Zoraida Garden

Read reviews on this website regarding our upcoming holiday at this hotel and we dreaded going but what a surprise. A hotel in Spain with warm friendly Spanish people.
Ok the entertainment on the whole was Spanish based and not so good. The food acceptable, always found something to eat never went hungry.
Rooms while they maybe a bit on the small side, were clean and were cleaned daily to a good standard.
Pool area was the best pool area we have ever had. Well maintained gardens on the whole well looked after hotel and grounds.
I am disabled and the disabled access was good ramps everywhere and disabled only tables in the restaurant. I found the rooms were fine for my level of mobility but might be a bit small for wheelchairs saying that there was wheelchairs users there.
The resort was very quite near the hotel but a great location for the hotel, perfect for a relaxing holiday.
As for the staff they were very friendly and helpful.
I think people who object to Spanish people in Spain should maybe stay in Britain.

I have been all over the world in 5 star hotels and this hotel is as good.
Food excellent, all staff so friendly. We stayed all inclusive. It was very good value for money.
As soon as I got back I booked again for October.
Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. The bedrooms was very very clean.
Pool fantastic best I’ve seen. I would definitely recommend this hotel.

My holiday in the Zoraida Gardens Hotel was just amazing!
I loved every minute of it from the clean and air conditioned rooms to the near beach and the friendly and fun staff. I went with all my family and we had a ball.
The hotel was extremely clean and really cool compared to the scorching weather outside.
The entertainment team were also great by the pool with everyone joining in the water aerobics which was a great laugh but ,I will admit that in the night the entertainment was in Spanish, but they would translate it into many different languages.
Also the poolside bar was a godsend. The cheeseburgers, chips, toasties and hot dogs were the nicest I have tasted and you really could have as many as you wanted.
Even the drinks ranging from frothy cappuccino's and alcohol and soft drinks and milkshakes there really was a wide range to choose from at the snack bar in both the day and night.
The restaurant area of an evening was a bit of a let down compared to the snack bar. There wasn't a whole lot to choose from but it did taste nice.
And another great point is how it is situated practically on top of the beach. We loved going to the beach because it was that big that there was loads of room and the sea was great because it did get a bit choppy which we used to have a laugh on with our lilos.
But the best thing for me was the downstairs club, which also was free drinks, because my teenage daughters could go down their of a night and leave me to relax while the little kids were either with the entertainment team or in the arcade also downstairs.
The club would go on until I think it was 2 o'clock in the morning and because it was in the hotel, I knew it would be safe and easy for them to get back to the hotel room.
Overall this holiday was spectacular for me and my family with lots of shops, lots to do, friendly staff and my favourite thing, the champagne and cocktails that also were free with all inclusive.
This is why I have just booked to come back next year with another 13 members of my family.

Quite honestly this was the worst holiday we have had in 25 years. It was obvious the staff did not like the British guests and we were treated like dirt.
The majority of the guests were Spanish and some of them seemed a bit dubious to us. The rooms were just about acceptable but in need of redecorating. The food was disgusting. The hot food was precooked, tasteless and barely warm. The vegetables were stewed. The food was meant to be kept hot in the buffet style restaurant but this was not the case. It was not a surprise with went down with bad stomach problems which lasted nearly 3 days.
We know of at least 5 other couples who suffered the same problems with illness. We did not bother to eat in the dining room again and went to one of the resorts restaurants which added considerably to the costs. If you are thinking of booking here our advice is don't.

Shock and horror when we arrived we discovered the hotel was used by the Spanish government to give people on the equivalent of social security free holidays. To say the clientele was mixed is an under statement.
We felt very uncomfortable and though British guests were treated with distain. We did not use any of the hotel facilities because some guests were unpleasant.
In the addition the buffet style buffet was mass produced and horrible. As a result we went down for 3 days with a suspected mild form of food poisoning. We could not wait to return to England after a holiday from hell.

This hotel was abysmal. The room could have been cleaner, the food was pre prepared the hot food was barely kept warm and the vegetables were overcooked. We went down with was we suspect was a mild form of suspected salmonella with diarrhea and vomiting for 2 days which took away what little enjoyment was left of our holiday, the hotel were not interested claiming their innocence.
Also there were so many children here mainly Spanish it was unbearable. The entertainment was dire and amateurish.
The resort had a good promenade but otherwise was characterless. It was worth going to Theo’s bar in the centre were there was some good fun entertainment. We went on one trip before becoming ill to Granada which was absolutely fabulous although we did not have time to see everything. We would never return to the Zorida Gardens Hotel again or recommend it to anybody.
Awful stay away. If we could have given this hotel 0 out 10 it would be too high a mark!

We came here on the 24th of August for 2wks on half board. Firstly we booked this holiday last November and have been eager to get away as time went on. I suddenly found myself being off work for a period of some 17 week before our holiday began as I suffer from Spinal Stynosious. My wife has a very strenuous job looking after adult learning difficulties in the community.
We had been looking forward so much to our break and wondering if I would be able to go. I final got the all clear from my G.P as she thought it would be of benefit to me. When we arrived at the hotel we were impressed by the entrance and thought this could be the start of a good holiday. How very wrong we were, we attended the welcome meeting and were shocked by the appearance of our Rep she looked like she could do with a good wash and her uniform clothing well as we say in Scotland could have done with a good STEEP IN THE WASH TUB . We were also most surprised at the appearance of a lady from Paradise Properties talking to us about holiday homes in the area if anyone was interested. Thought we were in the Canaries again with a TIME SHARE TOUT I wondered who was getting the backhander for this little lot then, for her at the welcome meeting was it the tour company or the Rep??!!!!!!!!!???
We were unaware that this hotel was full of Spanish Pensioners on holiday as their government pay for a holiday for them. We were also under the impression that this hotel was mainly for adults this was not the case as it also seemed that a good proportion of guest were Spanish families on their holidays as well. The corridors in the hotel were dark and dismal and the floor covering looked dated and shabby, with stains and chewing gum ingrained in it. Meals were to be kind here were absolutely diabolical, breakfast was a selection of cold meats cheese, cereals, the fried eggs were crispy and the bacon floated in a sea of grease or of olive oil, boiled eggs looked like the had been cooked the night before as they were difficult to get the shells off and when you did they were a black and green colour. The tea and coffee facilities were also a nightmare as most of the time the were either cold or tepid you could try and heat it up in the microwave oven if you wanted to take the chance of a health risk as it was usual filthy and a health hazard as one of the switches was stuck up with cello tape we have through away better looking items.
Evening meals also uninviting and very bland again most meals were geared for the Spanish element in the hotel. Squid rings, various pork dishes if you like pork I am afraid we don’t. Chicken legs in various sauces, burgers, fish still with heads and skin on, salad things if you like that sort of thing, other things that would turn your stomach Oh one night it looked like spag/ boll only to find; yes there was spaghetti but no meat of any sort in the sauce (very strange) soups well, I and my wife would not touch it either. Oh and please let us not forget the MacDonald’s style chips ever single night Dessert dishes were also very inventive custard cold with hundreds and thousands sometimes grated tasteless chocolate sprinkled over it, yoghurts, 2 flavours of ice cream in small tubs chocolate or strawberry, rice pudding hot, rice pudding cold with nutmeg or cinnamon and melon sometimes green skin kind sometimes the red full of seeds kind.. We only ate 2 complete meals in 2 weeks holiday we spent anything from 20 to 30 Euros eating out with the hotel not very clever when you consider what we paid for the holiday in the first place. I have seen better meals dished up in a truck driver’s truck stop. The entertainment or should I say the lack of there was supposed to be entertainment nightly well pardon me I am still waiting on it. Anything that did take place was at the Zoradia Park and geared as usual for the Spanish, one night we were subject to a karaoke for the kid’s well that was thoughtful I don’t think. Our next experience of so called entertainment was a price is right type of guessing game one afternoon winner’s got a plastic key ring thing and a voucher for a free beer brilliant thought out prizes EHH!! I’ve had more entertainment at a Butlins Holiday Camp.
We also found some of the bar staff very ignorant. By that they would take time with their fellow countrymen and be all smiles ect but with us Brits it was very different slow and make out that they did not know what you were talking about, A few people remarked that they got the impression that it was a price for them and a price for us, My wife noticed this on a couple of occasions one in particular to do with coffee where the Spanish gent got 2 cups of coffee and a soft drink and the staff member only to cents from him now he did not have an all inclusive band on his wrist so it was not as if it was something he had to pay extra for, The shopping area was the same and a lot of people experienced this for themselves. A few of us were of the impression that we were totally unwelcome in this part of Spain, so much so we will never be back and we have been to Spain on a number of occasions over the years and never ever have we experienced such ignorance.
Over all we feel Cotursa Hotels are not worth their 3 star rating they seem to have. I would not be a bit surprised to learn that the were the previous owners of the Hotel Osiris in Callela where we experienced what we thought to be the holiday from hell, last year. We can safely say that this has to have been the worst ever holiday we have ever had. I would have to say, both in Spain and at home in the U.K It is also; in all the years we have been coming abroad the worst holiday we have ever had the misfortune to take.
Had I been able to persuade anyone who were going home to the U.K.? I would have swapped them places as 1 week was about as much as any sane person could stand in this hotel. Sum up CRAP CRAP and MORE CRAP

Hotel Lovely, loads to do if you want to join in. Pool fantastic, huge and clean. Food basic and sometimes bland and could do with a bit of variety but you wouldn't starve there
Staff helpful and friendly but the Hotel does cater for the Spanish Majority and the Spanish guests were some of the rudest I have ever come across. They also expected to be served before everyone else.

Rooms very basic and only 1 plug in the bathroom but did us they were cleaned every day.
This is a great place if you want a quiet family holiday away from the BOOM BOOM of the Nightclubs but near to town if you wanted a busier time.

The most disgusting holiday ever, we booked this in Nov 2005 and were looking forward to it as the year progressed. Then I became ill and was of work for 17 weeks and the g.p. told me that it might be of benefit if I went on holiday.
My wife was also looking forward to the holiday as well, she works with adult learning difficulties care in the community and this is a stressful job. The thought of peace and relaxing was upper most in our thoughts as we went off on holiday.
Not so, first impressions were that it was a good hotel but once away from the foyer it was a different tale. We went to the welcome meeting in the bar area and when we saw the scruffy rep everyone just looked at each other. She could have done with a good wash was my first impression and her clothes need a good steep as we say in Scotland.
After her rantings we were subjected to a woman peddling holiday homes if anyone was interested, I thought that it was a bit much, paradise properties or something like that was the name of the company, so who was getting backhanders for this then? Was it the tour operators or the reps?
Place was full of Spaniards as the government in Spain pays for its pensioners to have 2 weeks holiday, the hotel we thought was for adults only, but was also full of Spanish kids.
Meals were nothing sort of utter garbage and we spent between 20 and 30 euros a day getting something we could eat. We had a bad experience last year in callela at the hotel osiris being all inclusive there and thought that was bad enough but the zoraido gardens was by far the worst so much so we will never be back in Spain.
The surrounding shops etc, were geared again for the Spanish and would take your money with a snatch or grab then proceeded to throw your change on the counter with the receipt. We also seen signs of a price for us and a price for them, and this was also present in the hotel as well and was seen not just by us but several other British guests.
We had a nightmare trip to the Almeria festival, the coach was supposed to stay outside the large municipal building as there were a number of small children in the group. This was not the case as time went on and the fireworks were set off and after 3 quarters of an hour or so the display finished we were told by the rep, that the coach was stuck in traffic as the police had closed all roads for the fireworks. She then disappeared, as the kids began to fall asleep the parents were left with no choice but to lay them on the pavement to sleep.
She appeared an hour and a half later with the coach and no real apology to the people, and as we were supposed to be back at the hotel by 12:30, we never got back till 2:30am. As we entered the hotel a lady came running down stairs to meet her friend who had taken her son her daughter to see the fireworks with tears in her eyes and in her night attire.
We later found out that she thought there had been an accident with the coach and her child had been hurt or something, the rep had not the brains to phone the hotel and ask them to inform the lady what was wrong.
I could go on and on about things like the gent in the wheel chair on the granada/alhambrha trip. First the chair got stuck in a cattle type grid before being pushed up hill or been bodily lifted by 4 men up and down stairs, the 73 year old lady who we thought was going to pass out or have a heart attack as the tour guide sped off as it was a time slot tour and if you’re not in your time slot you don’t get to go round, none of this was told to anyone.
So my advice is keep away from roquetas de mar and the zoraido gardens hotel.

This has to have been the worst holiday we have ever had, the Costa Almeria and in particular Roquetas de Mar. This is one of the few Spanish Costas that is strictly speaking, geared for the Spanish themselves. As the Spanish Government pays for their pensioners to holiday for 2 weeks but at a time that they tell them to, there was a great deal of them in the resort at that time we were there.
Although there is plenty of beach space, it comprises of very course and hard sand, the use of a sun bed is 3 euros per day on some of them the Hotel charge is 1:5 euros a day. The hotel was supposed to be adults only more or less but during our stay there was a great deal of kids there. Most of these I have to say were Spanish.
The so called entertainment was mainly a karaoke type thing and competitions for the kids, Spanish dancers, a couple of singers, a few adult type game things, these were mostly held at the sister complex. The age old towel mentality with the sun beds and chairs and tables, you would see them place the towels around 6:30 to 7:00 am every single day the same people on the same beds in the same spots. The chairs and tables would then be put on top of the sun beds.
The food was in our opinion was absolutely disgusting, breakfast was a mix between Spanish come continental, with a bit of bacon thrown in, evening meals were as bad ranging from soup of some kind of spag boll minus the mince, just the sauce and I mean just the sauce, squid in batter to whole fish of some kind with head and tails attached, beef burgers, chicken legs floating in some kind of sauce and strange looking salad type stuff.
Most of the time we ate out rather than face what was on offer. Oh I forgot to mention the McDonalds type chips. Desserts well they were the same night in night out cold type custard sometimes with hundreds and thousand scattered on it, sometimes grated chocolate, melon green type and red yoghurts and little ice cream tubs chocolate flavour or strawberry and hot and cold rice pudding and fruit but I have thrown away better looking fruit than they seemed to provide.
The shopping area is a good 1.5K’s from the Hotel and we experienced the price for them and a price for us most often. The shop staff in a lot of places grabbed the money from your hand and more or less threw the change on the counter. Some of the Hotel staff were just as bad, I have seen cheerier looking corpses. The noise in the hotel carries throughout the entire place and there was a constant bang of doors, kids playing in the lifts, and because the so called entertainment did not finish until 1:00am we were subjected to the Spanish guests talking loudly to one another and doors banging kids running the corridors etc.
Have booked this holiday in November 2005 and looking forward to the break more so when I had been off work sick for around 18 weeks and got the all clear from my G.P. to go as she thought it would be of benefit to me, as I suffer from Spinal Stinosios and fought hard and long to get back to as near normality as possible.
I was so much looking forward to it and my wife too as she has a strenuous job looking after people with learning difficulties. She needed the holiday to recharge her batteries and this holiday has not done that. If we could have swapped another week for a seat on a plane back home at the end of our first week, we would have gladly done so but there were no takers as those going home were glad to be doing so.