Playa Park Hotel

2 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from this hotel with my daughter and 8yr old grandson. The rooms are basic but clean , we overlooked the back of the hotel where deliveries made and rubbish collected but were never disturbed.Rooms cleaned everyday and linen changed.
Food ,good choice, nicely cooked,lovely staff in dining room. One criticism dont like queueing for table in the evening i prefer sittings.
My grandson went to mini club occassionally. What a entertainment team,organised, friendly and encouraging.Entertainment in evening was good all round family fun. Cheesy on occassions , yes.
Salou it self is clean,usual shops, prom great for a walk, beach busy but lovely.Public transport easy to use.
The 3 of us had a great 2 wks so much we hope to go again next year.

14 readers found this review helpful

ust back from a 12 day break in Salou staying at the hotel playa park with my fiancee and her son.
This review is likely to be very long and in depth, i found some of the reviews on the net very useful before going and they gave us some useful tips, so would like to do the same for anyone planning to visit this pretty good hotel anytime soon.
If you have not booked already, ask for a high floor room with a view of the main pool or entertainment stage. The reason i say this is that if you do get this, you will get a sea view but also a good view of the hotel entertainment and if its busy around the pool you can watch it from your balcony.
Firstly the hotel is situated on a hill, whichever way you leave the hotel you will be walking downhill which is
great, but of course you need to return and its not so easy in the heat after a long day. Having said that you do get used to it.
The hotel is well located really, its relatively quiet but only a 5 min walk from the main street
in Salou and 2 minutes from the nearest and probably quietest of the beaches in Salou (although its still busy).

The beach does involve a climb down a lot of steps, there is an alternative winding road that takes you down, but i am not sure it makes it any easier. Beach is clean, as is the case with all the beaches we
came across. There are two other beaches if you turn right out of the hotel and right again you will come across them.
Hotel facilities are good, the two pools are very very cold though. The main pool is seperated into a kids section and a deeper pool, no slides for the kids though. The smaller pool is located around the back of the hotel and its here they do the water polo and other activities, the table tennis and small gravel football pitch is also located near the smaller pool.
What was disappointing is that the lifeguard seems to spend little time by the pool, and having two pools and one lifeguard does not sit well with me. He also seems to spend more time arranging chairs and sunbeds than actually watching the kids in the pool.

Inside the hotel the bar area is good and generally the staff are attentive and waiter service is good, all waiters we encountered spoke english well, and we had no problems. Drink prices are what you would expect inside the hotel. Vodka and coke and a pint of local
beer costs about 8 Euro's, note its slightly more expensive if you order whilst you are by the pool from the waiter. So save money and take the 10 second walk to the bar!.
There is a games room for the kids which has some outdated games machines. Two pools tables which are popular are located in the bar area. However on the ground floor there are another two more secluded pool tables that are not so busy if this game is for you.
Bar does serve food all day until 1am, pizza's, baguettes, sandwiches and chips - they are not bad and reasonably priced. Daily specials
are also on just check the boards out. Also happy hour for drinks is 5-45pm.
Still unsure about the entertainment the hotel put on, the nightly shows are cheesy but i guess thats what you expect. They do have a different show each night, and as we were there for 12 nights, we did not see many repeat shows so they do cater for guests staying more than a week. Everything from singers to magicians, brazilian dancers and flamenco dancers. They also did bingo in the early evening if this type of thing is of interest to you.
They do try and keep the kids busy during the day, with activities such as football, pool, jenga, connect four and do have a mini disco between 11pm and midnight after the nightly entertainment which serves to tire the kids out. One of the entertainment team takes pictures and video of the daily activities, which is then played back on the hotel TV's, which i think is a nice touch
One downside for the hotel is the fact you have to pay 4 euros a day to hire a safe for the room! - which in our case cost us 48 euros. You do get 10 euros back when you checkout but think this should be included in the hotel cost. This brings me onto the rooms.
Most rooms are for families and its this that the hotel seems to focus on. Rooms are clean but are dated in appearance, but then again most hotels in spain can be described this way. The aircon in the room is great - note it does not work unless you close the balcany door.
you are given a key to activate the aircon, and yes, you can take it off the key ring and leave it in should you wish to keep your room really cool even if you are out. However, this isn't necessary after about 10 mins the room is really cool after putting the aircon on.
No tea or coffee facilities in the room, so take a kettle if you rely on this type of beverage!. You can obviously get this at the bar pretty much anytime. Oh and by the way the spanish seem to like full fat milk, which is very sweet - you can buy semi skimmed, and like here in the UK its the one with the green top! - but you will need to get this from the local shop, as you wont get it in the hotel.
The rooms are cleaned everyday, and towels replaced daily and bedding every other day - all in all a good maid service.
We booked half board which meant breakfast and dinner but not lunch was included. Breakfast is served between 8am and 10-30am, lunch between 1pm and 3pm and dinner between 7pm and 9-30pm. Breakfast is what you would expect, but there is lots of choice, whether its a fried breakfast or cereal or just toast its all there in a nice environment - Self service of course.
Dinner choice is also good, and you can check out whats on each day's menu near the restaurant daily. Couple of theme nights were put on during our stay - namely mexican and chinese, but generally there are a selection of soups, salads, and hot meals. Pork, chicken, turkey or beef were on every menu in different forms. Chips of course were available every day too. Desserts
were impressive and are popular - so if you love your desserts get them first and put them on your table, as sometimes when they run out they run out! - huge cakes for example can go quickly, as everyone can cut
the size of slice they want.
All in all a very good hotel

3 readers found this review helpful

We have just come back from Salou after spending a week there. Lovely resort we have been to many resorts in Spain and this one caters for the English without the 'kiss me quick hat' feel about it. The prom is gorgeous and clean and there are lots of otehr places within easy reach. The hotel is clean and spacious. The staff are friendly and welcoming. No complaints here at all.
The food was nice with not the usual dried up salads that you expect to find in a spanish hotel buffet. All food was well cooked and the tables were constantly cleared with fresh table linen put on as the last people left. The entertainment was standard spanish hotel type with bingo, kids dancing and then a show all outside on the terrace. Waiters were great you never had to wait to be served and they were walking round constantly. The rooms were cleaned daily and towels changed.
All in all a very good hotel I would rate it 3 star plus. The location was lovely but is uphill not a problem for us but might be for anyone with walking difficulties however there are buses and the tourist trains that all stop either right ouside the door or just across the road so easy to get around.
We went on the Barcelona fun day which took in th Nou Camp and the zoo...well worth the trip and also we did the Port Aventura evening ticket trip. 7pm to midnight with fireworks and a water fountain show with lights at the end. Both are highly recommended.
Take a bus up to Cambrills and treat yourself to an ice cream..gorgeous!
We usually stay in excellent hotels and have been all over the place but I would say this one is very good value for money and Salou was a pleasnat surprise!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

I said we'd go again...and we did. It was just as brilliant the first time. Stayed virtually in the same area as we did the year before. The food was better this year, but the weather was immense! It was supposed to be in the high 20's and we reached 41. We stayed there for two weeks this time instead of the first time of one week.
We went to Barcelona twice (once shopping/nou camp, second shopping/barcelona zoo) and Tarragona once. Barcelona was amazing and I would definitely recommend going there - the reps were really helpful!
I would recommend it to anyone who isn't bothered about just staying at the hotel (it can be a bit claustrophobic) and if there are lots of Brits there it can be rather grating as the kids don't always keep mindful of other people in the pool, but that is not a reflection on the hotel it's more on the parents who couldn't care less. The staff were lovely no matter the problems, and the rooms and pool were cleaned everyday.
The only downside was the smoke...especially people next door to us smoking on their balcony (you're not allowed in rooms) which ruined the days I was ill (not from anything at the hotel) and had to stay inside.
Overall, we loved it.

1 reader found this review helpful

just returned from playa park, 4 adults and one child aged 11, when we arrived their was 3 sets of teenagers so around 130 of them running wild with no control from the adults who were being paid to look after them, they were more concerned about having a beer and topping up their tan! complained to the hotel and nothing done! staff in hotel were lovely especially paula in the restaurant, the bedrooms were cleaned every morning very well, food was great, the area around both pools was not the cleanest and we never saw the life guard speak or smile, entartainment was a good laugh, it seems a shame that a lovely hotel can be spoilt by all of these kids, i wouldnt return to the hotel for this reason.

2 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a week at the Playa Park, 2 Adults and 1 child (8) what a diamond hotel. Food excellent something available for every one and my 8 year old is very fussy. Hotel enterainment in the evening was great too, Prize bingo and then a different Show with outside performers it was fun. Hotel very clean, towels changed daily, rooms spacious, a little noisy on the front but we were ok.Only down side pools were freezing cold but a fantastic Beach (a patrol lifeguard)only 5 minutes around the corner, either go down the road or down 169 steps. Local bus service and a resort Train to take you down into Salou and Port Adventura excellent, or a nice 15 - 20 minute stroll down into Salou centre to the fountains. Want to go back again, a definate recommendation to friends and family.

7 readers found this review helpful

Stayed at Hotel Playa Park with my boyfriend & would definately recommend it to anyone looking for a base for their beach holiday - room was excellent very clean with a beautiful sea view & plenty of space, room also had air conditioning which definately came in handy! Bus to Barcelona leaves from right outside the hotel if you fancy a day trip we visited La Rambla, Sarad Familia & Parc Guell whilst there but would advise using the metro if you want to fit more in as there's lots to see! There are 3 beaches within walking distance of the hotel, the smallest (& quieter) only 5 mins walk. The hotel is a 10-15 min walk from the main drag of tourist shops & english type bars in Salou, but if you turn right out of main reception you will find some nice seafood restaurants & cocktail bars along the main beach which is what we preferred to do. Food was ok, something for everyone but as it's a buffet can get a bit hectic at peak times.

5 readers found this review helpful

Booked this via Aldi Travel....last minute looking for cheapish resort beach holiday....very pleased with hotel,clean rooms,friendly staff, good variety of food both at breakfast and dinner....our room overlooked pool and although entertainment was a bit "butlins" and not to our taste people we had good time...our 3 year old loved the mini disco and staff gave 100% and very amusing....music went on to midnight every night! We had 3 yr old so glad the beach was 5 mins walk...main beach 20 mins and is packed (avoid!) - this is not normally a holiday we go for but really had a good time, hotel at the quiet end of Salou but not too far...Salou itself is very much Blackpool with sun, bit tacky and shops all the same....get off to Barcelona or Taraogona for a trip (cheaper to take local bus that stops outside hotel - no need to go with anyone else)The balcony lights went off at 11.30 everynight automatically which annoyed me as I like to read alot on holiday....they turn lights off but music still goes on till midnight. People in hotel mixed european but some British kids not the best behaved around pool.

5 readers found this review helpful

We arrived at the hotel,and we were told that it was fully booked up,given alternative,Hotel Margarita for two days until the room we booked at Hotel Playa Park became vacant.The staff were happy and charming,the food was fabulous.The Beach was not far from the hotel.We had a great holiday, I would recommend PortAventura theme park,the best ride was furius baco then Stampida in the far west of the park.I would recommend using the Plana buses to travel around as they are great value for money I highly recommend this Hotel and would definitely come again.

4 readers found this review helpful

Holiday was great.room was cleaned daily even when we were being lazy and didnt get up until 12ish some days.Fresh towels were given daily even when you didnt put them in the bath.Our balcony looked out onto trees which was a bit rubbish so we didnt spend much time on it.Beds were hard but you got used to them.
My boyfriend and I spent most days at the beach 5 minutes away,was a little cove which was quieter than the main Salou beach.we loved the smaller beach and had such a laugh at it.It was also easy to get a bed,which was difficult at Salou beach.Pool didnt get sun until around 3 so we only used the pool once.we regulary had drinks and the pool after the beach and happy hour was great too.
Breakfast was a great meal at the hotel and we often wished we had that as our dinner.Good variation of food.They serve free cava aswell at breakfast.Dinner was ok we had that at around 7.30/8 most nights expecting it to be fresher but was all the same really.There was always something I could eat and the only night i disliked was the mexican night.However my boyfriend was very unimpressed.Drinks were quite expensive at dinner.We ate out alot.A must is to visit Cambrilis (unsure of the spelling)we ate seafood there at a resteraunt on the harbour,was excellent.We also ate in a resteraunt down at Salou beach was good but quite pricey.The cocktails in cafe de mer are to die for.I got a pina colado (its 10 euro) but it had a firework and sparklers in it...felt like a kid again.We ate in a resteraunt near the ibrox bar called captain something that was fantastic.
Pool entertainment was great the animation staff Julien,Aurora and Chris and fabulous and so great with peoples kids we noticed.They were such friendly people and made us laugh all holiday especially juliens dancing.We went on a night called weve got tallent by thomson reps and what a laugh we had.The reps put on a show with comedy sketchs,singing and dancing.We hada good laugh with the reps.as much sangrea,san miguel and soft drinks as you wanted.was a fab night.Would recomend it.
We fellt there were too many kids at our hotel but thats to be expected at a hotel in the centre of Salou.
We had drinks in the temple bar alot.Musics great.Especially the live singers.
Portaventura was amazing however rides were off one day for 3 hours due to thunder so we didnt get on as much as we had hoped.We also waited 2 hours for a ride.Aqua Polis was great value for money as you get to come back the next day free as long as you get a band.Dolphin and seal show are free to watch and u get to kiss a seal at the end.Barcalona was a great day out.We visited nou camp and did the bus tour.Both experiences were fabulous.
All and all had a great first holiday away with my boyfriend.Would definately go back in the future.