Playacalida Hotel

I've given a 4 purely because of location - the hotel is a 5 for me it's stunning. I booked before reading the previous reviews and I was a bit alarmed when I did! There was no need to worry though as I found the staff and the predominantly Spanish guests to be really friendly towards a solo English older female tourist. The room (and I only had the standard room) was immaculate with balcony, views over the hillside dotted with villas and a side view of the beach. It had 2 very large king-size beds, a bath, a walk in shower, large wardrobe and a fridge with complimentary bottles of water. There are several pools - one that is tastefully designed like a river (with slides, jacuzzis etc) an indoor pool and a large fresh water infinity pool overlooking the sea. There is also a gym and a spa (which you pay extra for). There are several restaurants and bars and the food I found to be really good - it's all made freshly (omelettes, eggs, meat and fish cooked in front of you and plenty of fresh local produce) and there's lots of variety - you won't get the typical English "fry up" and "chips with everything! but there's plenty to suit all tastes. Also nice touches to cater for those with allergies etc. There's tapas, snacks and cakes and meals served at different venues throughout the day so you won't go hungry! If you tend to stay in resort you will find lots to keep you occupied (all ages), there's also a kids club and a theatre hosting shows every evening. I like to tour around and see places, but without a car it is hard work here. There is local bus service into Almunecar and you can get busses to other places from there, but it's not easy to tie them in with the local bus service. Also I'm quite fit, but the hotel might not suit those less mobile that want to get out and about as everything outside (including the beach) is either up or down a steep hill. There are no local tour companies offering trips to other places. If you like touring around this hotel isn't ideal but if you want an all encompassing resort holiday it is lovely (and friendly). I would like to give special mentions to Pablo (at the infinity pool bar) who helped me to decipher the busses (where I could and couldn't get to) and also to Gloria and Anna who work so hard but always have a smile for everyone. Top tip: learn a few words of Spanish as a please and thank you go a long way here.

I wish I had delved deeper into the reviews before booking this hotel. The hotel itself is beautiful with the infinity pool and hot tubs but apart from that I don’t have many positive things to say. The first day we went to the pool my son had a small ball, he was told no balls allowed, this is the main reason a child stays entertained on holiday a basic ball. The rules are also dont jump in and don’t swim under water? So basically kids - no fun aloud. The lazy river pool and water slides are in the middle of the hotel amongst trees and bushes so these pools are constantly freezing in the shade. The buffet area is dirty i picked up various cutlery that had stale food stuck to it and for some bizarre reason not everything has a sign above it to tell you what it is very risky for someone who has any food allergies, the staff can’t keep on top of keeping the buffet topped up you have a chef trying to make fried eggs in one pan, omelettes in another then warming up some pancakes. I wouldn’t touch the meat it’s all pink. The all inclusive is different rules depend on which part of the hotel you go to, the infinity pool bar includes everything, if you go to the indoor cafe you have to pay for the same thing even though we booked all inclusive. In the indoor cafe I asked if my son could have a straw for his drink and she said no straws are for cocktails only - how pathetic. The beach nearby isn’t a beach it’s all stones no sand but there are some nice places to eat, we had to go out and pay to eat as we couldn’t face the buffet 3 times a day. I visited in April so dread to think what state the hotel is in when it comes to summer.

Paola was an absolute dream she was so incredibly lovely! Had some problems at check in and she was so helpful and understanding. Great property and food.

Will definately come back again Excellent customer service Good food Good quality hotel beds. Children loved playing football by the beach There is a tennis cot, golf , swimming pools ( closed due to season) Spa facility with free gym access, however you pay for indoor swimming, jacuzzi and sauna (€40 per two adults ) A shop nearby for snacks if u need any otherwise plenty at the hotel . Reception staff - special mention to Eva who provided us with excellent service from the day we arrived Will definitely come nack

We had a wonder holiday at Playacalida! The hotel has everything from amazing views to a small onsite shop. The infinity pool was breathtaking and the lazy river and slides kept us all busy for hours. The food has lots of choice however as a vegetarian it was limited but they are very happy to cook specific vegetarian food upon request. The bar has lots of choice of drinks however the cocktails aren’t included with all inclusive so you have to pay a small supplement if you want one. There is a bus stop 5mins away that costs £1 to get into town which was great! Lots of daytime and evening activities and the kids club was good. We will definitely be returning.

Negatives: -Booked a family room which essentially was 2 double beds pushed together and a cot! The room was tiny!!!! -Hotel very dated, paint peeling at away all over -Looks like a prison -Lazy river is a good idea but the slides on it have no water pressure so people cant even slide down them. Lazy river is also freezing -Food very repetitive -Staff are rude, barely speak a word of English and don't event try to help English tourists -Not enough staff, big queues at pool side bar Positives: - Infinity pool is nice

The hotel is definitely not for English guests, when looking at the reviews they have all been translated. We were pretty much the only English in the hotel, the staff had a very different attitude towards us when we spoke but extremely friendly and polite to the Spanish. The hotel has an onsite shop selling inflatables and balls for use in the pool, however the hotel does not permit the use of any of these which was extremely annoying. We stayed for one week, we did not receive clean towels or bedding over the stay surely mid week you would hope for clean linen and towels. We booked all inclusive on Love Holidays, expecting no limitations. However when we arrived we were told we were not all inclusive there are different levels and there were lots of things of limit to us. I asked at reception and showed them the love holidays advert but they were not interested, which I find extremely strange surely you don't want your hotel being advertised falsely??? We had on more than one occasion raw fish, chicken & pork which we showed the staff but the raw food kept coming. The chefs hygiene was not to a good standard one young chef coughed into his bare hand and then took a plate from a guest, other chefs were handling raw food with bare hands with no washing in between, there were sinks right behind them !!!!! Love holidays also state tea and coffee making facilities in your room, which there wasn't, the restaurant doesn't open until 8am and there is no where to get a drink. You are also not permitted to take a coffee to your room, one lady literally jumped in front of us and wouldn't let us leave the restaurant to have our drinks in the room. Four star is definitely not for this hotel. I would NOT recommend to any English people.

Lovely , clean hotel Staff amazing Room with beautiful view Pools were great Seemed to be a very good family friendly hotel

We are currently staying here as a family of 7, 3 adults and 4 children (currently our 1st day). We paid alot of money to stay here for our once a year holiday that we all very much look forward too but since arriving we has been highly disappointed and disgusted with the hotel. We booked through LoveHoliday a all inclusive package which states all food and drinks included throughout the day including beers, wine, cocktails and non-alcohol drinks there was only one option of all inclusive and no other packages that could be booked through LoveHolidays . However upon arrival at the hotel you find out there all inclusive does not mean all inclusive and they do not allow you to have what you have paid for and is advertised , you can not have snacks during the day, no minibar, no kettle and coffee in room, no cocktails or spirt drinks with you having to pay about 4 euros for a drink you have already paid for within your stated all inclusive package. I really do not think this hotel wants you to enjoy your stay with them as also today our 1st day to the pool the kids took a foam ball the size of a tennis ball to the pool to play catch and was instantly told no balls were aloud, then to make matters worse they then took a rubber ring to the pool and again was told they were not aloud in the pool. It seems this hotel only wants to make as much money from you as possible and falsely advertise what is included with there all inclusive by offering what you have paid for on the website but when you arrive are told something totally different. We went to the reception to show them what was on our invoice and it included everything as stated above but they did not care and said we can not have it without paying, I asked to speak to a manager but was told one wasn't avaliable I bet they tell that to all customers that make a complaint. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE HOTEL YOU DO NOT GET WHAT YOU HAVE PAID LARGE SUMS OF MONEY FOR.

Das Personal ist super und absolut liebenswert. Schönes Hotel mit super Lage. Das Essen ist nicht Spitzenklasse, geht aber. Zur Halbpension bekommt man jetzt Getränke, dafür haben sie aber an der Bar etc. Ganz schön die Preise erhöht. Am Pool ist es wegen den französischen Animateuren ziemlich laut, den ganzen Tag läuft nervtötende Musik (vor allem jeden Tag das selbe TamTam). Das ist echt schade, wir gehen seit Jahren in dieses Hotel, dies hat sich leider nicht zum Vorteil entwickelt. Aber die Lage und das Hotel an sich machen das wieder wett.