Mare Nostrum Resort

We have just returned from our summer holiday to the Mare Nostrum Resort, in the Mediterranean palace hotel
We stayed for 7 night’s half board and could not wait to come home, we even joined and booked via the Expo membership to have the extra experience which we never got. Not one bit, not even a drink on arrival.
Hotel was extremely out dated, cracks, mould and quick fix jobs everywhere around the hotel. We had a suit with a mountain view which was large enough for a family of 4 but only had one cupboard and 4 draws and 4 small draws in the TV cabinet …. So had to live out our case!!
The kids club had very little security with 10 minutes of leaving our 5 year old daughter she came to find us after the rest of the club went to the go-karting without her, she spent the entire afternoon with us with out any of the staff noticing she was not there.
The house keeping woke us up every morning talking to each from adjacent room and moving furniture, even after complaining to reception and being told it would not happen again it still continued, even louder. You can hear the people in the next room talking through the walls. When getting to the hotel we were given very little information on Entertainment and amenities even no spa information, which we intended to use but ended up not being able to use after the incident with the children club.
In addition to this when trying to contact them afer via the contact page, the website crashed every time I have tried.
When emailing them directly, I exchanged a number of emails with them, an extremely poor excuse for the mistake and horrid experience we had and then they refused to pass me the details of there head office.
I am appalled at the way the customer service was dealt with during and after our stay.

3 readers found this review helpful

A 5* hotel - Definitely not!!!! The entrance area is impressive but our bedroom and the restaurant were 3*, at best.
I paid 1,900 Euros for 7 nights + breakfast from 28 Dec (+3 Euros per night for a safe + 15 Euro deposit for a pool towel + 6 Euros per hour for internet + I am not sure what charge to open the room fridge, as it was locked).
Call me stupid but after that lot, I expected 5* service because that is how this hotel describes itself.
We were given room 5059 and it had dirty walls, cracked and stained/patched tiles, bathroom ceiling paint peeling and bubbling, mould around the bath (which I tried to clean), an old TV perched about 5 feet in the air. My wife said nothing as I think she was hoping things might improve. They didn't.
Breakfast was in a huge barn of a dining room. It was total bedlam - it reminded me of feeding time at the zoo, with men, women and children (a LOT of children) swarming in hordes between two self-service points containing very average food. And, as we left the dining room, there was a crowd of about 20 exercising on static bikes near the pool. Great, but the boom, boom, boom of the accompanying music did not bode well for a relaxing holiday for old fogies such asmy wife and me. Between the noise, the crowds and the modest quality of supposedly 5* food, the holiday's prospects were beginning to look quite ominous.
So, I approached reception and discussed the bedroom and breakfast conditions, casually mentioning also the boom, boom,boom-related implications for a morning lie-in for anyone in need of it.
I asked if we could move to a different location within the complex. I was told that all other, similar accommodation was booked but that, anyway, a move would have cost me an extra 27 Euros per day.
I asked could we have breakfast at a quieter hotel area. I was told it was possible but would cost an extra 12 Euros per day.
At that point, my wife said she would prefer to go home.
So, I bit the bullet and we moved to the 5** Sir Anthony hotel within the complex
for an extra 800 Euros. Let me put this another way - we moved from one 5* hotel in Mare Nostrum to another 5* there, not because I wanted to spend more money, but just to achieve a quiet stay.
In the Sir A, I was told that the Mediterranean Palace is now being geared towards families. I filled in a customer survey and, when he saw it, the Director/General Manager asked to meet me. I told him all I have written, here and, interestingly, he agreed that the Mediterranean Palace needed to be refurbished. Otherwise, he simply nodded as I spoke and he said little.
My conclusions - if you want a quiet holiday, totally avoid the Mediterranen Palace.

3 readers found this review helpful

Booked with Thomson a la Carte
Not a 5 T or 5 star resort as it purports to be - neither is it international. Certainly a good quality Spanish 4 star but not comparable to the less-expensive and much more welcoming 5 stars at the cheaper end of the Caribbean such as the Dom Rep.
The Mare Nostrum complex which houses the Cleopatra Palace is a little jaded and in need of a face lift - a quite expensive room upgrade at the hotel gives you a plunge pool on your extra-sized balcony but with the added attractions of mismatched patio furniture, peeling paintwork and mould around the cracked sealant making the pool a less than attractive addition.
Food is good but dining options are restrictive. Service is great - staff couldn't be more helpful. Evening entertainment is not international or even really European - simply Spanish - and most repetitive. Same bands playing the same music every evening, and 4 nights out of 10 we had the additional treat of acrobatic shows. The resort boasts La Pyramide - a complex housing a classy, traditional light operatic show and a meal in the restaurant in the Pyramid. There was NO show - they were in rehearsal for the new one starting at the end of the month - and the Pyramide Restaurant was being turned into a Discotheque (presumably more cost-effective for Mare Nostrum as the restaurants they did have open were only busy at breakfast and satisfying the odd All Inclusive guest at other times).
The area around Mare Nostrum is quite expensive to shop and eat in. Take LOTS of spending money as a good 2 course meal for two with wine in a nice restaurant will cost between 50 and 70 euros, and don't expect too much advice on where to go from your Thomsons representative in the resort - there isn't one, other than on the end of a telephone in England (but you don't find that out until you get there). That doesn't help when your pre-booked taxi transfer fails to arrive to get you back to your return flight.
Finally - don't expect your Premium or Thomsons a la Carte treatment on the way home. Thomson/First Choice facilities at the airport are farcical - 9 checkout desks, each taking anyone from any Thomson or First Choice flight and one poor team leader trying to cope with what I estimated to be well ove a thousand irate passengers when the baggage handling system failed and nobody moved for over half an hour.
To sum up - if you're prepared to spend almost £2,000 on 10 days Bed and Breakfast, then do yourself a favour and choose somewhere else altogether.

3 readers found this review helpful

This was an amazing resort with 5 different hotels all top notch. The breakfast choice was absolutley fabulous. I have never had so much variety to pick from. Was full up till dinner time! The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The rooms were excellent and very clean. The resort was within walking distance of everything, from shopes to restaurants and bars/cafes. Would highly recommend this resort to anyone, young or old.

2 readers found this review helpful

Stunning resort of 4 hotels. Staff are fantastic.
When you tell locals/ other holiday makers where your staying. They turn green with envy.
Make sure you go half board as the food in all four hotels is very good. From the mountain of prawns to the unlimited champagne with breakfast, this is not to be missed.
The pool areas are very clean, facilities are good if not a bit overcrowded, and the British people placing the supplied towels on sunbeds at the crack of dawn is an amusing sight.
The location is excellent. Right on the sandy beach and away from the council/fish & chips areas like veronicas.
There are lots of local shops, bars & restaurants who cater for people who change from swim wear and vests and dress up a bit in the evening.
All in all I will go here again, and I have a few recommendations to remember when booking.
1. Go half board & try all the different restaurants.
2. Try and get a high floor room. Bigger and sea view.
3. Don’t use the SPA. At least not without a quote first. It's Expensive!

1 reader found this review helpful

The accommodation was not too bad, but more a 2 star than a 5 star.. the breakfast room was dreadful .It was dirty ,and the food limited and of poor quality. So much so, that after two days we all got severe food poisoning (5 out of 9 people) and the only place common to us all was the breakfast room.
We reported it to the reception staff, but nothing was done. The breakfast room was then closed without any warning and we were transferred to another dining room.. This was better, but the service was equally dreadful. i.e. you had to rugby tackle a waiter to get coffee or tea and clearing away used dishes was non -existent. We also heard of a number of people suffering from the same food poisoning.
The whole hotel was tacky in the extreme with glass fibre statues all over the place . the pool area was a concrete jungle.. How this hotel got 5 stars is a total mystery. We would never set foot in it again. A real 5 star hotel would be the Riu Palace in Puerto Del Carmen.