-inclusive food was burger, hot dog or toasty. You could have 30% discount on anything or use the restaurant which we did. Drinks were included and a good choice was available. Bar staff were friendly but you were limited to two drinks at a time which was fine except when you were sat in a group. Glasses always dripped all over you not sure why. It would have been nice to have a lounge bar or somewhere else to have a drink if you didn't want to listen to the entertainment there wasn't an alternative. There was also only 1 buffet restaurant no a la carte or different restaurant. Also could have benefited for a shop for customers on bed and breakfast or half board. The hotel was bright and airy and the gardens were beautiful and very peaceful to sit in. The location was very quiet and opposite a woodland overlooking a marina. The town was a good 3km walk away and not much open to see. You could get a taxi for 15 euros if it is too far to walk. Nice walk from the hotel about 15 mins to the beach via a woodland walk and under a subway and across the road. There is a supermarket down the hill but the hill is a little steep for people with walking difficulty as some of the pavements are broken. It is fine though if you are able-bodied. Staff were generally friendly except the morning we had an early breakfast to leave. we had booked an early breakfast along with other couples who were leaving at the same time. Breakfast was all laid out as any other morning but ours was set up on plates on the tables and not very inviting. When I went to toast my bread I was shouted at and had a finger stuck in my face by the waitress who was shouting no no no only for people who pay. I said I had paid I am all-inclusive until mid-day it was 6am. She was very rude to an elderly couple as well who were quite upset by this. Had the toasters not been switched on and nothing there I could understand, but breakfast was already laid out on the buffet as the same as any other morning. I did not understand why she was so rude. It left a bad last impression of the hotel. The hotel was lovely and we enjoyed our holiday the trips and sightseeing were amazing but the hotel had no atmosphere. We have not experienced this from any other hotel we have stayed in despite being very well travelled.

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