Spa Playasol

First, the negative point that ruins everything: the hotel condones the "sunbed war." It is noted in the hotel rules not to reserve your sunbed with a towel, but as soon as the pool opens at 10 a.m., there is already a line that has been waiting for 30 minutes to run like crazy to go place their towels on sunbeds and take as many umbrellas as possible for themselves like selfish people!! At 10:05 a.m., everything is taken and everyone leaves. I did it twice myself when I realized it, having never experienced that before. I was still always able to find a poorly placed sunbed without an umbrella, but with difficulty, knowing that I don't spend my life at the pool; the sea being right next to the hotel, it is pleasant to go there in the morning. The staff watches it happen but no one says anything even though it is in the rules! It is not worth noting it if you are not capable of enforcing it; I have been to establishments where the staff tells the vacationers and does not hesitate to remove the towels. For my part, I did not hesitate to go take an umbrella from someone because I hadn't gotten one, around 2:30 p.m., the time when they are all taking a nap or are at the restaurant, then I had fun watching them steal umbrellas from each other when returning to the pool around 4 p.m. 🤣 The pool is shared with another hotel in the same group; it is located between the 2 hotels. The slides are large and there are many lifeguards to monitor and regulate the use of the slides; safety seems to be really very important. For the rest, the hotel is clean, except a little around the pool area because people are messy; there is a bit of food on the ground in some places, but the staff is there to clean continuously, which is positive. The hotel is air-conditioned everywhere in the hallways, bar, restaurant, and rooms. The hotel may seem old, but it is well-maintained. The elevators have been modernized or replaced very recently, and knowing that the elevator is the last thing hoteliers invest in, one can consider that everything has already more or less been replaced or renovated at some point. As for the negative comments I read about the unpleasant staff, I was not able to observe that. I am coming to Spain and I did not expect to find staff who speak French. I make some effort to speak a little Spanish with the translator on my phone and it is very good that way. The staff was pleasant, and yes, I certainly missed out on a lot of things because I do not speak the language, but we know that before coming here. The entertainment is in Spanish, which is normal. That did not bother me. Before coming, expect to live a bit out of sync; they have lunch at 2 p.m. 😉, meals from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. then from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and evening entertainment afterward. The meals are good, a varied all-you-can-eat buffet where everyone will find something they like. I just regret the quality of the meat, which is full of fat, but it is normal not to expect choice cuts in this type of dining. There is soap, shampoo, and after-sun lotion available for your entire stay in your rooms, which is really appreciated. The hotel is located in Roquetas, which seems to be a seaside resort; it is mainly Spaniards who come here on vacation. So go there with full knowledge of the facts; there were very few French people and even fewer other nationalities at the hotel at the same time as us. Remember to bring earplugs, there are really a lot of people with children, it is very noisy everywhere at the restaurant or the pool, and the windows are not soundproof in the rooms; if you are on the pool side there will be noise until at least 1 a.m. If the hotel offers you a supplement for a sea view room, accept it if it is a sea view and especially on the street side and not the pool side! We had a good family vacation there.

I wouldn’t return to this hotel and, unfortunately, it wasn’t the family holiday we were hoping for. The biggest issue was the communication. This is definitely not a tourist-focused hotel, and very few of the staff spoke English, which made even simple conversations difficult. Communication throughout our stay was frustrating. We also found the staff to be rude and unhelpful. Whenever we needed assistance, it felt like we were an inconvenience rather than valued guests. As English visitors, we often felt ignored and unwelcome. The rooms were another disappointment. They were extremely small for a family, with nowhere near enough storage space. We ended up having to keep our suitcases and our buggy out on the balcony because there simply wasn’t enough room inside. To make matters worse, we also had ants in our bathroom during our stay, which wasn’t what we’d expect from a hotel of this standard. The only real positive was the swimming pools and aquapark, which kept the kids entertained. However, the rules didn’t seem to be applied consistently. We were told we couldn’t do things like play volleyball in the pool, yet other guests were allowed to, which was frustrating and unfair. We also had two of our own beach towels taken from our sun loungers during our stay. When we asked at reception if anyone had handed them in, the staff were completely unhelpful and showed little interest in trying to assist. We ended up going home two beach towels down, which just added to an already disappointing experience. The entertainment was another disappointment. Everything was conducted in Spanish, so we had no idea what was going on for much of the time. It meant our family couldn’t really join in or enjoy the activities, and it left us feeling excluded. The food was also disappointing. There wasn’t much choice, especially for children or fussy eaters, and after a few days we were struggling to find anything the kids actually wanted to eat. The location wasn’t ideal either. Outside the hotel there isn’t much to do apart from a handful of bars, restaurants and souvenir shops, so if you’re looking for plenty to explore, this probably isn’t the place. The transfer from the airport took just over two hours by taxi. That’s my own fault for not checking before booking, but it’s worth knowing if you’re considering staying here. I also found the atmosphere around the pool quite unpleasant. When the pool area opened at 10am, people would queue beforehand and then push past others—including children—to grab the front sun loungers. It created a stressful start to every morning, and I was surprised that the hotel didn’t do more to manage it. Overall, apart from the pools, this hotel was a real disappointment. Between the tiny rooms, ants in the bathroom, poor communication, unfriendly and unhelpful service, entertainment that wasn’t accessible to non-Spanish speakers, inconsistent enforcement of rules, limited food options and lack of things to do nearby, I wouldn’t recommend it, especially to English-speaking families.

The hotel looks old, but all its staff makes you forget the age of the hotel and enjoy your vacation. The entertainers are a 10, the food is very good, and the reception staff is very friendly. The waiters are nice. The cleanliness of the room, in my case, was perfect. I would like to highlight how hardworking a restaurant waitress named Rocío Romero was (she always wore a braid). Totally recommended for families.