Zoraida Garden

This is the best possible hotel and resort for a beach holiday. Very Spanish orintated as were most of the guests. Brilliant, I got to practise my Spanish. We are going back in June 2011 and this will be the 8th time at this resort. The staff are great, very helpful and polite. Fantastic swimming pool and surroundings; beach on the doorstep (gritty sand, but who wants fine sand in your sandwiches!!)Peter and Helen (entertainment staff for the last 20 yrs) are great.The only drawback to this hotel is the food, a bit repetative but you can always find something to eat and there are many bars and restaurants nearby at reasonable prices if you fancy a change.
I would reccomend this complex for families, couples and the elderly but certainly not for teenagers looking for night life. Go try it out, you won't be dissapointed.

6 readers found this review helpful

Overall me and my family had a fantastic time and we really enjoyed the whole experience. I holidayed with my Mother, father, sister (19) and her boyfriend (23). I’m 21. We went in the first week of August 2010. Again, after reading the reviews we got the idea that it was thought of as a Spanish resort only, a place where English holidaymakers were not welcome. However, we found Spanish holidaymakers to be extremely cheerful, polite and helpful towards us. We made many Spanish friends and I now stay in regular contact with some of them on facebook. It’s true that the majority of holidaymakers are Spanish but when I was there I would say the split was 65-70% Spanish to 30-35% British.
The rooms are basic but are very clean and all rooms have a fridge and TV (although only a few channels are in English). My sister had a fantastic view from her balcony, looking over the pool and out to sea. I had an opposite view of the town and mountains which was also brilliant. The pool was large and seemed to be clean, and there were always spare sunbeds round the pool. The main focus of the day for the animation team and the majority of hotel guests was the water aerobics. Apparently the hotel is famous in the area for its water aerobics and until you witness it first-hand you would never believe how crazy it is. I would say at least half of guests take part! There is a wide variety of food available at the restaurant. You can try some of the Spanish delicacies or sick to traditional burgers, chips, pasta etc like me! There are also six bars, if you include those at Zoraida Park, with a wide variety of drinks available including cocktails. Our favourite bar was the one in the “basement” of Zoraida gardens which was a cocktail bar opening at 5pm till late. The barman there was really friendly and there was a great atmosphere down there. The beach is really nice and is really quite. However, be careful in the sea as there is a sharp dip about 4-5m metres in which can catch a few people out. The only real negative is the entertainment in the evenings. There was a different show each night but they mostly involved children. One night they had a singer but he was terrible! The nightclub was set out nicely and the staff were friendly but there only ever seemed to be half a dozen or so people there at one time. The nightlife in Roquetas De Mar was also poor. There were a few nightclubs but again they weren’t very busy. However, there was a nice English bar call Theo`s about 10 minutes from the hotel with a good atmosphere.
The resort seemed to be suited to all ages and was very family based. If anyone offered me the chance to go back I definitely would.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just got back(aug 2010). I had also read some really bad reviews for this hotel after I'd booked and was a bit worried. I don't know if the bad reviews all come from a while back but we couldn't have asked for a better hotel or service. A chance to sample spanish life. Beautiful sea view from the balcony, clean and nicley furnished rooms, excellent maid service. Its true most of the holiday makers there are Spanish, but we found them to be really friendly and tolerent of our awful spanish! The food was really good and available throughout the day on an all inclusive package. Really Sad to leave and will definatley go back

4 readers found this review helpful

I read a few horror reviews after booking this hotel but fortunately none proved to be relevent on this occasion.
Booked with Thomas Cook, they were not really that knowledgable about this Costa but I've been before and found it to be a lovely "un-discovered" gem.
Good flight over and a not too long coach trip. The scenery is dramatic and gives you a feel for this area. First impressions of the hotel were good and going it was light and very clean. No problem booking in as the receptionist spoke quite good English. The room was not too big but very clean and ideal for our needs with a nice size balcony and very importantly air conditioning because we were in for a high 30's degree week.
A good sized pool with plenty of loungers, the only drawback was they were occupied by towels. This was mid afternoon and everyone seems to disappear about 14:00. This was also the case each morning as even as early as 07:00, towels are draped over the loungers. No problem this, just use the loungers on the grass area belonging to the Zoraida Park.
Food was not too inventive and a bit of a disappointment. Don't be bullied by the Spanish, I found myself not being too polite after a few encounters and they did not take offence. We ate out on 4 occasions due to the food and the local Chiringuitos offer a lovely range of tapas that is very tasty and good value. If you really want English the Spinnaker is good and the Boulevard (before Sabinal hotel) is where we had the best meal of our holiday, nice people as well.
Not too many English in our hotel but we always find each other and have a good time. Check out the local supermarket for good prices on beer and soft drinks. It is really possible to have a very reasonably priced holiday and not go hungry or thirsty.
All in all my son (13yrs) and I had a lovely holiday, the hotel was good for a 3*, Roquetas is a lovely quiet resort and the weather was fantastic. What more can you ask for when it rained every day back home.

4 readers found this review helpful

Booked a late deal with Direct Holidays... very good price... Travelled on First flight of the season... Boeing 757 aircraft... AMAZING leg room... better than some scheduled airlines ...Flights landed early 15 - 20 minutes ...
Initally Hotel had many Spanish guests mainly OAPs but they were always friendly and appreciated my faltering Spanish...after the Spanish departed the hotel did seem very empty.. but then it was realy early season...
See view room... spacious and spotless...
Food very good... good choice and ready cooked steaks and chops etc in the corner omelettes also at breakfast...
Peter Helen and Jordi excellent entertainment team... something for everyone.. the Disney show on Sunday nights... not to be missed
Thos Cook rep Debbie... nice and friendly and helpful it is her first season
overall an AMAZING... yes that word again... holiday

4 readers found this review helpful

This was our second time in Roquetas De Mar but first time in Zoraida Gardens. We decided to go back to the place as there were 6 of us the eldest being 70 and the youngest being 15, and we all enjoyed the area last time.
Arriving at the hotel, it looked lovely and the first impression of the inside was lovely too. We were given three 2nd floor double rooms all with sea views. The rooms were ok, nothing to write home about and the balcomies were of a nice size. We were angry about the choice of TV channels, during the siesta time some of us wanted to go and watch TV in our rooms and there was very little point, one room had News 24 and Sky News, another had BBC News 24 and Sky Sports News and the other with the youngest members of the group had CNBC and EuroSport! There were loads of German, Dutch and Spanish channels though!
The area was lovely, there is a lot of areas with graffiti but some of this is very artistic and you can deal with it, there is a small area off to one side that isnt being used and is a bit disgusting but again you can deal with it. The beach is lovely, quiet first thing in the morning and at siesta time, but mid morning and late afternoon, the beach gets packed! We had lots of trouble buying sun loungers because of language barriers but the owners were very friendly afterwards.
There are some nice English bars/restaurants around with good evening entertainment, the best being The Spinnaker which is a 5 - 10 mins stroll down the prom. Nice souvenir shops and the mini market next to the hotel is great if you want a snack. The food in the hotel got boring after a week and we were so fed up with eating pasta, hot dog sausages and chips. The entertainment was ok but very Spanish, especially a Grease, Little Shop Of Horrors (Totally stupid musical to choose) and Mamma Mia night, singing in Spanish and no one knowing the words wasnt very good, everyone however joined in when they sang in English, inc the Spanish!!
The trip to Mini Hollywood was great, but the Vicar Market trip was such a let down, the market was a regular grotty market with cheap clothes and kitchen utensils, too much time to look around and then the final part in Almerimar was so good, and only half an hour there! Not worth the money at all!
Be prepared to have to stand your ground wherever you go. The Spanish people are unbelievably rude and dont care if they run you down with prams or smack you in the head with a lilo! I actually had a very difficult confrontation with a Spanish waitress in the restaurant, due to her not caring where I was stood and where she pushed a cart of dirty plates to! You do find you automatically start to smile and talk to any other English people you can find, it is a relief when someone bumps in to you to hear the word 'Sorry'!! I found myself thanking the woman for apologising to me!! Also expect to be stared at by Spanish people, we were shocked by how bad the Spanish actually were!
All in all a good holiday, but there are a few things that could be improved!

1 reader found this review helpful

After arrival at the Zoraida Gardens Hotel, a person unboarding the coach to the hotel was mugged, unnerving us immensley.
The hotel itself was beautiful and clean and we found the rooms adequate for our family of 5. We also found the maids to be of an excellent standard, cleaning everyday with fresh towells.
We stayed half board to which the restaurant was set up for Spanish only, which we expected to a degree, but we thought there would be an element of international cuisine available, especially for children. Our younger children struggled over the 2 weeks with the menu.
The pool was fantastic and never too busy. But, there was a huge problem with never being able to acquire a sunbed unless you were up at 7am to claim your spot, which many beds were only used for 4 hours.
The entertainment was extremely Spanish even though they tried to portray that they catered for other nationalities. Thank goodness our children did not want to attend the childrens club, as it was all in Spanish.
This is obviously where the Spanish spend their holidays, not wanting the English, possibly other nationalities to share their experience. We were made to feel extremely unwelcome. My brother who lives in Spain, who visited us for the day, was very surprised at the response of the Spanish towards us.
There is not an awful lot to do at the resort apart from the water park. The water sports are non-existent even though it is mentioned in the brochures. The 2 excursions which we went on were the Mini-Hollywood and the Alhambra in the Granada which I would recommend.
Although it was a beautiful place and well run hotel, we would never return due to the rudeness of the Spanish! We know that a few tour operators pulled out last year, I hope the rest will pull out before 2009!

The overall mark given is for the complete holiday.
We travelled as a family of four in August 2008.
Good points;
Weather excellent
Food ok
Good stndard of cleanliness
Boat trip from local harbour really nice......friendly people......we almost went overboard in shock.
Bad points;
Whilst I enjoy being amongst other cultures we were one of above 6 UK families in a large hotel. The rest were Spanish. Not a problem usually, however we found the people as rude and arrogant as any we have encountered in the world. It was obvious that British people were not welcome at this resort, this revealed itself in dismissive and rude answers being given to questions, change being thrown at you in shops, waiters ignoring you if Spanish people required them, and other Spnish guests pushing in front of you and generally behaving in a manner that was dismissive and spiteful.
We visited Almeria City to see the famous Castle. We went on a Monday as according to the guide in the hotel it was open Monday-Friday. It was closed. Visited the Cathederal. Were met with unfriendly staff bordering on dismissive and no English speaking literature or people at all.
Almeria City is a dump and undoubtedly anti British.
Don't expect to get a place around the pool unless you are prepared to rise at about 7am and carry out a 100 metre sprint against the Spanish guests who make it their main goal of the day to get their towel down before everyone else , and then go nowhere near it for about 6 hours.
( If you want a pool go to the Zorida Park next door , smaller and nicer)
The resort is fairly small and you can walk around it. There is not a fantastic amount to do , good for relaxing , lots of good beach where you can sit away in space from those who don't want you there anyway.
I almost never go in English bars abroad, however Bar Spinnaker on the front about 5 mins from the hotel is really nice. We found ourselves there a few times mainly because you were treated like a customer and not an unwelcome invader.
You can't knock the weather, beach or hotel facilities( although all entertainment in Spanish with no attempt to cater for others) , but believe me as a UK traveller you aren't welcome.
I will be writing to the tour operator as I don't think there so much being dishonest but they certainly aren't telling the whole truth.
Go there....but beware!

2 readers found this review helpful

I read the reviews before going to this hotel, but after booking it and to be honest I was very apprehensive about going there.
The hotel was very clean and the rooms were lovely - we had a seaview room, so I would suggest that when booking you ask for a sea view room. The pool is lovely - really big and the water is quite warm.
When we were at the hotel, most of the Spainish people got up around 7 to 8 and put their towels out. So if you fancied a lay in, and then wanted to go to the pool you would probably not be able to get a sunbed. So, although it is a pain to get up early while you are on holiday, during peak times I would say it is a must to get a good sunbed round the pool.
The sea is also just a minute walks away and this is really nice and quiet during siesta time, but gets really busy later on in the afternoon.
With regards to the other guests staying in the hotel I understand that, as other people have said 'if you go to Spain then you should expect to see Spainish people', which I obviously was expecting, however I think that this resort is where Spainish people go on holiday and I do not think that they expect to see English people in the hotel, as a lot of the other guests came across as rude and dismissive (esp of english people).
The entertainment during the evening was ok, but as other people have pointed out it is all in Spainish, so really quite pointless if you do not understand it.
I found that there is not much to do around the resort - did an excursion with First Choice to mini hollywood, which was ok but was for a whole day, and I do not think that a whole day was needed at this place, but it is worth a look.
We also visited the Grand Plaza for shopping and found that it was hard to get a bus back to the hotel from this place, so we ended up getting a taxi back (they are outside the shopping centre).
The plaza has a mc d's, pizza hut, KFC etc. We ate in mc d's, however it was very hard to communicate your order to the people working behind the counter (even though the words on the food were in English) so get ready to stand there for ages pointing and miming at foods items.
The supermarket next to the hotel is good and much cheaper than buying drinks within the hotel, they also sell english papers as well.
We were staying half boad at the hotel, so we had breakfast and dinner - the breakfast was lovely (esp the marmalade), however the dinner was mainly pasta and chips and there was not much variation.
Therefore we ate out a couple of times. If you fancy eating somewhere other than the hotel, then there is a good place (a british bar) if you come out of the hotel at the back (so walking along the beach) and turn left (towards the port) after about 10 mins you will come to this place and the food is lovely (as are the people). They also have entertainment in the evenings too.
Overall, I would say that this hotel is nice, but I will not be going back - it appears to be very Spainish orintated and there is not much to do.
I would not recommend this hotel to any of my friends of family, and personally think that English travel operators should not have in on their brochures as it is predominately a Spainish hotel (who clearly do not like the English being their).

1 reader found this review helpful

I agree with the person who wrote their comments in January 08. I am 53 travel with my husband 39, daughter 26, son in law 39 and grandson 2. When booking at the Travel agents (Going Places) we ask for a holiday that would suit us all, with a ground floor room for my daughter and family.
When arriving, the hotel looks beautiful, the reception area, bar, dining room and basement are first class. It ends there. As we book in we noticed a lot of Spaish pensioners playing cards in the reception area. We was told we had two second floor rooms, when we brought this us with the rep the folling day, was told they do not have any ground floor rooms and she was sorry we felt that 95% of the hotel was full of pensioners. In other words 'get on with it'.
The food is no where near the rating for this hotel, we ate out some nights as there is nothing we really wanted but salads, chips and well cooked meat and fish, desserts are usually very sweet, just what you need when you have diabities.
They have an indoor pool, children under six are not suppose to use it. The outdoor pool is fantastic for the summer, to cold to use now.
The entertainment team are usually doing keep fit at ten, darts and bingo. None of us bothered, I dont do it at home so why do it on holdiay. Entertainment at night consisted of piano, keyboard, any thing for the old aged spanish clients.
The rooms are old and basic, my daugters room did not have any shelves in to put cloths, just hanging room, so she spent the week with open suitcases, they could not open the pation windows, as her son could easily have climbed on one of the patio chairs and fallen two floor.
I give this hotel 4-5, I will not be returning, I am going to speak to the travel company as I feel very let down and misguided by both the travel agent and the brouchure.