La Hacienda Gran Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

Stayed at this hotel for one week in Sept 07, it was an amazing hotel. The food was great, the staff were really friendly.
I went with my husband and 4 children ages ranging from 11 up to 15, they enjoyed everything, apart from the entertainment which was a bit poor at night times and tended to cater for the older generation like me and my husband.
I would definitely go back but just as a couple not with the kids! The beach near the hotel was spotlessly clean and free from overcrowding which is brill.
ver all this hotel is top notch and the best in La Pineda.

2 readers found this review helpful

We recently stayed at this hotel and cant praise it enough. Very clean throughout. I have read some of the other comments about the hotel and wonder if they stayed in the same hotel.
The food was well cooked beautifully presented, a wide variety and a pleasure to eat.
The staff was always pleasant and helpful the entertainment staff work very hard to please everyone but as we all know that’s not possible, always a few that will complain but Dani and the other staff continue to try.
As for the area la Pineda, Salou, and the Cambrils have a wide range of things to do for young and old theme parks, excursions to Barcelona the monastery boat trips, even horse riding, carting and off road buggies which was a great laugh, the beaches are beautiful no end of shops, cafés and restaurants for all your tastes in food.
A highly recommended hotel and destination which we as a family can’t wait to go back to.

1 reader found this review helpful

My wife and I stayed here from 13/10/06 to 20/10/06 and the plus side was hotel very clean and nice rooms.
Minus side, the staff mostly spoke very little English and you have a card that you have to sign on a bill every time you have a drink or order drinks with your food, the bill says 00000 but you sign.
We had only one bar staff and the hotel had 100s of people (mostly Spanish very few English) as weather not very good all entertainment stopped, the indoor pool is very small and you have to wear a cap to swim, outside pools no bar nothing, TV all Spanish just euro sport.
Food I will eat most things but any English family will find the food will not be of a 2 star ratting, meat under cooked and I could not give them more than 2 out of ten for food.
Never seen a rep in hotel but as hotel was bad, we used the busses and found very easy to go any where, but this was found from people at bus stops not in hotel. I know this is off season but I have traveled the world and would if on your own or with family say don’t go.

We stopped 2 weeks at the hotel and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
The food was good and the hotel and rooms were exceptionally clean. All of the staff were polite, helpful and especially the room maids and the entertainments and reception staff.

The complaints I would make are that the dinning room staff need to learn how to smile, I know it's a hard job but a smile would go a long way and the hotel needs an English children’s television channel.

We have just returned from a 10 day all inclusive stay at this fantastic hotel, the facilities were excellent and everything was spotlessly clean. The food was better than most we have sampled at other All inclusive hotels, the desserts and fruit were particularly good.
The big pool is approx 1.2 metres at it's shallowest and 1.8 metres at its deepest but there is a separate toddler pool and large outdoor Jacuzzi which our son spent a lot of time swimming in! The indoor facilities are exceptional too, the gym is the best we have seen, everything was in good working order and the indoor pool was fantastic too, although we didn’t use it other families did and said it was great. There is also a spa there where you can pay to have beauty treatments including massages and pedicures/manicures.
The hotel is situated at the quiet end of the resort, and there were only a couple of supermarkets and restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but its not too far to walk to the other end of the resort where it seemed livelier. We took the bus to Salou a couple of times for shopping.
All in all a fantastic holiday and we would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to chill out and is not too concerned that British holidaymakers are in the minority at this hotel. Weekends were particularly busy when lots of Spanish city dwellers arrived to stay.

Rooms - For 2 adults and 1 child the room was sufficient for our needs, however the two double beds were very close together, which I think would have given the room a slightly cramped feeling if travelling with more than 1 child.
The balcony was a nice size, however the view wasn't particularly nice.
The room was cleaned ever day, and I had every confidence and trust in the cleaning staff. Unlike some other hotels I have stayed in and didn't feel at all rushed for the maids to have access to the room. They were more than willing to come back later.
Only one key card is given on check in for the room, however I had no trouble getting a second when I asked for one.
Staff - The hotel staff all seemed to be friendly and most spoke fluent English, however the service was slow.
Food - There has been a mixed review about the food for this hotel. Being a very fussy eater, I was dreading this part of the holiday, especially being all inclusive, but I have to say I was extremely impressed. It is true to say that left overs from the previous meal was on offer, but there was plenty of other choice for this not to be an issue.
It is also true that a lot of fish was on offer and unfortunately I'm not a fan of seafood, but I far from went hungry, on the contrary.
It did get a bit repetitive by the end of the week but I would say that was more due to my fussiness and less to do with the selection on offer.
Facilities - My partner intended to use the Gym while we were away, however due to the time of year the Gym was extremely hot with insufficient air conditioning. There are 4 pool tables (2 Euro a game), which could stand to be replaced. The hotel also has tennis courts etc, I didn't use these however, so I cannot comment. The pool was adequate.
Activities - There were a variety of activities for both adults and children.
Entertainment - We didn't stay to see the Entertainment in the evenings, as the little we did see seemed poor, but that opinion is based on only a few minutes of viewing per evening.
Location - The hotel is probably one of the further hotels from the beach, however this is still only a 10 minute walk from the closest part of the beach. Our balcony did not overlook any other hotels (View was of a rollercoaster and a chemical plant, which sounds terrible, but wasn't as bad as it sounds). I enjoyed the piece and quiet of the location.
La Pineda - La Pineda is a quiet resort and given we travelled there at the height of season was certainly not over crowded. The beach & water were clean enough, however there were not a lot of water activities on offer. Port Aventura was very close by. There is a bus which will take you there for about 5 Euro return, however we were about to get a 6 seater taxi for around 12 Euro. Port Aventura was the highlight of my holiday. I was expecting to queue for hours (having been to our Alton Towers) but the longest I queued was about 35 minutes.
I was impressed with the relaxed atmosphere of the resort. We were not hounded with leaflets and flyers and people selling watches and sun glasses.
Misc - My only grumble (and it is minor) was the cards we were given to show at the bar to use the all inclusive. These were paper and by the end of they week, we didn't have all 3, and the ones we did have were falling apart, I feel there could be a better system. Having said that, by the 2nd or 3rd day most bar staff didn't require sight of the card.
Overall - Good value for Money and I would recommend.

The hotel is lovely the staff I found very pleasant the room was good I cannot complain about the hotel its self my big complaint is the food.
I went with my wife and two children all inclusive and we had to go and get food for them to eat as there was a microwave in the restaurant and we could heat their lunch and dinner up. every morning noon and night was pizza what ever was left over from the night before was there in the morning for breakfast (chicken nuggets, smiley faces, crisps) the cauliflower was a good one first came out on its own next day it had cheese over it the next day it was done in batter the next day it went into the salad.
I feel the hotel does not cater for the British. If you like fish you will love this place. The food lets this lovely hotel down big time.
We enjoyed our holiday but won’t go back. Another moan was no cocktails you had to pay when it clearly states you get them. The chose hut at the pool you can’t order when the dinning room is open also you had to pay for hot dogs but you did get half cooked burgers. Toasties and chips good. You do have to go all inc as it is dear for drinks 1.30 for small water 1.75 euros for coke it does ad up if you have kids.
Final comment CHANGE THE CHEF

This hotel was very nice, the room was very spacious and can easily accommodate 2adults and 2 children, also has a large bathroom and balcony. The pool was huge and very clean although cold well it was May. There was also a Jacuzzi and separate children’s pool with a sand area, tennis courts and football. There is a kids club with their own room which is run very well.
Most people have moaned about the food but it is no different to any other hotel, it wasn’t exceptional but didn’t ruin the holiday I would not recommend all inclusive as you would get fed up.
La Pineda is a very quiet resort and most people take the 5min bus ride into Salou. The water park is great and Porta Ventura for children. Overall this hotel was very good value for money.

I had stayed at the Hacienda over two years ago and loved the hotel and I thought that the food was some of the best that I had tasted.
When I returned in June 06 for a four night stay I still love the hotel and facilities but I would fault the food it was not good enough there was hardly any selection apart from fish and salad and I do not eat a lot of fish.
If I return to Salou I will only book a room only basis and eat out I was so much looking forwards to the food that it was disappointing and spoiled my holiday. The Hacienda is a bit far out from Salou but is on a good bus service and for 3.40 euros you are in Salou.

First point was the room. This holiday was for myself, my wife and two children (11 + 14) and when arrived we had a room with two double beds in it. There was a very small one-sided wardrobe which was extremely insufficient for the four of us. There were only two drawers also. The balcony was also very small.
This is apparently a four star hotel and the food was far from it.
Our last week especially was very bad. The children found it very difficult to eat and spent most of the holiday eating chips. The Thursday’s soup was vegetable and quite frankly inedible and seemed to be ignored by most people. Shock horror it made a reappearance on Friday and was again ignored. Unbelievably it came again on Saturday (last night).
When I asked the restaurant manager why we had the same soup for three days all he said was that he would speak to someone. You also had to purchase any drinks you require with your food. I can appreciate it if you want wine etc you have to pay for it but as my family and I only drink water with dinner I found it appalling that I had to pay seven Euros just to wash your dinner down.
I have a basic understanding of Spanish and tried my best to use it as often as possible but felt insulted when i would receive only replies in English.
Six of the seven nights entertainment were Spanish nights and I feel the hotel does not cater for people other than Spanish too well.
As much as I liked the Costa Dorada there is no way I would consider staying here again.