Pionero Hotel

We are just back (Oct 7th 2006) from a week at this hotel following a week cruising the med with Island Cruises. What a contrast between the cruise and this hotel. Cruises are well known for good service and plenty of choice with good quality food. This hotel has neither. LOCATION The hotel is fairly well located in the middle of Santa Ponsa. Its about 200 meters from a reasonably nice beach. It doesnt overlook the beach and there are no really good views from the hotel. Santa Ponsa itself has a side with some nice peaceful restaurants and bars and another side which has the same but of the tacky variety - the kind of places which will appeal to youngsters looking for lively lager drinking places. The hotel sits between both sides. ROOMS Rooms are basic but clean enough. Its the shower in the bath set up and no hairdryer is provided. You also get a smallish wardrobe with safe inside. There is a small TV in the room with only a couple of English speaking channels - Eurosport and CNN. You will also have a balcony with a small table and a couple of chairs but probably not much to look at. HOTEL GROUNDS The hotel is joined via the gardens and pools to the Santa Ponsa Park which has the same owners. You can generally wander between the hotels although the Santa Ponsa Park is now closed for the season we think. Between the two hotels there are two outdoor pools and one indoor pool. All of them are nice enough. There are plenty of sun loungers although they are the hard plastic type with no padding available making them uncomfortable after a while. Also in the grounds are a table tennis table a pool table and a dart board. The grounds in general are fine as are the amenities. FOOD Not one of the hotels strong points I'm afraid. In fact its one of the reasons we wont be back. We were all inclusive and so had all meals in the hotel restaurant. In terms if quality and variety we found both badly lacking. Its a buffet set up and typical evening meals will be say 5 salad dishes (lettuce, tomato, diced carrot, chopped peppers and onions) a couple of hot dishes say beef stew or hake in a creame sauce. There will also be several dishes of either chips, roast potatos or something similar. For desert there will be a cake of some description plus ice creame and perhaps some kind of mouse. We found the quality and choice poor and noted several other guests complaining about the food. Yes its edible, no you wont starve but you will also not look forward to dining here, you may, depending on your taste end up having a few bread and cheese salad meals as we did. One other particularly important point to note about the dining experience is that the restaurant facility has an unsual system which nobody explains to you in advance. On your first visit you will be allocated a 'permanent' table. This will be your table for the duration of your stay for all meals. However if your party numbers say less than 3 (i.e. say its just the two of you) you are very likely to be sat at the same table ( of 4) as another couple. Having discussed this with the management we believe the theory is that if you are on holiday with your partner you will have nothing to talk about and will therefore appreciate this set up which will let you meet another couple who also have nothing to say to each other. Now while we understand and can appreciate what they are trying to do, we feel it should be a matter of choice if you wish to sit alone or with another couple but alas unless you complain you will be 'forced' to sit with another couple- best of luck. STAFF We have saved the best to last here (not). We have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed around 14 holidays over the past 6 years of which around 50% have been all inclusive. We enjoy the freedom of having everything paid for up front, we know you wont be served the best quality drinks but usually they are drinkable and the food is normally good. This hotel is unusual in that most all inclusives tend to be remote from the main 'drag' which is why they offer the facility. This hotel is however very near a vast array of bars and restaurants. We understand that the all inclusive concept is new to the hotel and boy does it show. It seems that the staff have completely failed to engage in the concept. They were some of the rudest hotel employees we have ever met particularly towards their all inclusive guests. We are led to believe that they see all inclusive guests as 'getting something for nothing' and wll therefore go out of their way to make your experience difficult. We exaggerate not. For example on our last evening we ordered a round of drinks for ourselves and a lovely Irish couple we had befriended during our stay, the waitor took the order and offered to bring our drinks to the table. When they arrived we were advised of the bill at which point we showed our all inclusive wrist band (which had been clearly visible when the drinks order was taken) only to receive a rude, aggressive and fankly unacceptable lecuture from the bartender about making our wristbands more visible when ordering (because if we had he wouldn't have offered to bring the drinks to the table). We could quote many many similar instances. Initally we thought it was something we were doing wrong but having chatted to several other guests it seems not. Having raised the issue of staff rudeness with the management we were told that its well kown that the staff are hostile and many complaints are received. SUMMARY The location is OK, the hotel is clean but basic, the food is poor and the staff (apart from Maria behind the bar, the compare Roy and a couple of the dining staff) are outrageously rude an will make your experience as difficult as possible. We can safely say we will NEVER be back at this hotel. We would strongly advise you against going here, there are far better more friendly places to go - like Alcatraz!

Whilst well situated and close to the beach this hotel was disappointing as a result of unfriendly and unhelpful staff. It is apparent that customer service is not high on the agenda. e.g. No apology offered when we were given the keys to an already occupied room. The bar service was amongst the worst we've experieced with long waits so much so we gave up being ignored on more than one occasion The food was very average with no real variation from night to night. The table allocation too difficult for the maitre d' to contend with politely. The chamber maids were an exception to the surly staff and always had a pleasant word to offer.

Have stayed in santa ponsa before but it was many years ago,tried this hotel without seeing any reviewsand i wasnt disappointed,the staff were friendly,the rooms had air con and were really clean and the cleaning staff would change towelsand bedding every day if you wished bedding .The food was excellent with loads of choice buffet style even a kiddies section!,You can use the facilities of the Santa Ponsa Park which is next door.,All in all an excellent location,close to beach (9 euro for 2 sunbeds and unbrella) close enough to all nightlife good bars and restaurants but you cant hear any noise at all in hotel ...AN EXCELLENT HOLIDAY,HOTEL AND LOCATION WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!

Just back from spending 4 days at this hotel, Food was the same every day, they gave you a set table for you to sit at and if you were a group like we were and did not eat all together the staff shouted at you while you were trying to eat the very dismal food. They made a mistake with our rooms and insited we had to pay more money and threatened to keep our passports. Rooms were not ready eventually got in to our room at 8pm in the evening. Staff are so rude and miserable. Would never stay at this hotel again. Air conditioning did not work properly complained about this and the staff did not want to know.

I stayed at the hotel for 1 week, and i wished i had booked for 2 weeks it was very clean the staff were well presented and good with the customers, the choice of food was good too, you cant thought the hotel at all nothing couldnt get better than it already is i enjoyed my stay there so ive booked another week there at the end of july and i cant wait to go back !!!!!

Stayed at the hotel for a week from the 7th June. The hotel is very modern and clean with a nice reception area, internet area (4 computers) and various tables surrounding the large TV which was showing the World Cup games. Rooms are very clean and spacious with a balcony. Rooms have TV, safe and mini-bar. Maid Service is daily and could not fault the service. The restaurant is great, offers a wide variety of foods, from full English Breakfasts, cereals, fruits and evening meals from Chicken,Pork,Beef and various vegetarian dishes. Great choice of deserts from cakes, Ice-Creams, Tarts and fresh fruits. Great onsite reps offering activities for the kids and also the adults like waterpolo. Evening entertainment is ok, but could be improved. I would highly recomend this hotel. Only 3 minutes walk from the beach and 10 minutes to the nightlife.

the pionero is one of the cleanest hotels we have stayed at.location is a ten min. walk from the beach but no sea view rooms as such, only sea glimpses over the top of adjacent buildings.food is diabolical, virtually the same choice every day, i personally lost 4lb in one week because i couldn't eat it.entertainment is non existant, one night a magician (v.good)one night flamenco dancers (v.good) one night a duo with a keyboard (utter rubbish)the rest, play your cards right, bingo and how high can you stack toilet rolls game.aircon noise from restaurant horrendous 24/7 take ear plugs. staff miserable, something to do with no tips owing to all inclusive guests. all inc. drinks menu dire, you have to pay an extra 2 euros per drink extra to get something decent to drink.bed linen changed every 2 days and towels daily...would not go back

we have just got home from 1 week's holiday staying at the Pionero in santa ponsa,we could not fault the hotel.It was very clean and the ladies kept the rooms spotless and were very friendly as were the bar staff/waiters and reception.The food was exceptional always hot with a wide range of choice and you were allocated a table for the whole stay so you could relax and enjoy your meal and stay at the table as long as you wanted to.The pool area was clean with a life guard on at all times.There was entertainment on every night for young and old,and if you didn't want to stay in the hotel there was lots of bars near by.Over all... well worth the money fantastic hotel and a very clean safe resort... fantastic beaches.... excellant choice for couples and families...

Just returned from a weeks holiday with my son aged 13. Read reviews before going and they were pretty accurate. Hotel was very clean, room fine and air conditioning a real boon (but remember to close patio doors to get it to operate). Pools were good and kept clean as was surrounding area (except for Saturday when rubbish bins were overflowing). Went all inclusive and was suprised that we were not staying at Pionero as I had booked but at the sister hotel (appeared identical as far as I could see). Same complex just that the all inclusive facilities were at one end and half board at the other. All inclusive drinks and snacks perfectly acceptable but restaurant food was poor (breakfast was ok). System of sitting strangers together at small tables whilst plenty other tables were free made everyone uncomfortable and is not a good idea. Had 2 lunches and 2 evening meals in the hotel and ate out the rest of the time. I note that a half board visitor said the food was good and varied - they would have used the restaurant at the Pionero and I am beginning to think that it must have been substantially better than what we were served up. Apart from the food I have no grumps about the hotel, excellently placed for the beach, bars, restaurants etc. Sunbeds round the pool were booked early in the morning but there were always beds available in the upper sun terraces which were nice. All in all a good weeks holiday, apart from the food and the seating arrangements in the restaurant. Would go again but perhaps on half board. Went with Globespan from Edinburgh and all flights took off and arrived on time. Weather absolutely glorious.

We have just returned from a fabulous weeks holiday at the Hotel Pionero in Santa Ponsa. We found all the hotel staff to be very friendly and always willing to help. There were varied activities during the day, including a hobby club for children as well as entertainment in the evenings. We used the pool at this hotel as well as the one at the Santa Ponsa Park - because they are next to each other. The pools were always clean and there was a lifeguard on duty to ensure our safety (that meant you couldn't play with inflatables though - only the beach ball). I would imagine that the pools could become very busy during peak season. The hotel room was slightly cramped because we had an extra bed in it to accommodate our daughter and the view was disappointing because we looked onto the bins! - But we only really used the room to sleep in so it wasn't a problem. Our rooms were cleaned every day and we were given fresh towels every day as well. Extra towels were also available, for a small deposit, for use at the pool. The food was excellent - it was rated the best part of our daughter's holiday! There was a varied menu and an excellent choice of food. There was something for everyone to enjoy. We were half board but I would go all inclusive next time because the food was so good.