More Traveller Reviews of Hotel Samba
Fair for the price
from SylviaGlasgow
Having read reviews of the Hotel Samba before i headed off for lloret de mar i was horrified. We went in a group of 9 aged between 27 and 40. The hotel on first impressions were good and the check in was quick and easy. The rooms are quite basic but adequate We went on an all inclusive basis and were given a card to show to staff when collecting drinks and for dinning in the resturant. For the resturant they needant have bothered as we just wandered in each day and they didnt check so it would be quite easy to get a free meal. The drinks were OK, however the all inclusive section is in a small section of the bar. It wasnt too bad as we went at the beginning of May, however i can imagine long queues forming in the busier summer months. Also the variety bar isnt included in the all inclusive and netiher is the pool bar. This can be quite annoying when you want a drink while sitting at the pool because you have to climb about 60 steep steps from the pool back to the main bar if you want a drink. i am not kidding when i say its about a 5 minute walk back to the all inclusive bar. The food in the resturant was average. It wasnt great but hey you get what you pay for. It had the usual salad bar, a chicken dish, a pork dish a fish dish etc each night and there was a variety of different deserts most nights. I wouldt advise eating in the snack bar. The food looks like it has been lying for ages. The biggest problem our group encountered with this hotel though is it was full to the brim with pensioners. A company called Mundo Senior uses this hotel alot although i cant understand why as the hotel is up a steep hill and the steps down to the pool are quite steep and dangerous. The walls in the hotel are also really thin and you can actually hear people talking in the other rooms. I was sharing my room with just one other person and as we werent going out until say 10pm most night we had a few complaints from the pensioner guest as they could hear our hairdriers and us talking through the paper thin walls. All in all this was an alright hotel and like i said earlier you get what you pay for but i dont think i will be returning to the Hotel Samba.
hotel samba
from A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from a week's stay at the hotel samba. Overall the hotel was ok, it was clean, basic, cheap and reasonably close to the center of Lloret. However, the hotel has just turned all inclusive and to be honest they have no idea of how an all inclusive hotel should operate. After booking the holiday on an all inclusive basis, i was surprised when i arrived at the hotel and the staff informed me that all inclusive was only available in certain area's of the hotel. For instance, the victory pub is not included and apparently in the summer the pool bar won't be either. This was annoying as the victory pub was the only area for the english entertainment, seeing as the upstairs room was predominantly for the spanish pensioners. The spanish staff at the hotel are not the friendliest, but russ the entertainment manager, was very friendly and tried his best to keep the few brits entertained. The food was appalling, especially the food in the "snack bar" (if you can call it that) health and safety would have a field day if it was in England. Plastic beakers will become your best friend throughout the holiday, if you make the most of all inlcusive alcohol as we did. If you are visiting this hotel soon; firstly i wish you luck and secondly keep in mind the price you paid for your hoilday, as it was the only way we got through it. Harriett and Matt, Notts
There is an attitude from the staff
from A TripAdvisor Member
Booked into hotel for 5 nights. My Wife Son and his two friends. Before for I start my Wife speaks French and some German and I speak Spanish pretty reasonably. The Hotel is having some work on it so they was noise during the day my son and his mates were on a lower floor so the noise was constant,they refused to change them until second day when I requested to make a written complaint in Spanish. They were changed within 15 mins. This hotel is in good position as Lloret can get busy and is up the hill in a quiet spot about 10 mins walk to beach and lots of shops nearby.However if you have small Children or any disabilities it will be a problem as the pool is down a lot of steps and the ramp areas were closed. The Hotel Is used By a Spanish company Called Mundo Seniors which specialises in holdays for retired spanish folk and the entertainment is geared upto them rightly so as in hotel of 500 plus there were about 40 british and maybe 30 Other people. It does beg the question why they book hen /stag parties into this hotel as its not fair on all sides There is definite problem with the hotel Management and some staff to The British as they will not generally be seen talking in a leisurely fashion to the British not even the camareros about football which in the Barcelona area is their Life. Also the bar area is split into a large area for paying guests and always 3 bar staff and a small section for A/I I with one serving so queues form. The food is Ok as we are not fussy and will try most foods Paella etc. The maids cleaned the room everyday but generally later in the afternoon as there are coachloads of mundo seniors arriving everyday so they prepare these rooms first. Will go again to to Costa Brava area as we have used Firms like Globespan and Fleetway before and they have a good range a reasonable priced short breaks and normally their 3 star accomodation is value for money. However Samba is off the list because of the attitude of the Management as they seem to prejudging groups of British as all Hooligans and Drunks.
Horrible "Stay Away"....
from babygeorge
This hotel was a hole!! We arrived looked ok from outside..what a nightmare i booked this for my partners birthday a week away just the 2 of us.(what a waste of £550.00) We paid for all in-clus price and what a waste of money the food i would not let my dog eat..it was cold ,raw,cheap and nasty.. The service was ok,they were not friendly atall if anything we seemed like we were in the way. The rooms were clean but the bed was old it was HELL on our backs they still kill now,the walls were like paper you could hear all the hotel(which were all over 100) walking around from 6am with bloody heels on. oh and so called snack bar was a show i think the food(if thats what you call it) was there all day and night. we ended up spending over £500.00 eating and drinking out. please dont go if i can save 1 person its worth it. p.s. the town was great and barcelona brill, just stay clear of "samba hell" p.p.s the old spanish were rude and very hurtful
nice hotel
from A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed in the Hotel Samba in the last weekend of March. I travelled with 14 of my friends for our friend Kirstys Hen weekend. On arrival at the hotel we were very impressed. The hotel looked really nice, reception staff were friendly. However we were really shocked to see around fifty pensioners all getting ready for dinner. We discovered that there was some sort of convention called Mundo Senior on at that time. I am not exagerating when I say there was no one in the hotel under the age of 65. And it is a very large hotel. We managed to mak ethe most of it, but think we scared a few of the older guests. I really think the hotel/Travel operator should have asdvised that this is definatley not a hotel for the young and lively. Overall the accomodation was ok, however the food was not up to much.
Avoid like the plague!
from guitargaz
Booked a cheapy over the internet (all inclusive for 3 nights £130) and it just goes to show you get what you pay for. Looked OK on first arrival although the reception staff were borderline rude. Got the lift up to the room, and put the bags down to hear the banging of hammers. Turns out they are completly redoing the first floor, not too much of a problem as they stop at night but don't bother thinking about having a siesta in the hotel. The room was clean but very tatty, lots of marks on the wall, the light switch in the bathroom was cracked (very dangerous!) crack in the bath etc. Whilst we were getting ready for dinner we discovered the rediculously thin walls. I am not exaggerating you can hear everything the people in the next room are saying, and its pretty disgusting hearing other peple using the toilet. The maids were good but didn't change the sheets until gone 2 in the afternoon. Went down for dinner which looked ok for a cheap all inclusive, but I cut into a chicken breast and it was totally raw inside! We discovered that unless you get down for dinner in the first half hour, most of the food is pretty dry and tasteless. Oh and forget having juice or coffee for lunch or dinner. Ended up having a pretty good holiday because we only spent a few hours in the hotel. Ate out every night and spent days in Blanes, Girona and Tossa de Mar all of which are really nice. I really would not recommend this hotel, If you are reading this after you have booked, ring up the agent and ask to get moved, even if you have to pay to do so because if you get put next to a noisy room you won't sleep and when you have tasted the food you won't eat.
FAIR FOR THE PRICE
from A TripAdvisor Member
Went for 3 nights half board (£113 each including transfers)(me and hubby). Staff were very nice on arrival and we got an upgrade to all inclusive!!! Rooms were spacious, even had a TV in them. Food was plentiful in the canteen and was varied every day It must have been the season for the Spanish to go on holiday as it was 80% full of Spanish Seniors. This was reflected in the hotel entertainment, as the group that was on was in Spanish - but hey!!! we were in Spain!! Even though we went out of season, there was still a lot open in the town, which took about 10 mins to walk into Would recommend a trip to Barcelona, it took about an hour but was well worth it. Get the bus to Blanes and then the train to Barcelona Although it was a tad chilly, it never rained, the staff were very helpful, and it was a clean hotel We would come back again, but when it is warmer
for the spanish
from A TripAdvisor Member
went to lloret january this year wasnt catered for people from uk at all .. so dont get excited when u think its fully booked because its full off spanish old foggies.. the entertainment was all in spanish too .. wouldnt go back to the hotel ... not even in the summer when british people r there....
Crap
from A TripAdvisor Member
my wife and i with another couple went to the samba on full board. the food was ok if you are spanish. the rooms never got swept or mopped we had what looked like a lump of cheese on the floor from the day we got there it was still there when we left. the kitchen was locked i asked the manager for the key to open it so we can get coffee in the morning he rudelly informed me it is only open in the summer. and if i wanted i could pay £100 to have it opened for the five nights of our stay. ''even the cheepest dive has a kettle and a cup with tea bags'' the bar .an old trick i have seen the world over fill a glass with ice then put the drink in. it looks like you have a big drink then. i got a whisky itook two sips and left it. all of the table agreed the drinks were discusting. we never drank ther for the rest of our stay. the music was all spanish for the oap's every night. i forgot to mention when we got to the hotel there were a bunch of people standing outside smoking. this is when we found out we could not smoke in the hotel. although ashtrays were in every room. here is a modern hotel with four floors filled to the brim with oap's but not once in my stay did i see a smoke alarm in any of the rooms. ther was also teenage football teams staying at the hotel for the first three nights of our stay we had no chance of getting a good nights sleep. eventualy the police were called to sort them out up and down the corridors. the local people we met were good decent folk and other hotels we went to for a drink you could smoke. this is a true and honest account of our stay in the hotel samba. i would definately go back to lloret demar. but not to this hotel unless it decided to cater more for british tourists.
Holiday 5 - 19 Aug 05
from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the Hotel Samba on self-catering bases. The hotel is extremely well run and we used the hotel restaurant four times during our stay and found the food to be excellent. The Sunset Rep at the hotel is Joel and he was excellent with the kids and gave us clear and concise information every time we asked. There was kids facilities within the hotel, however they could have come out and rounded the children up and organised activities for them around the pool. This aside the hotel was clean and tidy and you could change your towels as often as required. The cleaners who came around the rooms were clinically competent and gave you a warm fury feel with their efficiency. Reception was friendly however they had problems dealing with the pressure of more than one enquiry! My wife celebrated her 40th birthday on our second day in resort. Therefore I rang ahead and tried to organise a cake but was told by reception this could not be done and I would have to bring one with me!!!! However on arrival I found out that the hotel did in fact do cakes on request, so the reception gets a thumbs down, however the rest of the hotel gets a very big thumbs up, its just sad that Russ who runs the victory pub supports Sheffield United!
More hotel photos
i thought this hotel was fab, i am 18 and i went to Lloret De Mar, Hotel Samba with my 3 friends. i thought the hotel staff were very pleasant and welcoming, and the hotel its self is very nice, the pool area is very big and spacious, the hotel has a very good atmosphere,... more