Hipotels Hipocampo Palace

Overall good hotel, we travelled end of June with our 3 month old. On check in to our room in the main building there was a bad smell on the whole row of rooms so we were moved across over the road (which sounds worse than it is) not a long walk or particularly busy road. We stayed in a suite room, with a view out the back of the hotel, very nice modern room, with good air con and ceiling fan. Most of the landscaping is complete, naturally some teething issues with building works. Food - we opted for breakfast only which we really liked, good variety (1 vegetarian who was able to find suitable options. Lunch - we ate at the pool bar everyday for convenience, the staff are great I’d say the food is pretty average here given the cost, could easily upgrade some of the options here to suit 5* hotel, after 7 days it was tough to find healthy options. We ate out each evening so can’t comment on evening options. Location - we were able to walk with our pram very easily to bars/shops/restaurants with the beach also very close and a flat walk. The area is occupied mainly by Germans (which didn’t bother us as a British family). Some local restaurants worth visiting - Amapola, Grattini, SANTÉ (vegetarian only). Gym - at our time of visiting the gym open however pretty poor, none of the cardio equipment was functioning, some small free weights, cable machine and some old leg press machines. Staff across the hotel we found to be very friendly and helpful. Drinks by the pool took an age, we ended up going to the local store and buying our own, normally one guy trying to serve 60+ beds. Sun beds were frustrating, they section off for ‘Serenity’ which mostly weren’t all used and then there simply wasn’t enough for everyone, it isn’t sun bed wars but if you don’t reserve by say 10am you’ll likely be waiting for someone to leave, we also reserved 2 beds and walked round for 30 mins with our baby and then found a note saying beds cannot be reserved despite most of the beds being reserved, very odd and annoying to receive. Not all of the hotel pool area is easily accessible with a pram, with the majority of the grounds grass a bit of a work up to get your pram across! Overall a nice hotel and we enjoyed our break, some small improvements which could make the hotel much more welcoming and enjoyable for the money.

We tried this hotel last year and loved it so decided to go back. They have since upgraded the hotel and it’s gorgeous but I didn’t think it needed anything doing. The staff are all wonderful, helpful and friendly. The food in the restaurant and service is of a very high standard. There are some shows at night which are good in an outdoor area with a stage and good seating. Pit room was comfortable and quiet the pillows were not the best but the beds were comfortable. The negatives this year were this, they have opened a serenity club for serenity guests only, they pay a premium and have a separate lounge area and upgraded rooms. We found this out in our second day when we tried to get a sunbed at the pool they were marked only for serenity guests. There were around 40 sunbeds empty, just in case a serenity guest turned up. This is an awful thing to do as it was forcing guests to come early and reserve sunbeds but not turning up until later. In my opinion it is very unfair on other hotel guests to block out such a large number of sunbeds. If the hotel sang to do this they should provide a separate section and a separate pool if it’s exclusive and leave the rest to other guests who have booked in good faith. I complained and said I thought it wax unfair, it made no difference, I e mailed reception but they said they could not do anything and agreed they thought it was wrong. Last year everything worked perfectly well, they’re were empty sunbeds all day and no reserving, now the status who has changed there is a problem. Overall we had a good stay but I would reconsider before booking again because of this. Management you need to address this problem!

We stayed a few days in this hotel, nothing to say: everything was perfect, worthy of 5 stars. The hotel has just been tastefully renovated, everything is magnificent. The staff is friendly, the pool is very beautiful, there are some activities but it remains calm and pleasant for resting. The food is delicious (really, I mean it), whether at the buffet or at the pool bar/restaurant. I highly recommend it!