Reviews of Hesperia Sabinal Hotel, Roquetas De Mar

ok so it was a wheelchair friendly hotel but I do think there should be a limit on how many should be allowed, especially in the dining room. The food was at times unedible and the staffs uniform leaves a lot to be desired . The price of water was exstortionate 1.70 a small bottle. The sunbeds a disgrace we had to repair one before use,this surely must be the last year for them. To have to pay for the beach beds was quite high especially if four of you used them for a fortnight as the pool area was to crowded. A rethink on the four star rating must be looked into. We looked on in envy at the other hotels in Roquettes de Mar.

We visited this hotel for two weeks in June 08, Reception staff was always very pleasant and helpful and check in was no problem at all.



We had two rooms on the 7th floor which is the highest level. We were offered a room upgrade but didn't take this. One of our rooms was standard twin bed and the other was a family room having two double beds and a single for three people.



One room the maids kept spotlessly clean and changed the towels and bedding regularly but the family room however was not cleaned as well or bedding changed. One bed did not have the sheets changed at all during our stay, yet it was the same maids.



Staff in the restaurant were always pleasant. Food became rather boring after two weeks, nice to have waffles at breakfast but have had better food at other hotels.



Outdoor amenities let this hotel down, sunbeds old and needing recovering. Childrens play area small, neglected and quite dangerous. Swimming pool large but only a quarter of it being used as the rest was so very deep.



Beach was very clean but the sand was not very nice, painful to the feet! Sunbeds on the beach we used Toni's and they were very comfortable.



During our second week the hotel came to life music was played outside by the pool during the day and the entertainment team organised games etc. Maybe this was due to the weather getting much hotter and there was also a lot more British people in the hotel including many families.



We did not stay in the hotel so can not comment on the evening entertainment.



Most evenings we spent at Theo's bar which is nearby, this is a family bar where everyone is made very welcome. They have kareoke most evenings and include the children. Bar staff were great and price of drinks were very reasonable. We enjoyed Dermot and Mikey's entertainment and would definately go back to this bar.



Boulevard on the seafront was great for lunchtime snacks again children made very welcome.



If in this resort again we would definately stay at this hotel, brilliant location right on the seafront.

we travelled in a group of 6. 5 women and 1 male. obviously with it being a few years ago cant remember incomplete detail but i can remember that the hotel was large clean and comfortable. food was varied and always plentiful. and the poo side bar serving adaquate food. bars in hotel well stocked but bars along sea front are a must visit. if i remember rightly there was a very lively irish bar a few mins walk down the beach which was buzzing.. with beach being just over the walk and the pool at your feet for a relaxing week away doing nothing i would recommend it.

First time visitors to Spain and to this resort and hotel which was recommended by friends. It was hot, dry and sunny, with a warm wind blowing in off the sea all week.The hotel was just about full. The hotel was fine, our room on second floor with sea view was comfortable, the food was excellent, a good choice including veggie. There is a sauna, steam room, spa, etc which was under used but at 4Euro good value and it was staffed by a very pleasant young lady. The swimming pool was freezing and again, under used. However, other aspects are less pleasing. The staff are professional but have no customer service skills. The 'entertainment' each evening, catered for one clear element of the guests, namely the pensioners. Keyboards, with or without a singer, bingo before Flamenco Dancers and ALL in Spanish for the Spanish. What a let down. The customer base was say 70 % pensioners and that was refelected in the hotel's attitude.

The resort is flat, ideal for walking. One direction to the port and town of Roquetas and the other to various bars, hotels and shopping areas. The bus service into Almeria via Grand Plaza Shopping Centre is cheap and frequent. The shops in the resort sell exactly the same. The organised trips were o.k. but it could be argued were expensive.

The RoquetasTrain is a good way of seeing the layout of the resort, the Moorish architecture and the plots of rubble and half built properties.

I doubt that this is an ideal place for families with youngsters and there is little for teens either. We are nowhere near pension age, but the age factor is something to be considered when thinking about this hotel and resort. BUT like anything else, it is always a personal choice. I accept that this is the start of the season and that things might improve or be different later on. I will be keen to read reviews later in the season.

There is nothing about this hotel that I can fault. The food was absolutely gorgeous, particularly the puddings and I was very very thankful for the gym!!



The pool was nice a very good size however being outside I only ventured into it once as it was rather cold - to be expected when travelling in October.



Flies were a bit of a problem but having been to this resort before we knew to expect the little pests.



As we travelled in the last week of the season we did find that the resort was a lot less lively than when we went before in the summer, many of the shops had already closed, but worth the shopping mall a short bus ride away this was not a problem.



This is definitely one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in and I would recommend it to everyone, young or old!!!

Having been in Spain many, many times this without doubt is the best hotel I've ever been in.



Why not 10/10? Poor service in lounges at night.



Your staff are attentive and pleasant, the food is of high quality and variable with many choices.



Quite simply the best. Looking forward to next year.

Wonderful food facilities, friendly and helpful staff, good excercise facilities incuding sauna, pool, steam room and jacuzzi. Safe environment, very clean and large spacious pool.



Pool bar serve the best chicken meal - best chicken I have EVER tasted.



Only small complaint is the effectiveness of bar staff - very slow to take your order.



All in all a brilliant holiday. Will return for sure next year.

My wife and I have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Sabinal Hotel, did we enjoy it? Silly Question!!! We absolutely loved it!! Right, lets put everything into context.



This is a large hotel catering for over 1000 guests and they do this superbly! Let's start with the food. The quality, quantity and choice was quite staggering! From fresh salads to main dishes like smoked salmon, roast beef, every type of fish etc, to sumptuous desserts which were so well presented you didn't want to eat them!!!!



The staff here all deserve awards for such care and attention to everything. Entertainment every night was good and dancing as well.



The beach was 15 seconds away from the hotel, but we mainly stayed by the pool which was magnificent.



This is NOT a holiday for youngsters as there is hardly any nightlife in the resort at all! But if you want a quite relaxing holiday in beautiful surroundings this is the one for you. We cannot recommend it enough!!!



By the way... Go to Mini Hollywood, it's fabulous, and worth every euro!!!

Well what is there to say... to start with I would like to say that the hotel is very clean and all cleaning staff were fantastic maybe some of the restaurant staff could take a leaf out of their book , well done cleaning staff. Also the bar staff were very polite admittedly we did wait longer than the spanish did but we would be the same here so fairs fair, but I still found them very nice.



There is one person who I must mention don't bother trying to be nice to the head waitress she was very rude to a lot of english people and I know that even our tour operator had put in a compliant about her.



The evening entertainment was a complete waste of time, if you do want a good night go out the front and straight across the road to Carlos its happy hour up to 10 at night and every one is made to feel welcome what a lovely man. Also Theo's bar very english but a really good night of fantastic entertainment. For people who don't know if you go out the front and walk straight out to your left and keep going for about 10 mins or walk along the beach there is a lot more to see and do, we was not told any of this by our tour operator he really didn't seem to tell us much unfortunately we found this out ourselves but on the last three days of our holiday they were the better three days.



I would also like to say about the flies I read reviews saying they didn't have many flies well all I can say to that is you must of been covered up from head to toe ....we were inundated with them god they drove us mad and every body was jumping around quite funny some times but two weeks of it does your head in, there must be some think the spanish can do surely but on the beach none thank god...



Ahh the beach clean, nice and Tonys is the best place to get your beds also we were very happy to see wait for it .....yes a beautiful dolphin and only about 30 ft from the beach we saw this twice in two weeks, how fantastic is that, they did say it was rare but she/he was so beautiful to see.... oh and I cant forget the old man from England who lived on the beach he was so polite and told us of many places to go and see. It took and english tramp to tell us where every think was thank you.



Anyway I personally would not go back it is for the older person and not for family's my two daughters were bored 12 and 14 , they enjoyed Theos and Carlos but that was about it, but enjoy if you go ...... cant complain about the food that was fantastic, staff need cheering up though.

After trawling the last-minute holiday websites for what seemed like eternity the pretty resort of Roquetas De mar stood out as an affordable location that had all the potential for a relaxing beach front holiday.



The hotel Sabinal varied in price depending on the tour operator, the cheapest I found was with Direct holidays offering a standard room for two adults, half board for week in august for only £580.



Upon arrival at the Sabinal first impressions were excellent. The lobby is spotless, modern and the check in staff are very helpful. We had to wait about an hour for our room (203) to be available which was a bit disappointing as we were tired from travelling. However, when we finally got the key card the wait was forgotten and we could get ourselves settled into a comfortable, clean, air conditioned room.



Our room did not look out over the pool but out to the front of the hotel. There were a few bars and restaurants opposite which at first I thought might cause a lot of noise during the night although I was proved wrong as we were not disturbed once from any outside noise, not even from the big children’s play area.



Breakfast was served from 7.30 till 10. There was a wide range of food, hot and cold, free teas coffee and orange juice. Breakfast was the same every morning which was a bit dull nearer the end of the week. The pool area was very clean and plenty of sun beds to choose from as long as you got there before 11am. The snack bar is well equipped to cater for food and drinks throughout the day and is great value for money.



Diner was a buffet. Each night there were 4 or 5 different dishes accompanied by chips, salad, pizza, pasta, and soups. Desert was limited to jelly, ice cream, mousse or pastries. I consider myself a fussy eater and I really enjoyed the food every night.



Entertainment during the day consisted of keep fit, water aerobics, and cocktail games and of course a children’s club. The evening kicked off at 8.30 with a mini disco for kids.



Although, the Spanish songs were so catchy it was common to hear English holiday makers unconsciously singing along! At 9.30 the main act would begin, usually live music. There was also parrot show and karaoke.



As we are a young couple the entertainment wasn’t really for us but many older guests enjoyed dancing to the live music. Outside of the hotel there was not a lot to offer for young people so this is not a place where there is lots of bars and night clubs.



This hotel has all the facilities for a relaxing week in the very, very hot sun the temperature was around 34 degrees every day. I think longer than a week at the Sabinal would not suit young couples or families that want more than just sitting by the pool. Roquetas is small and there’s not much other than hotels there.

I was not impressed at all. The hotel was ok, no entertainment apart from two nights in two weeks and only the magic show was worth watching.



Food was good but that’s about it. The staff in restaurant were very nice apart from one, she was very rude to all English people.



Our room wasn’t very good and round and about the hotel was not worth going outside for apart from the bar across the road, this man was the only Spanish person that made us welcome.



Maybe the rest of Spain would like to take a leaf out of his book. This was my first holiday to Spain and my last thank you.

This is the whole truth and nothing but the truth!!!! Food, pool area and location fantastic.



However the check-in staff you meet really could not be bothered in dealing with you, made us wait till last, after all the Spanish had been dealt with. We got there at 1.30 and did expect to wait till the time stated that the room would be ready 2pm. However, we got told it could be 2 hrs ish!! When we finally got our room approx 3.30pm there was no additional bed for my 4yr old and as you can imagine she had been up since 3.30am and was really needing a sleep. I was told probably about 6pm for the additional bed. I asked for the manager who then got me a bed within 3 minutes and stated they did have 501 bedrooms to clean you know!!



Every day there was a problem with something, I felt that as we had booked through the internet and not through a tour operator we probably got second rate rooms with bits falling off all over and the electric wires hanging. The best staff were the cleaners and the pool bar staff who really tried to make your day the best it could be. Even the British entertainment lady tailored it more to the Spanish! Roquestas is a great place and does have places for the younger people who want to go out further round by the Playa Luna Hotel. My parents have a house here and I visit every year, however due to a family friend staying there I ended up in the Sabinal for 5 days which to be truthful, if I d not had my 4 yr old, I'd have taken my chances on the beach!



Don't go!!!

Having travelled to Roquetas every year for the last 15years, I feel it is like a home from home.

I never get sick of the place.... the fine foods, fine wines, and relaxed atmosphere is everything I look for in a holiday!!



Theos is by far the best place for entertainment, and Dermot is a true friend for life. Being only 22, people may think this is one of the quieter costa's and they would not be mistaken. But due to the number of times I have visited the region, you become friends with the locals and the Spanish fiestas just become apart of your holiday.



The Sabinal is the nicest holiday within the region, and gets better each year with stay.

We have just returned from 2 weeks at The Sabinal. We had a fantastic holiday.



The hotel was superb and the staff very friendly and helpful and all spoke pretty good English.



The food was delicious and the choices at each meal were plentiful and even spending two weeks, the variety was so good that we never had to eat the same meal during the whole fortnight.



Roquetas is not the place to go if you want night life as its where the Spanish spend their holidays, however we had a marvellous time at Theo’s bar run by ex pat Dermot who is brilliant, every night is karaoke night and not to be missed is Dermot’s cabaret on a Sunday it’s a brilliant show.



The other place we enjoyed was the Caribbean Breezer bar again run by an ex pat who entertained with 60's 70's soul and motown he had a fabulous voice and made us very welcome.



The only downside we could find are the flies around the hotel pool & gardens very distracting when trying to lounge on the sunbeds. We got round this by going to the beach we bought lilos and settled by the water’s edge and weren’t bothered by flies there at all.



If you prefer a bit more luxury the loungers on the beach had padded cushions and if you want to reserve the same ones for the duration of your holiday, Toni does you a good deal.



All in all we found Roquetas a very relaxing place to holiday.

Very quite and peaceful area and this hotel is great as a base. Good food, good service and very clean. The only 2 problems are the flies (yes they do exist) and no tea/coffee makers in the rooms.



The flies are all over the resort not just this hotel, and they can be avoided if you go a little further up the beach out of the hotel area.



Best for adults and very good for disabled, but not really for children as there is nothing for them to really do.



All in all, great hotel, but a bit too quiet for me.