Sol Gavilanes Hotel

We (2 adults and 1 child) arrived on this holiday for one week, meeting up with 3 other adult family members for a 40th birthday celebration.
We all had large family rooms (the only downside was that they are long and narrow so its a fair walk from door to balcony!) The view from the balcony of the bay is stunning and well worth booking this hotel specifically for its sea view position. The hotel has a good sized reception area and a large bar area which never got too crowded, easy to get served quickly.
There are at least 3 restaurants, the most popular being the one outside on the terrace so you can watch the evening sun at dinner time. The evening shows follow on here after your meal so get a good dinner table position as you may well be sat here all evening. The shows are fairly good and my 2 year old was laughing quite a lot.
Food is good but you wont get really special dishes like mixed seafood but can’t be expected. If you do want something extra there is a restaurant where you pay for the meal on top of your half board package. Its not really a hotel that caters for young children but it is right on the beach so those little legs do not have far to go to the beach. Overall its an excellent family hotel (but primarily aimed at adults) that offers a 4 star service. Problems such as faulty cot were quickly rectified.
The only bad thing is that due to its size it is impersonal and reception staff seem more like they should be working in a big city hotel for business travellers, as they don’t seem over welcoming. None of the staff were as friendly as other hotels I’ve been too, but that said I was in a large family group so perhaps not as bothered.

The location of the hotel is perfect, just a lift away from the beach front. Whilst I heard some people grump about the food, I found it to be varied and as you would expect of a hotel catering for so many people.
The staff were very accommodating and extremely helpful, allowing us to browse several rooms before we decided on a family suite. And they let us check out at 6pm without extra charge!
Every single room has a spectacular view of the bay so don’t worry about looking out over the car park.
My only bad point was the noise from the family in the adjacent suite, but that was more their fault than the hotel’s. Other than this slight blemish, which did get better after a heated exchange one morning, we had a fantastic time and will definitely be going back next year.
Go and book it.

Beautiful Resort. Clean beaches.
Resort very expensive. We would recommend shopping around other towns particularly if self catering.
Sol Gavilanes is a beautiful hotel with great amenities and friendly staff. The location of the hotel is perfect, with a lift down to the beach. The hotel is also very child-friendly, although the children and adults pools would be better if they were on the same level. It is also difficult to get a sun lounger near the pool. When we visited they had a problem with people laying down towels (this was being addressed when we left).
We wouldn’t recommend travelling with first choice. Other tour operators seemed to have ever-present reps and a bit more of a personal touch, particularly with children.
We will return there next year.