Arena Center

stayed in the Arena center 23rd june to 30th june after readng the reviews wondered what to expect. Don't be put off had a wonderful holiday staff were friendly hotel spotless. Yes it is full of spanish its were they go on holiday. If you want plenty of nightlife don't go here but if you want a nice relaxing holiday this if for you. The food was good plenty to choose from the rooms are large and cleaned every day.
Its five minutes to the beach bars shops etc(out of the back door). Lovely large swimming pool and no one
can put towels on sunbeds to reserve them as the pool attendant will remove them. On an evening you can take a stroll down the long sea front perfect end to a perfect day will definately go again.

we were totally misold this holiday by thomas cook. I went with a friend and my two year old daughter. The place was like a ghost town. The food wasnt great. The rooms were nice. There wasnt alot to do and nothing to keep my daughter occupied. We were mugged outside the hotel two days before we were due to leave. The most horrendous thing i have ever been through. I would never go to this area again. The area is very spanish and definately not for families as we were told.

2 readers found this review helpful

It was a bad start on arrival we had to wait three and a half hours for our room to be ready. The apartment which include fridge and television was wonderful. Large and comfortable and spotlessly clean. we were on half board basis and the breakfast was very good but the evening meal left a lot to be desired. Buffet style meals and the main course was well below average and its freshness has to be questioned.
The bar and swimming pool was full of Spanish guests who seemed to have hoards of children in tow even in May and were given superior treatment. British guests here were treated as second class citizens. You really felt in the resort that as a "Brit" you were intruding and were not welcome.
The resort itself had a clean sand and shingle beach but overall lacked any character. We put this holiday down to a different experience but we would not return here.

2 readers found this review helpful

This hotel and our holiday was brilliant! The hotel has lots of Spanish holiday-makers- It is in Spain, so of course there will be Spanish people there! We sent our children to the Spanish children's club (where they had lots of fun and took part in a children’s dancing show at night, even though they cannot speak Spanish), we joined in the Spanish entertainment in the evenings (it was lovely to see the real flamenco dancers) and tried to speak to the staff and other holiday makers in Spanish. Everyone was very friendly.
The food is aimed towards the majority of guests, so is not typically British, but with 3 children we found food that they enjoyed too. They do not serve pizza and chips or burgers, we had a different fish and meat every day, vegetables, salads and fruit also. Just get there early. Traditional tapas can be found in nearly all the tavernas and restaurants. Try that too.
The rooms were spotless. The pool was too. The pool toilets were cleaned 3 or 4 times a day (including mopping the floor).
Roquetas De Mar is a traditional Spanish holiday resort. You get real Spain. If you want Spanish Blackpool with "English" bars and resent "foreigners" - go elsewhere! Do British people just want to change holiday resorts into "little England"? Maybe that is why Spanish staff treat English holiday-makers differently - show them we are not all the same.

Upon arrival we had to wait nearly 3 hours before our room was ready for occupancy which was annoying to say the least. The room itself was a very high standard both in size, equipment and the cleanliness. It must be this factor alone that qualifies the Arena Centre with its 4 star rating.
We were not impressed with other facilities here. The restaurant was buffet style and the food really was not kept very hot which in our book is a big minus. The hot food in the evening was extremely limited and mass produced. We found it to be tasteless and dried out and the vegetables were overcooked. We felt unwell after eating one evening which did not surprise us as reheated food is always likely to cause possible stomach problems. We had an uncomfortable night but luckily had fully recovered by mid morning next day.
There were children in abundance during our stay, a large percentage were Spanish and they took over without regard for other guests. We stayed at the hotel one evening for the live music bit it was completely spoilt by children constantly running over the dance floor until the entertainment finished at midnight. We have been to other hotels where children are only allowed in the bar and on the dance floor until 10 o'clock which is a sensible compromise. There are a number of British bars in the area many of which insisted on showing English television and you got filthy looks in you held a conversation.
The M25 bar was the worst for this although the Highlander and Caribbean Bar were nice. 2 days trips worth going on are to the irra Nevada mountains and Granda- the latter being a long and tiring day but really worth while experience but we needed longer here and will consider booking a long weekend break too see this fascinating city in detail.

1 reader found this review helpful

There are 4 important factors for an enjoyable holiday. Rooms; Food; Resort; Weather.
As far as this holiday is concerned here is our summary,
Rooms: First rate, everything about them excellent 10 out of 10
Food; Breakfast good; evening meal terrible reheated mass produced dried out hot food with limited choice and little taste. To make matters worse following eating the fish one evening We both had a really nasty tummy upset and sickness which lasted 36 hours. We reported to the First Choice representative who was sympathetic but just said there was a lot of it about. We were convinced it was the food and ate out for the rest of our holiday. An expensive but necessary course as we were not risking it happening again. rating 3 out of 10 (all the marks for the breakfast).
Resort; A spotless clean sand and shingle beach and a promenade that stretched for an eternity. You could always get the bus back for various points if you walked to far. We walked to the Marina area early evening where we got food and returned by bus. They ran until 10.30. Rest of resort was characterless with a number of English Bars showing Sky Sports and English Television. Avoid M25 unless you are a television addict. The Miners Arms enjoyable for a quiet drink and Theos for light hearted entertainment. A large proportion of the tourists in Roquetas de Mar are actually Spanish. Rating for resort 6 out of 10.
Weather. One semi wet day otherwise comfortable temperatures 8 out 10
Conclusion. Apart from evening meal and sickness a good holiday but probably a resort you would only visit once. If you get the opportunity visit Granada for the day an unforgettable and spectacular experience.

1 reader found this review helpful

The two most important factors when going on holiday are the weather and your room. The weather was great although we did have one day of heavy rain and our room was faultless in everyway. Size, bathroom, balcony, and equipment were all spot on. The room was clean daily to a very high standard. We did have a television in the room but it only showed 2 English speaking channel- one American news and the other Eurosport.
However other areas of The Arena Center were not up to scratch. The food was buffet style which from past experience is more prone to infection. Breakfast was satisfactory as it had a quick turnover and was constantly replenished. However the hot food for the evening meal was extremely poor in many ways. A limited choice mass produced and left standing uncovered for long periods and it was barely kept warm. This meant it dried out, was only tepid and it was not surprising to hear other guests had suffered from stomach disorders.
We would not have touched the fish with a bargepole and it is imperative fish is freshly cooked, Reheating can be dangerous. Also the number of children in the hotel was a problem and many were disorderly. We have children ourselves but do value some peace and quiet on holiday and not everyone wants children around them throughout the holiday. It would have been a good idea if they were only allowed in the hotel public rooms until 10 o'clock and it would not have been too difficult for the hotel restaurant to have an adult only section. Roquetas de Mar had a spotlessly clean beach and wonderful long promenade.
That is all it had going for it as the rest of resort lacked character and was full of big hotels. It really catered more for the large number of Spanish tourists than other Europeans. There were a number of English bars showing Sky Sports or English Television programmes. We did enjoy the quiz in the M25 bar - a social able evening and a good cheap pint of San Miguel could be found at the Highlander bar. A good holiday with reservations especially the hotels evening meal which was certainly a negative factor for us and from feedback many other British guests.

1 reader found this review helpful

The rooms at Arena Centre Aparthotel were fabulous. Spacious with plenty of cupboard and drawer space and simply but well furnished with one of the cleanest and best bathrooms we have encountered.
A fridge and cooker were included. Also satellite television which disappointingly was restricted with only 2 English speaking channels CNN news and Eurosport. A decent sized balcony with table and chairs. The room was cleaned spotlessly every day with a change of towels and linen most days.
We are not fans of buffet style meals as we think from the health aspect that they are a disaster waiting to happen. We were especially concerned with the sub standard hot food served for the evening meal which was left standing on hot plates for long period and kept barely warm and had often dried out and lacked any taste. We did have a slight stomach problem one night but it had cleared up by lunch time the next day.
A large percentage of the guests were Spanish many of whom had young children in tow, therefore the lovely swimming pool area was often monopolized by the children whose parents had scant regard for the British guests.

1 reader found this review helpful

When we arrived at this hotel we had to hang around for 2 hours as our room was not ready, not the ideal start to our holiday.
The rooms themselves were out of the top drawer and were one of the best and cleanest we have stayed in. The food was buffet style which is always more subject to cause illness. It was left uncovered and the hot food was barely kept warm on hot plates. We both went down for a couple of days with stomach complaints. There were also a very large number of mainly Spanish children staying here even in September. They ran around the dining room and made the pool area a no go area for us.
It would have helped if the hotel had an adult only section in the restaurant and around the pool. We would recommend the Arena Center aparthotel for the accommodation but all aspects were not up to scratch. We enjoyed the M25 bar and Theos in the evenings and the beach was spotless but did shelve quite quickly into the sea.

1 reader found this review helpful

Even in early June the hotel was surprisingly full of young children which we had not anticipated and somewhat put a dampener of our holiday. We always go away outside the school holidays in an attempt to avoid the children. Not everybody wants noisy children when trying to relax and the hotel made no attempt to control them. An adult only section around the swimming pool would have been a start.
The rooms themselves were absolutely superb and were one of the best we have every stayed in. The towels were changed daily and the bedding every other day. The standard of cleaning was first class. Both breakfast and dinner were buffet style which was mass produced, left uncovered and the hot food was kept barely warm in hot dishes. We were aware that food left uncovered for any length of time could be a health hazard and we were careful what we ate especially avoiding the fish. The breakfast was very good and the dishes regularly replenished. But the evening meal main course was mass produced tasteless and not very hot. We would rate the evening meal as barely 2 star.
The staff were full of smiles, efficient and professionally but were very mechanical in their approach. You had the feeling they tolerated British guests but the Spanish guests who were by far in the majority received priority.