Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: aspro july 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : leeds 36 30 11 6
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
just arrived back from the cye marina appartments in la pineda salou and it was fantastic i have read the reviews before i went and found them very off putting. I would like to say that we were all really pleased with the resort the appartments and the staff. Even though it is only a small pool you have the wonderful beach just across the road and great transport if you want to go exploring the other parts of salou and beyond
we will definetly go back to the resort and the appartments it was a fantastic two weeks
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: My Travel - June 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : cas and al - Liverpool (34,34,28,27,18,18,16,15,10,7,6,5,5,3,9mths)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
just arrived back from cye marina and can say after reading other reviews CANNOT understand all the criticism. we went as a large party of all ages and managed to have a great 2 weeks keeping everyone entertained.
Rooms dont have a kettle but do have pans and cooking hobs so you can either hire a kettle or go back to the old days and boil a pan, having a 10 month old we decided to boil a pan and he managed to survive on this a bit like me nan would of in her day.
There is no toaster but there is a grill so again no reason to worry about your toast. rooms are clean, tidy and we didnt find any problems in having 2 adults 3 kids and a baby in a cot in our room.(the cot does have to be hired at 3 euros a day)not much room to hang your clothes up but if you dont mind living out of a suitcase or take an iron you will be fine.
None of us had any problems with possesions as we hired the safe in the room at 42 euros for the fortnight, we also had to pay 60 euros deposit for breakages etc on arrival but got this back on the last day so this just covered breakfast and airport spends so again cant see why this is a huge problem.
Towels and sheets were changed every other day or every 3rd day at worst and cleaners also went in the room every couple days aswell.
The resort itself has plenty of bars and eating places or you can travel into salou which is about 15 mins by bus.
In La Pineda GORDONS BAR is EXCELLENT, lovely food and they will adapt the menu to suit what you want. For entertainment we went in the hotel alongside THE ADMIRAL which had different types of entertainment on each night. Some were a bit corny but you can still have a laugh with them if you want to get involved.
All in All if you want to go and enjoy yourself then you will have no problem with the resort or accomadation but if you want to find things to moan about then you will also be able to do that.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My travel may 2007
Opinion submitted in May 2007 by : peter belle betty
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
just got back from week at these apartments have nothing good to say about staff clenliness or reps as we had no help from anyone at all we had to ask for clean towels after three days and were told we were not due any until next day so if changed these would have to last rest of week.
bar downstairs ok if you like bingo and karaoke on all night every night.we were charged 60 euros deposit for room 31 euros for safe of which 10 were refundable.had to sleep with balconey door open because we had no air conditioning rooms very warm.La Pineda itself is nice but nothing to do so had to go into salou every night to pass time.the three of us are all over fifty so god knows what the young think of it.It is quite expensive to eat out but can recommend captains table and anns bar in pineda for value and the captains cabin buddys and the boathouse in salou
have previously stayed in salou and cap salou but dont know if we will ever go back as we feel we have seen and done everything worth doing in this area.Have to say that it is a beautiful area especially cambrils which is definetly worth a visit for its spanish culture.
all inall a cheap holiday but even at half the price would never return to these apartments.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel July/Aug 2006
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Heidi Morgan - S.Wales 42,36,13,8
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just arrived back from holiday. I booked this holiday on a self catering basis and when I arrived was told that I would have to pay extra for a kettle and a toaster! there was no air conditioning in any of the rooms and as the temperature was up in the high 30's this made staying in the rooms very uncomfortable.
The streets are very noisy, binmen emptying recycling bins at 3am then pressure washing them made sleeping impossible. The pool was very small and I thought not very clean and apart from a couple of pool tables there was nothing for the children to do. However, the beach was a 5 minute walk from the hotel and was quite lovely not too crowded and the water was very clear and warm. La pineda was much quieter in comparison to Salou but still very busy.
The waterpark in La Pineda was excellent and much better value than the Caribe aqua park at Port Aventura. Would recommend that you had a one day pass to Port Aventura and stay the whole day to see the firework show at the end of the night.
Would not go back to Cye Marina although staff were polite and helpful the hotel as seen better days!
Would also think twice about booking with My Travel again as they didn't pick us up from the hotel to go back to airport, we waited an hour with no explanation then had to arrange a taxi ourselves.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel June 2006
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Amanda French - Leicester 27, 28, 2
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We went with our 2 year old daughter and the apartments were not ideal. The 3 of us slept in the single beds pushed together, as the sofa bed was uncomfortable for one of us to sleep on and we could not leave our daughter to sleep on it alone. If she has fallen out the floor was hard and she may have wondered around into the patio door.
We were self catering but found the kitchen very basic, even a toaster would have helped. The storage for luggage was not enough for the 3 of us. Just one tiny wardrobe in the room with a handful of hangers and a bigger one in the main room with 4 small shelves and more hanging area with very few hangers. We did struggle for space with just 3 of us, 4 adults would be worse. The apartments were clean and the staff friendly though.
Le Pineda was ok, we were saved by having hired a car so we could go further afield. A whole week just in that area would have been very boring. Cambrils was a lovely place, less tacky and touristy. A must see if you have a car or you could use the bus.
We drove to Barcelona which was great, Salou is a bit tacky too many English bars, Cap Salou very quiet. I wouldn't recommend Cye Marina apartments, I would recommend Salou/Le Pineda if you want a quiet holiday or just to chill on the beach for a week.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours may 2006
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : steve higgins
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
me and my daughter booked a holiday to salou 3 star to cye marina in penida the hotel was very basic for a 3 star no kettles,(18 euros to hire one)plus 60 euro deposit before you got your keys got to the room the room was filfy so went to reception to complain they told us someone will be up to rectify the problem but NO ONE turned up so had to clean it myself
went to inspect the pool it was very small and crowded even in first week in may the reps are not interested at all the maids chanched our bedding once in ten days i told him about the problem he said nothing to do with him so reception did actually give me clean bedding i had to change it myself would not go near cye marina again a little tip use the hotel across the road pineda park hotel the bar staff are exelent and the meals are first class
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Aspro Direct) Aspro - May 2006
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Deb - Dewsbury (39,35,21,19,2)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Cye Marina Apartments are lovely, clean, quite spacious and the staff are very polite, friendly and helpful. The resort of La Pineda is quiet in May and ideal for relaxing whilst Salou is much livelier for the younger generation with its bars and nightclubs. Cambrills is a must to visit, completely different to La Pineda and Salou, very clean and plenty of places to shop and eat. We went to the market at Bona Vista on Sunday by bus but only just got on and the driver could hardly shut the doors it was so crowded. When we got there it was ok but most of the stalls sell the same things so we got a bit bored by it after a while. The best market to go to is in La Pineda itself, it is behind the Aquapolis water park on a Friday and has everything Bona Vista has anyway, but get there before 12 in the afternoon as they then start to pack up.
We enjoyed La Pineda but probably wouldn't go again as we did everything in the 2 weeks we were there.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - sept/oct 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : matheson- scotland(41,32,8,5)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just returned from La Pineda staying at the cye marina and it was fantastic, the apartments were very clean (basic)and close to the beach and theme park. pool very small but i knew that when i booked but the beach is a 5 min walk. We were also close to theme park we went by taxi which was just as cheap as the local bus (10 euros by taxi)and the theme park was great a must see the caribe water park was good too but when we went it was the end of the season and the outside pools were closed.
We travelled with my travel who were great the flights were great they were so nice, then we got to meet to the rep and it all went downhill from there. We seen him twice the whole 2 weeks we were there we booked the trip salou nights it was a total disaster it cost me 118 euros we watched 4 horses running round the flamenco dancers were just a very bad imitation of riverdance childrens disco and entertainment did not happen we ate raw burgers and we were all sick for 3 days after. After complaing the the rep manager on the night I had to wait for 2 days before they sent a rep to see me filled out the complaint and they refused to give me my money back(all trips booked with reps are non refundable). La Pineda itself is very nice and the locals are friendly but shopping I found more expensive than in salou it was alot cheaper, salou was alot busier than la pineda but it was very nice and cambrils was nice too if you want to go on the finding nemo boat trip get the local bus into cambrils and get on the boat yourself its a lot cheaper.
I will go back to cye marina in a few years time.
Watch out for the reps then rip you off.
We went to barcelona ourselves on the local train at tarragona and then on to the open air bus right outside the station and saw all the tourist bits (alot more than you would have seen with the reps)9 euros return on train, bus 17/10euros and macdonalds in centre of barcelona, and it was half the price doing it ourselves and much more enjoyable as we worked to our timetable.
We went sept/oct and the weather was on average 25 degrees we had one afternoon of rain the whole fortnight
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : the matheson clan - scotland(41,32,8,5)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
la pineda was lovely although we went at the end of the season the weather was great, the apartments were clean and in a very central location for the beach, shops, restraunts. the staff in cye marina bar which is not run by the hotel were great especially leeanne the bar maid at night she was a right hoot. the theme park was great too, we went to barcelona by ourselves we got on the train at tarragona that took us straight into barcelona and went on the open air bus and it was great a must see, salou was lovely as was cambrils but i will say dont trust the reps or book any trips until you have checked locally as you will probably get the same trip at half the price,
overall la pineda is lovely and we will go back
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) Aspro - August 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : (36,36,11,04)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived to the Cye Marina and was impressed with the out side, wasnt too pleased at having to fork out nearly 100 euros before we even got to see our room for breakages, safe etc. But room looked clean and nice. Very disapointed by the fact that we paid to go self-catering but they charged for the use of a kettle, toaster and the fans. Pool is small but it was'nt a rowdy pooside and i felt this was good for the younger children. The Bar connected to the hotel they are so friendly and the food is good well worth a night in.
La Pineda it self felt like a spanish version of Blackpool very busy (especially with the Spanish holidaymakers).The shops on the resort were unfriendly and rude.
Be very careful with your belongings its a muggers paradise ( we had our bag pinched) especially Porta Adventura.
Bus prices very cheep.
The First Choice Rep at the Cye Marina was a better help to us when we had our bag pinched than our own, willing to help all and always got a smile for ALL guests.
Wouldnt ever go there again 1st time in Spain -Last!
People in the hotel around the pool really made our holiday but that was about it.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) Aspro - august 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Sharon Harris - birmingham 38,35,12,11
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: No rating
My/Our Holiday Review:
just got back this week, and i found the reveiews i read before going very helpful.
The main point i would raise is how noisy the complex is. Especially at night. We never had one decent nights sleep. The binmen came everynight at midnight to empty the bins, and then with a noisy pressure washer, washed the bins out until 12.30am. Then we had noisy neighbours who came in at all hours of the early morning, banging the doors to the apartments, and then shouting on the balcony for another hour or so!! The bed sofa was very, very uncomfortable, and had seen better days!! The room was clean and tidy enough and the maids came to give us clean towels twice a week, and sweep and mop the floors. La pineda its self was nice, lovely beach, not too crowded. Best place to eat without a doubt is Gordons Bar. Its sign posted on the front, and its brilliant!! Lovely english food, at a very reasonable price. The owners are very friendly and very accomodating to fussy eaters!!I can't recommend Gordons enough!!
We went to Barcelona with mytravel tour, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!Ed the tour guide was very entertaining and what he did not know about Barcelona, was not worth knowing!!!Did the tour of the football stadium, which was a bit rushed, and then 3 hours in Barcelona. MUST visit la rambles- amazing street entertainers and the fountains at night, displays to music and lights- a must see. We would not go back to la pineda again, it was nice but two weeks there is enough. We did go to Salou for the day, which was enjoyable but it was very, very, busy. Glad we were at la pineda, as much quieter(apart from at night that is!!)my tip is go to Salou by taxi (NOT ON MONDAYS- MARKET DAY )and you can't get a taxi on market days, we paid about 7 euro's and it only took 10 minutes, however could not get a taxi back, had to go by bus which cost 5euros40c, and took over half and hour and we were packed on like sardines!!
An enjoyable holiday, just complex was very noisy and we could hear Pineda park complex opposite until 1am in morning. My tip take ear muffs or ear plugs.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) Aspro - July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : karen rodgers - belafst 40 37 6 5
Resort Rating: No rating
Accommodation Rating: No rating
My/Our Holiday Review:
These apartments were such a let down. Dirty not enough towels, maid service none, they came and knocked on door and handed ME the sheets to change. No kettle! Had to stay off balcony for two days as they had laid chemicals down to kill the cockroaches. The pull out bed in the living area was filfthy and the pool itself was dirty, with plasters and other things bobbing around.
The resort itself was nice and quiet enough and the beach was ideal.
These apartments need a massive overhaul and I would NOT recommend them to anyone.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Aspro Direct) Aspro-may 2005
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : kerry omalley- sunderland ( 42, 39, 33, 16, 13 )
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
arrived at apts dinner time, seemed ok at first. by teatime had found that we had arrived at boredom town....absolutely nothing for teenagers to do.
the bar had friendly staff but No ENTERTAINMENT. beach full of spanish.
play area in apts were very small and would keep young kids amused for about 10 mins.
would not recommend these apts to anyone looking for a lively nightlife or lively atmosphere. maid service was quick pop in door leaving one clean towel in two days, other guests didnt even receive these.
bus in to salou takes about 20 - 25 mins and costs 1 euro 80 each way, but after several nights of buses you get abit fed up. taxi between 12 and 15 euros.
there were about 3 other pubs in the area but none had a good vibe....
would definately not be returning to la pineda.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Aspro Discounts) Aspro august 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : gwen unwin yorkshire
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
I have just returned from a holiday to La Pineda where myself and my family stayed at Cye Marina Appts, having read reports of this site before I went away I was very apprehensive about what the accomodation would be like however once we arrived at our accomodation I realised that all my reservations were needless
The outside of Cye Marina is modern and smart, it has a small size reception area that is not 24 hours, it has two lifts and downstairs in the reception area a pool room, outside is a small size pool that my children enjoyed and a small play area for younger children.
The appts themselves were adequate, they were clean and bright and sunny my only critisism is that there was not any air conditioning there is a lounger/kitchen area with small sink full size fridge and cooker, the lounge area had a sofa bed and pull out 4th bed, the 1 bedroom was comfortable and adequate for our needs, the bathroom had a shower full size bath and toilet and was clean.
Maids called every other day to ask if we wanted clean towels, sheets or our room cleaning.
La Pineda itself is nice, the beach is lovely, there are plenty of places to eat.
The bus runs to Salou frequently this summer it was 1.25euros per person to salou but the fare goes up after midnight, we went into salou every night to eat and have cocktails we rarely got back to La Pineda before 1am and had no problems getting a bus.
Universal Mediterania is fun, the rides are good and the water rides fun, but Costa Caribe is a disappointment, you have to pay for the use of the sun loungers, you have to hire the rings to go on the water rides and there was not enough for everybody you have to pre book your day at the water park as numbers are limited but even with that system there still is not enough facilities available for everybody using the park on any given day.
The weather was fantastic, Mobile phones worked well in Salou but other than Vodafone you can not top up while away.
We were careful with our valuables by using the safe in the room and keeping the windows of the apartment closed when we went out and did not experience any theft as other people on the site have commented on a few sensible safety precautions and your valuables are safe.
We would go to Salou again but probably not La Pineda because as nice as it was we enjoyed Salou better at nighttime.
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Apartments Cye Marina - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Aspro Discounts) Aspro - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : iain & ger (47 & 33)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The apartment was basic & clean,Large balcony,Quiet street,Staff helpful & pleasent,Good vaule for money, Vist the Oasis bar just around the corner for the best Sunday Lunch, Hennessy's Bar near the waterpark for the best night out.Check your drink prices in the bars in Salou as some are likely to charge you more than double ask first. Look out for Happy Hours 2 for 1 around 7 to 11.Local. Bus fares tend to go up & down fare wise it seems to depend on which driver you get. 1.25 euro to 1.50 to salou, last bus around 10.30 back to la pineda. House of Illuision vist to book to get the best deal Excellent night out Beer & food plus show all in one price.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Thomson Holidays
june 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : hope party yorkshire
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
booked this as a late deal cheap and chearful we thought! were very pleased with what we got for £410 a couple. hotel is really on the beach food ok had worse in hotels with higher ratings, cant comment on entertainment as we never stayed in! resort quiet but enough for a week stay.
would go back if got same deal.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: sept 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : 75,58,57,44,34,16,13,12,3
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Hello everybody,now i have been to Danaire park hotel before back in 2004 so i know all the faults and good things you will ever need to know,so before you book with your hard earned cash a few points the good bad and ugly i wont moan or lie this is 100% truth.
The good points are its near the water park and Salou and its next to the beach so thats great now you want to hear the bad points i do like the hotel well its cheap isnt it you only get what you pay for.Right you have to be lucky where your room is its like winning the lottery if you get a sea view or a road view or a pool and sea view,the best rooms are the corner rooms with sea views because the bath rooms have a window the others have not the bacony is very long so thats the one you should ask for, you get a hair drier in the bathroom as well and a nice little welcome pack.
Bad points hot water goes cold after twelve pm and the smell of sewage will greet you in the morning and stinks the whole hotel out so look forward to that wont you,the rooms are with the 1970s furniture with the added bonus of a very small tv and air con that works and the walls are thin so keep your noise down at night if you know what i mean the higher the floor the less noise you will get from the drunks returning at night and our nothern friends with tattos.The three lifts are fine and always working two are glass lifts.
The food is very poor most of it is raw and steamed ie eggs bacon are like slim yuk ever day over the two weeks they were horrible beans were like bullets i think if you dropped them they would bounce,three coffee machines, three orange machines, two toasters three buffet tables when busy which is good when there are lots of people,the evening food is horrible as well you will get sick of it after three days you need to judge that but i woill give it two out of ten and the waiters are glum like death warmed up and one i liked cant remember his name but he cleaned your table and was always happy he has been there for 15 years he is funny a spanish guy with a cockney accent and take the mick out of everybody who works there i had a good chat with him today 10th Oct before i went home to get some inside info and he told me quite a bit saying that we always moan about everything i said thats the english person for you but he said the food was crp and cheap.
Entertainment was rubbish one is really horrible to the kids and
adults she says the same old cheesy thing every night and loves here
selves nobody likes here i would not let my three year old no where near
her she was really horrible to my daughter the first night at the mini
disco she kept on saying get of my stage get of my stage you silly
english girl in front of all those people if that was your child would
you have thumped her?..i told the Thomson Holidays
rep who made out a written
report of it,so if you are going beware of her,you had bingo mini disco
and the main act after that dont expect to much, first round acts on the
X factor would match them.Bar is ok happy hour at five oclock to six,
watch your daughters with the randy bar tenders spanish of coarse with
tight black trousers,i dont know how they get them on.
Watch your change they will try it on.Now the beach when you walk out of the hotel the first to greet you will be the black ladies sitting on the wall asking do you want your hair done i thing they plat it but every day they will ask you if your a lady once on the beach you get your sunbed four euros each and you are laying on tha sunbed when the guys will try to sell you sun glasses and other silly tacky things you will get that all day and yes the massage lady will ask you about twice a day,if you like the pool its ok if you are friends of the common flies they will get on your nerves all day so do what i did go to the supermarket and get yourselves some fly spray the red can is the best about three euros the supermarket is next to the hotel is really nice a nd has a really friendly spanish lady there and gave my daughter free sweet infact she is the only thing i miss about this hotel apart from the flies.
The pool does have its own life guard i didnt have any trouble getting a sun bed around the pool you dont have to get up seven in the morning and put your towel on the sun bed plenty for everbody but one down side they are the fixed plastic type which you cant put the back up the ones on the beach are better the flies might chase you.Thanks for reading this is the truth.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
aug 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : TROMANS 36,41,11,11
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
arrived on the 5 aug 2006 was dissapointed with room as i asked for a twin,ie two bedrooms separate. was 3 beds in one room two single one double. location was right on beach cant get any closer lol.kids entertainer and night time (ie the same person) entertainer was awfull she dont like kids, why do the job???? got on ya nerves keep saying FANTASTICO entertainment was rubbish.the pool is not that big and kids cant bring inflateables in it. food was ok but was cold and sausages were not cooked on week two, if your room is over looking the pool you will have noise till after midnight.the second shop round the corner one with all the inflatables is run my the nicest spanish women ever and cheap crisps lol,there is a market on a friday at the side of the water park if intrested.
will not be returning to donaire.....
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- Aug 2006
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Stacey and Lee Lane
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having my partner already being to the resort and hearing such positive points about the Donaire Park hotel, we thought we would go for our summer holiday of 2006.
The rooms
Beings the room was suspose to sleep 2-3 people we found it difficult to sleep the two of us. we didn't have a great view only of a run down hotel and the staffs sleeping quarters. The walls were paper thin and tpically enough somebody had a really bad cough and kept us awake most of the night.You can hear whats going on in the rooms below, above and either side of you. The electric would only work if you put the key in the mains, it wasn't really ideal because if one popped out of the room and took the key, the other would be in darkness.
The cleaners
They start quite early of a morning because we could hear her talking and moving the bed in the room above us. One night we put the "Do not Disturb sign" on the door but when the morning came we heard somebody try to get in our room we woke up to find the cleaner starring at us!! We was horrified. When she did clean the room, they would leave the balcony door open! I don't know whether they did that on the other raters holidays. But we couldn't believe it we thought we had left it open or somebody had broken in. So to see what was happening we waited outside the rooms whilst she was cleaning to see whather she was leaving it open, and to our suprise she was. For the rest of our holiday we felt we couldn't go out before we checked our room and lock the balcony door. They didn't leave enough towels or toilet paper in our room.
The food
Absolute disgrace!!!!!
The breakfast... We lived on creakers and butter. The salad selection was out again, we didnt't recognise any of the cereals there. The sausages were raw and the beans were hard. We ended up giving up on the breakfast because we wasn't really benefiting from it.
The evening meals... If you love salads your in the place. But like us, we like to see a wide choice of variety for all types of eaters. There was nothing for the children. Countless of times all we've seen the children with was a plate of chips. The bread was constantly stale, we couldn't make a meal out of the available food.
There was flies all over the food and on the last night, to our disgrace we found a cockroach!We was so glad it was our last night other wise we wouldn't of even considered going in the restaurant.
The restaurant was too small for the amount of people staying in the hotel. People would que from 6pm for the 6:30 opening. It was so silly, there was just no organisation at all.
Entertainment
The day entertainment was based in the most inconviencience place ever for the children. It was situated in the bar. The last thing you want when your carrying drinks is about 30 children run into you! You could tell the bar staff didn't think it was apropriate because we noticed when the children was about, the plastic cups came out.
The night entertainment would start at half 8 with Bingo every night, the same C.D. played for the mini disco afterwards, then it would be the certificate hand outs for the day activities. Then finally at half ten the main enterainment would come on. We felt it was on too late. The enterainment staff was very rude to the children. They would constantly shout "get off my stage kids" and then talk in Spanish... hmm... wonder what they said. They would shout to the audience if somebody was talking in the game of bingo. Very annoying.
Pool area
Ok it was absolutley rammed packed with tables and chairs but only about 20 sunbeds. It just wasn't organised the way it should of been. When we wanted to stay in the hotel in the day i would have to wake at half 7 to get two sunbeds. And some people had already put them out. When we spent our 1st day at the pool we was so shocked the pool was crammed with children jumping in the pool splashing everyone around the pool. When i atempted a swim in the small pool i had a child jump on me.
Games Room
Three computers for the entire hotel. There was two pool tables but people had abused them. There was a very dangeous hole by one of the tables, the amount of times we fell in it was unbelievable. There was holes in the ceiling, chalk everywhere. Definatley not safe for children.
Bar
I have to say even though i have complained about everything so far but i couldn't fault the bar and the staff. They were very polite spoke very good English, and they really worked hard. The only fault we had was there is a door by the stage in the mini bar, when somebody opened it a hirrendous stench came out of it. Everybody was complaining.
Beach
Very clean beach with lots of beach bars where you could get a cold drink and a snack. But be warned the orange sun loungers available on the beach are not free! Not sure on price but if you did want one you would have to go early. You could hire out a pedalow from the closest beach bar opposite for a 10 euro deposit and 10 euros for an hour. But you have to push the pedalow out to the sea yourself.
Bus service
Very good. Prices do vary depending where your heading to. They do have bus inspectors so make sure you keep your bus tickets and you tell the driver where you are going. If you visit Salou even though we wouldn't recommend it the bus stops for the way back are not very clear so do keep an eye out other wise you will be walking for ages. And not all of them go to e.g. La Pineada so please do ask the driver.
Portaventura
FANTASTIC!! We brought a 7 day pass and we definatley made the most of it. Its open until 12am with a 15 min firework display. From our hotel it costed us 11 euros in a taxi and 5 euros for the bus. but the bus takes about an hour and a half to get there where as in a taxi about 15 minutes. If you go in main season we wouldn't recommend you did it in the day. There was a four hour wait for Dragon Khan. But if you go about the same time was did 8pm it was only a 15 minute wait. Rides you must do... Dragon Khan an 8 looper rollarcoaster, very smooth it was fantastic wow!!! Stampedia, its a form of rollarcoaster what is made of wood, it doesn't go upside down but is very rough with the turns. Its a racing rollarcoaster (its a fix the blue one always wins!!) it was a very exciting ride and when you do it once you want to do it over and over again. Tutki Splash, excellant! trust me you get wet. So be warned! Ny boyfriend went on hurricane condor its the newest ride of Portaventura. Its a 328 ft drop and it tilts at the top. Aparently you can't get your breathe half way through so be careful.
Eating out
If your staying in La Pineda the front isn't that inviting. Their speacilty is seafood so they mainly serve that. But one place we loved was The bowling an English pub just down the road from our hotel quite pricy but well worth it.
I hope i've pointed out all the good and bad points of the rsort and hotel. And sorry if you don't agree.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
Skytours - July 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Mr Johnstone - Scotland, Ages 48,48 & 16
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were really quite pleased with our holiday at the Donaire Park, we found the staff very helpful & friendly. The food was very good & plenty of choice but we felt that the bar in the restaurant was a bit pricey compared to the main hotel bars which were really quite reasonable. Didn't think much of the entertainment on offer at night so we didn't see much of it.
The rooms were cleaned to a good standard & the air con was a godsend. We were lucky to have a room with a sea view which looked right along the impressive clean & uncrowded beach.
If you want to go for a drink elsewhere at night then the Bowling bar on the corner is quite good or the Mad Scotsman just a wee bit further on is good for a laugh & entertainment. If you go a bit further along the sea front you will find more bars & restaurants about 5 to 10 min walk. The bus stop & taxi rank are very close to the hotel. Buses are easy to use & are reasonbly cheap. Only used a taxi once to Salou cost 8 to 10 Euros, gets more expensive after midnight. We found Salou very busy & too noisy for us but prices tended to be cheaper, Tarragona is worth a visit we had a pleasant day there & a look around the roman ruins is recommended. This was the one & only place we were approached by a begger with a baby.
Barcelona is good place to visit, the street entertainers are very good & you could watch them all day. The Neu camp is also worth a visit if you are a footy fan but try & give yourselves plenty time to see everything we were a bit rushed.
Take heed of the warnings about pickpockets.
Overall this is a good hotel & resort & recommended for people that are looking for a holiday without too much hustle & bustle.
Finally the Thompson reps are very good & friendly & helpful
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland - May 2006
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Debi, Charlie, Hollie,(45,39,7)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
When we got to Donaire Park we where very pleasantly surprised, big hotel but really nice, clean, and we found the staff friendly, its how you treat them.Only complaint , not enough sunbeds, one lady was out at 7am saving 16 beds so if you wanted one you had to do the same. Food really good even for a fussy child if you couldn't find anything your just being awkward remember your not in Butlins. Prices in hotel resonable jug of sangria 6.75, down the road in a bar 12 for the same, ice cream, 1.30 in hotel, 2.20 outside.Bus service excellent everthing single dont do return fairs. Only went on beach once, why get sand in everthing when I can look at it from my sunlounger.
Nice resort, spotlessly clean, quite but everything there glad we didnt stay in Salou, like Blackpool. Whet to Aquopolis and swam with the sealions unforgetable experience, great day out. Spent 2 days in Portaventura, great bought pass 14 day for 3 here, couldn't spend much more there not many rides for a 7 yr old, older kids will love it.Cambrills nice but get off at last stop or you will walk for hours till you get to harbour.Tarragona very busy beautiful quaint squares to sit and have a coffee not much of a day for kids though.
Overall great holiday.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland Direct - May 2006
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Debra - Sheffield 64, 62, 40, 39, 10
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Very clean hotel. Smallish pool but never seemed to be crowded and we were there for spring bank week.
Food not bad and plenty of choice Had a 'gala' night one evening with candlelit tables and better quality food.
Evening entertainment ok - chinese cirus artistes very impressive.
Hotel staff very friendly and courteous.
The best thing about this hotel is it's location - directly on the beach, brilliant if you have kids who want to have a bit of independence, but not go too far.
Another thing is the public transport, also almost on the doorstep - cheap, frequent and very reliable to nearby resorts and even Barcelona.
The resort itself seems quiet and peaceful, not a lot to do but plenty of bars and restaurants though. Aquopolis water park 10 minutes walk from the hotel and one of the best we've visited.
We had a relaxing time and plan to go again - I would recommend it to anyone, in fact it was recommended to us!
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
Skytours
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : 61 60 50 35 15 13 9
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
Just came back from donaire park hotel location right on beach this is good hotel but be warned if you have a complaint the staff dont understand english or they pretend they dont anyway the maids i cannot fault they keep the place spotless as for the bar staff and the rest of the staff very ignorant especialy the recepion we wanted to exchange our money at 7.15pm and was told it was closed and yet the sign said close at 7.30pm you can only get money exhanged certain hours of the day if you smoke you have to rely on a marchine there is a supermarket 50mm from hotel which is not overpriced buses to salou every 15 mins 1.40 euros single
this is a family hotel with lots of kids plenty of hot water in day time but when you need a shower in evening water luke warm if you buy food from the snackbar like we did make sure its cooked we had burgers and were raw inside we took them back to comlain they no understand we had the burgers recooked but were uneatable so left them told the rep i was told they had no controll over the snackbar but would have aword the food at the hotel the salads ok and the sweets but the main course i did,nt think a lot of ive had better
although this hotel is in a excellent position i would not go back and so did other people say the same.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Independent - May 2006
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Alan - Dublin (39, 38, 4)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read other reviews of this hotel we stayed here in late May/early June and overall were very pleased. The hotels biggest plus is its location - it looks directly out onto a sandy beach and is beside the main road in Pineda with easy access to the local buses.
HOTEL
We were a bit worried about the food but I have to say pleasantly surprised. Dinner was maybe a bit basic but all the food was edible and well cooked. Restaurant and bar staff seemed fine (although I did see one barman attempt to short change one guest by e10 so be aware). Happy hour (2 for 1) runs from 5 - 6 every evening. Entertainment is good fun if a little cheesy, although the mad Dutch lady that looks after the kids was brilliant - all the kids loved her !
I have to say the reception staff were unhelpful and rude. We tried asking them for local directions but were told to ask the tour rep. When we told them we travelled independently they just shrugged. I entered the hotel one day on my own and the tall blonde receptionist started shouting at me 'YOU, YES YOU COME OVER HERE NOW!' She started quizzing me about whether I was staying here etc. When I convinced her I was, she just ignored me and went back to her computer. Nice to know they are on the lookout but she could have apologised when she realised her mistake. I tried pointing this out to her but she just blanked me !
GETTING AROUND
Airport - the bus from Reus to Pineda seems the best value for money (?5.60 each one way). Buses to Salou and Port Aventura run from the OPPOSITE side of the road to the hotel. The bus stop is about 200 metres from the hotel. Buses to Tarragona and Barcelona run from the same side of the road as the hotel. There is no actual bus stop here just a post with the timetables listed above. It's only about 50 yards or so from the hotel. If going to Barcelona make sure the driver tells you exactly where the pickup point is - bus stops seem to be haphazard things here.
PLACES
Port Aventura - we needed 2 days to see it properly (tickets ?53.50 and ?43 for a child). Make sure you pick up your guide on the way in. There is a train inside that takes you from Mediterrania to the Far West. Try avoid going on weekends - the queues are mad. Hurakan Condor is the new 'must do' but it is just designed to scare which it does very well ! Dragon Khan is much better - absolutely loved it! When getting the bus back you have to buy your tickets from the booth near the exit and opposite the water fountain.
Tarragona - walk up the Rambla Nova for a stunning view of the sea. The Roman ruins are below and to the left
Barcelona - well worth a visit but I don't think you'd see everything in a day. We stayed overnight and were still shattered when we returned to Pineda!
Aquopolis - approx 300 or 400 metres down the road from the hotel. Supposedly better than Costa Caribe and we did enjoy it but it's your standard water park really.
GENERAL
There is an ATM beside the sports shop about 200 metres from the hotel on the opposite side of the road. Eating outside the hotel is expensive and is nothing special - Pineda is a quiet resort where almost everybody is staying half board. A good idea because it is an expensive holiday if you do everything. I would recommend staying at Donaire Park particulalrly if you are using it a base to do activities/travelling.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : lynsey nadin (33.39,12)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
great place to stay the hotel very nice and clean and it couldnt be in a better place like the beach it was tops. it was our first holiday abroad and it was worth every penny we had spent on it. the location was great the hotel was great. we all had a great time we did a day trip to barcalona football ground and that was great {the football team was just getting on coach so my son thought that was great they all put there thumb up to him so that made his day} we went to the fountains in barcalona at night that just finished the day off it was great.the trip was a bit expensive but well worth giving it ago!!!!
over all the holiday was tops i couldnt fault anything!!!!!!
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Skytours - September 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Yvonne Clark - Bridgend (44,48,9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Excellent hotel. Food was fantastic plenty of choice the desserts were absolutely wonderful.
Staff and reps were great and all did a wonderful job.
Hotel is located right on the beach with no roads to cross.
Entertainment was great with different acts on every night that we were there, we were there for two weeks and never felt the need to go to any other bars as we enjoyed the entertainment provided by the hotel.
There was plenty going on to keep my 9yr old son occupied both day and night with organized games around the pool and kids clubs both daytime and evening.
Port aventura, costa caribe, aquapolis and barcelona were all easy to get to by bus just outside this hotel or by going on the organized reps trips.
We visited barcelona three times once for the city tour once to visit the nou camp and fountains and once to go and watch barcelona play. All were wonderful experiences.
I could highly recommend this hotel to anyone excellent location, clean, great food and great staff.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- Aug 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Julie T - (43, 39, 11)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have just returned from a two week holiday at Donaire Park. We were not disappointed at all. Having been our first holliday abroad for 12 years we were a bit apprehensive but we needn't of had any worries.
The hotel is spotless. Cleaners are about sweeping and cleaning sand off the marble floors all the time (due to the great location plenty of sand gets brought back after a day at the beach)! Our room was small, but big enough for the 3 of us.
Our room was cleaned every day and towels were always replaced, bed linen too if you took it off the bed and left it on the floor in a pile. We had a great view of the beach and the pool area and the stage on the terrace, so if we did not want to go down and watch the entertainment if it was outside (weather permitting) we could watch it from our balcony. Having read other reviews I was waiting for the noise from the pool area in the evening but after 12 the waiters try to round people up and off to bed.
The activities throughout the day were great, for children and adults (lots of competitions, archery, rifle shooting, pistol shooting, connect four, pool, aqua gym, awater polo, waterbasketball to name but a few) and the hotel entertainment staff, Maria and Chris worked extremely hard and were very friendly. My daughter is 11 and she went to the Thompson kids club once, it was for her age range but she found it a bit babyish. I think her age had something to do with that!! Sun beds are a available but I got up early and reserved mine as they did all tend to go quite quickly.
The food was lovely. Breakfasts were the best. A varied choice of foods, enough to fill you up before teatime. Expect to put on a few pounds as the desserts are plenty at least 10 choices and all of them very tasty.
We visited Barcelona on an excursion with Thomson Holidays
s and saw the
fountain express show outside King Juan Carlos Palace. That was amazing.
I was not really that impressed with Barcelona, it is a huge city and
you do have to be very careful with your bags. I personally don't think
it is a trip for the kids.
The waterpark on the other hand is a different story. My daughter and myself swam with sealions. They kissed us, we cuddled them it was a truly beautiful experience a must if you are going to the park!
The buses are very frequent and run 24hours a day. The stops are just outside the hotel. Do be careful when crossing the roads at the crossings, cars only seem to stop if they want to!!!!
All in all this is a great place to go and we will definately be going back.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Med Hotels - August 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Carol Andrew Kyle and Lewis (40, 42, 14, 11)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have just returned from a week's holiday at the Golden Donaire Park Hotel in La Pineda, wish we were still there!
Couldn't fault the hotel. It was spotlessly clean with plenty of hot water for showers and daily maid service. The food was excellent with plenty of choice and a variation every day. The buffet was laid out beautifully in three different places (each buffet being the same) so you had plenty of room to help yourself and no long queues.
We didn't manage to lie by the pool because of the usual problems of everyone getting up at 6.00am to selfishly put their towels on the sun beds to leave them like that for most of the day! This was not a problem for us though as the Hotel is situated right on the beach. Being so near to a nice beach was such a bonus as it wasn't an effort to carry towels, brolly, drinks, suntan lotion, books etc. etc. such a short distance. The beach was very clean and even though it was busy there was a very nice relaxed atmosphere with plenty of room for everyone. The sea was lovely and warm and shallow. Our boys spent hours with their body board catching the waves. It was nice to see lifeguards on duty every day using their binoculars and walkie talkies being very alert.
We were very impressed with La Pineda, it was nice and clean and quiet but only a short and frequent bus ride from busier Salou.
We went to the water park in La Pineda, we had a very nice day but you do have to pay extra to hire a sun bed for 3 euros (which in some ways seemed a bit mean but in another at least we got a sun bed). You can also hire a rubber ring to use on some of the rides for 6 euros which we thought was a waste of time and money but after our boys queued for ages to go on the rapids we realised that if we had hired a rubber ring they could have hopped on and off as many times as they liked without queuing. We then hired a ring for each of them but being a bit late in the day we had to wait until people going home had returned theirs.
Port Aventura is worth a visit (don't expect the magic of Disneyland though). We had a nice day but the queues for some of the rides was a bit silly (1hr 45mins). It was easy to get there as the buses run so often. DO BUY YOUR TICKET BEFORE YOU GO; available from Hotel Reception (same price) as the queue to buy tickets was a mile long at Port Aventura (mid August). But if you are willing to queue and like us would also like to visit the Nou Camp Football Stadium in Barcelona, when you buy your entrance tickets there is a discount offer on the back to use at Port Aventura - so go to Nou Camp before Port Aventura. When you buy a day ticket to Port Aventura you can stay or go back in the evening (you need to get your arm stamped on the way out) but we were too exhausted to go back for the evening fireworks but it wasn't too much of a problem because if you look towards the park at about 11.45pm every night you can see the high fireworks in the sky (during the summer).
We hired a car to go the Barcelona, which was great for us because it gave us the freedom but parking in Barcelona is limited. Nou Camp is worth a visit even if you are not a football fan! We went to look at the magic fountains but of course they do not work during the day but was still worth a visit. The benefit of having a hire car was that we also looked round the Olympic Village from the 1992 Olympics. The Sagrada Familia building was impressive (but covered in scaffolding).
If you choose Donaire Park We are sure you will have a nice holiday
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- July 20005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : chris ballance - manchester (48,46,17,17)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our third visit to the donaire , with a break of 5 years and if anything the hotel is better than ever. Good Food, Clean Rooms. A quiet resort but all of us enjoyed it. Some late bars near the aquapark for the young ones.
Would not hesitate to go back again and recommend it for a family holiday.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thompson - July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Paul & Julie Darby - Darwen (35, 35)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Booked a 2* half board allocation on arrival, when we arrived at Donaire park we were impressed and the air conditioning was included at no extra cost but it is a 3* not a 2. The rooms are pretty small but comfortable and are cleaned every day and towels are changed. The Dining room is a blessing as it has air con on all the time and there is a good variety of food and its excellent.
Had a really good week apart from the early morning dash to get a sun lounger if you dont get your towel on them before 8.30 am you have no chance of one till 4pm, and i wouldnt mind but half of them had towels on but nobody used them, a bit selfish if you ask me! The resort is mainly for the spanish holidaymakers but that didnt bother us, we went to the bar across the road that had english artists on nearly every night it has crazy golf and ten pin bowling to keep kids happy. Port aventura is a must for the adventurous but go at night its cheaper, cooler and the queues are non existent, its brill, the rides are bigger and scarier than in england.
All in all we had a good holiday, i would definatly go back to Donaire park!
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thompson july 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : danny,carrie,josh,max-lincoln (27,24,5,3)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our first holiday abroad so we were a little unsure of what to expect,but we needent of worried,every aspect of this holiday was brilliant.
If we hadnt of known this hotel was 3 star we would of put it at a lot higher,standards were very high,rooms were very tidy and were cleaned every day with fresh towels put in our bathroom every day and our sheets changed twice while we were there(we stayed for 1 week).
The restaurant had a brilliant choice of food with special theme nighs, our favourite was the chinese night.the staff in the resterant deserve a medal they work extremley hard and what seemed to be very long hours,but they always had a smile on there face and were very friendly.the entertainment at night was fantastic with a wide variety of things on from discos to snake charmers.we didnt use the hotels own kids club because thompson had there own but our children love the thompson run one,all the kids zone staff were brilliant and we got 4 hours of peace and quiet a day,we did use the hotels kids disco at night in the main stage area,the kids loved it and it tired them out a little bit more,i dont know what the entertainer had had for her breakfast but we need some, she had so much energy it was brilliant.
la pineda was very quiet and because we had small children with us we didnt get to look at everythingt we wanted to in the area,but heard cambrills was worth a visit at night when they bought the fish in from the days fishing.from our hotel balcony you could see all the fishing boats coming and going,kids love it.the aqua park is about a 5 min walk from the hotel,again we didnt go because there were a lot of hight restrictions on the slides and we couldnt bare the arguments when we said they couldnt go on them,but heard again it was a fun day out.Also close to the hotel is portaventura witch is about a 20 min drive,buses run all day and come every 12 mins to a lot of places around la pineda eg salou,portaventura,cambrills and tarragona.
we hired a car witch was arranged by the hotel.we went to barcelona for the day well worth a visit.
one of the best things about the hotel is that you step out of reception and you are on the beach witch is lovely.
all in all our holiday was fantastic from start to finish,would we go back again,deffinatly it was lovely.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
june 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Josie 42 Dave 36 Rachel 15 Claire 15 Jason 9 Liverpool
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
when it hot its hot!
the rooms were good I suppose well we had two rooms a three bedroom and a 2 bedroom the girls had gifts robed and the made regularly came back twice a day for seconds. It was still brilliant though. there is two entertainers Chris who works weekends ( he does the fruit fiesta party a must do you'll no what I mean) and Albert they were really funny and the girls loved Chris.
the night life is brilliant for all age's and the girls were happy with the fact they could get served. A family pub by the hotel la bolera is a must go. the food at the hotel was fish and chips every night with a wide selection of other food I think you can handle for 1 week but defiantly not 2 weeks like us. The water parks well don't waste money on the 1 in the fair its more like the sun centre the 1 in la pineda was amazing the fair don't go in the day its to hot and the queues can be up to 2 hours long where as its cooler and the queues are a maximum of 5 minutes. If you want a quick snack 2 places the end of the prom in la pineda or Ickys in Salou
Overall it was a brilliant holiday cant wait to go back next year!
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Jackie 55 bryn 60 mark32 erika31 gloria59 lionell60 makenzie5
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
This hotel is ideal for children we had two with us, would not have choose this hotel if we did not have children.It is on the beach the rooms are basic but clean food is good and the resort is pretty.
The first evening after dinner i was robbed in the hotel grounds and
a gun was put to my head, i cannot blame anyone for what happened but i
must say the staff at the hotel did not even ask me how i felt dont
think they liked the police at the hotel. The Thomson Holidays
reps; were useless
did not care what had happened to me and the Thomson Holidays
team leader neede
to take a course in customer care he was inexpierenced,rude and of no
help to anyone, most guests i spoke to did not have a good word for him.
I was expected to go to the police station on my own i was petrified the staff and the reps ruined the holiday.
If anyone who reads this intends to stay at this hotel, please be very careful, because you wont get any help or support from anyone who works at this hotel i did not even get a phone call to ask how i was.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
-Sept. 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Bill-Belfast(33,23)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
Facilities at hotel excellent.
Hotel spotless.Food in hotel couldn't be faulted and the meal times were excellent with no need to rush.Entertainment not brilliant although it is aimed more at families and the hotel entertainer did seem overworked(Hellooooo!!)View from hotel excellent.Although the resort is quiet there is still plenty to do with several shops,the market,waterpark and loads of great little pubs with friendly staff(the Bees Knees,Captains Table & The Oasis to name but a few).
Cambrils well worth a visit as is Tarragona and Salou is only a short bus ride away if you want the hustle and bustle.Theme park well worth the money even if you are not into rollercoasters (like myself!). Only fault with hotel was a lot of the bar staff could do with smiling a bit more and being a bit more pleasant but this can be forgiven as it was the end of season for them and they must have been tired!
On the whole this hotel is well worth a visit especially for families.
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- September 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Carol Mc Carron - Leicestershire (58, 51,)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We went on a late deal so did not know wot to expect, this hotel is great, spotlessly clean, great choice of food, all the staff very helpfull. The location could not be better right on the beach which is great if you have children no roads to cross. We would certainly go back to this hotel again it is worth more than 3stars.If you want to look at this hotel you wil find it www golden hotels.com
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland Direct - July 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : L-A Neil - Cheshire (73, 70, 46, 9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
I visited this hotel same time last year. If I had not seen the standard last year I would have probably rated the hotel as Excellent - however since last year there has definately been a drop in standards.
I love the resort of La Pineda - though quiet there are several shops - The hustle and bustle of Salou is an easy bus ride away (buses run till 01:30ish.)
This is Definitely a Family Hotel - Entertainment is aimed at children - Last year there were 3 Golden Hotels entertainers this year there was 1 who was excellent though clearly overworked.
People without children may find them annoying as they tend to run around the corridors and play in the lifts!
I agree with other reviews which state go for floor 4+ having said that one of the lifts kept breaking down!
The Lounge (just off the bar) was shabby - the soft furnishings were torn and dirty - however few people use this area.
The pool has improved - last year it was too deep and badly designed It is now average depth with the deepest section in the middle, the Childrens Pool has been moved further away from the main pool to stop little-ones climbing over.
The food cannot be faulted - eat as much as you want buffet style - The meal times are good too - breakfast is served up until 11:00!
Cleanliness throughout most of the hotel is good but I got the chambermaid from hell - not only did she continually run out of towels before she got to my room she didn't clean very well and one day left a cigarette in the loo! I do not smoke so it could have only been the maid.
Don't let me put you off - La Pineda is lovely, The Aquapark is great and only a short walk away, Portaventura is worth a visit, Cambrils is lovely and only a bus ride away. The beach is good at La Pineda though you need to observe the flaqs as the sea can turn with the weather. There are some rocky areas but you soon get to know where to bathe.
Despite the changes in standards I would go back!
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Hotel Donaire Park - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland - June 2004
Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Kevin Morgan (27,27,4)):
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
This hotel is a very good 3 star. The location is superb - right on the beach. The pool is an ideal size and the general facilities are very good.
For those who like to explore the area, after 2 or 3 walks you will have seen all there is to see - but there are some nice little bars and the place is clean.
My little girl loved the holiday and the childrens club is an excellent opportunity to enjoy a couple of hours of piece. Only thing is the club starts really early and we missed it most mornings, but it's on most evenings.
The entertainment was good but no better than that really.
There are 2 supermarkets next door which are cheap and ideally located.
The food was OK, but then I am a fussy eater, but my wife and little girl seemed to eat well.
Overall we would recommend this hotel.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: airtours july 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : tania flage-gwent (46,39,16,15,9)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just got back after 2 weeks,had a fab time,
apartments were spacious ours had air-conditioning and ceiling fans,they supplied most things i.e tea towels table cloths, clean towels were delivered regular in fact we had them coming out of our ears,one thing i would say take a tin opener the ones there are awkward to use and could be dangerous,washing machines were fab once you got used to them.the complex was big 3 hotels and 4 or 5 self catering blocks each block was in a fenced area and you had your own key to your own block fab for security a bit awkward for my 15,16 year olds could not go far without us cos they could not get back in without us which was a good thing in itself lol,
la pineda itself was lovely, beautiful beach and water park and nice and clean,lots to do during the day i think it was a bit quiet for my daughter and friend but they still had a good time,not many places to eat out but the ones there are good the waterfront pub was the best value for money and i never came away hungry the staff were friendly my kids loved tracey.
Salou was a 10 min bus ride lots todo there,the theme park 15-20 mins away if you go there wear comfy shoes its a lot of walking be warned be prepared to queue for all the rides the bigger rides were 1-2hrs unless you paid extra for the express tickets but still a good day out.we did not go on any trips with the reps they were to dear but we went on one with the local bus company which was half the price and still as good.
Barcelona was lovely what a huge and busy place,we saw the football stadium and magic fountains which were lovely,would definately go back to la pineda and barcelona.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Airtours - June/July 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Gemma Clarkson - Brighouse (25,28)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read some of the reviews of this accomodation i was rather nervous that booking this holiday was a mistake, thankfully that did not turn out to be the case.
We arrived at 12.30pm and were told our room would be a couple of hours before it was ready, thanks to this website we expected this and were more than happy to leave our luggage in the store provided and head for a well deserved drink. We went onto the sea front (the whole street infront of the beach is full of shops, bars and restaurants) We went to the Waterfront as it had been highly recommended on this website. Well worth a visit. The staff are mostly really nice and friendly but it does get very busy at the weekends so be prepared to queue for tables.
When we got into the accomodation we were more than happy. The room was air conditioned which we hadn't expected(and was much needed in the end) and we had a TV and a Kettle even though there was a leaflet advertising these facilities for rent. I can't guarentee that all the apartments have these, i think we may have benefited from the people before us renting them and the staff forgetting to take them back. The accomodation was intended for 4 people, that would have made it far too small, but as there was just the two of us we felt paying the under occupancy was well worth it. The bedroom had enough storage for the two of us, the bathroom was fairly small but had all you needed, the living/kitchen space was quite big, the kitchen was equipped well enough (they only provide tiny glasses which was a bit of a pain when you had worked up a huge thrist from sunbathing) and it had a washing machine, which was fabulous.
The pool is a good size in comparison with the hotel pools (especially Estival 2) however beware, to get a sun lounger you have to be up with the birds. Although there are signs saying you can't save sunbeds everyone did!!! and by 9am they were all gone, the annoying part for us was that you would see sun loungers with towels on them for the whole day and then the people who had saved them would turn up at 4pm after they had been to the beach, meanwhile people were sitting on chairs and the floor because no loungers were available.
The surroundings of the apartments are lovely. They are seperated into blocks and have there own gates which only residents have a key for. This makes you feel very safe and secure and alos means hotel guests can't use your pool! It said in the brouchure that apartment tenants could use the hotels facilities. Unfortunatly (and this is probably our only accomodation grumble) when you check in, no one tells you what you can use and where it is. therefore we didn't use it, probably thats more our fault than the hotels but we felt this sort of information in a pack on arrival would have been useful.
La Pineda is i think quite busy, there are a few good bars (Graffitti was our favourite with salsa dancing classes and really friendly meeting and greeting staff)there are plenty of shops, but we did not manage to find a perfume shop which surprised me but then again there were quite a few streets we didn't get to explore (as we tended to stick to the side of La Pineda that the apartment was on). The beach was great but busy at the weekends with spaniards enjoying the sun. as far as we were concerned the on ly down side was the lack of really good restaurants. We ate mainly at the waterfront and the italian la Taglettela (i think thats what is called) further down there were more restaurants but none of them enticed us in.
All in all we had a really great time. we intended on a relaxing holiday and that is what we got. We could have done so much more and visited the theme park, and neighbouring resorts but in the end the pull of lazing by the pool was too strong.
I would really recommend the estival apartments and la pineda.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Direct Holidays June 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : John Chambers (40,39,4,1)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were after a quiet resort as we have a 1yo daughter and it was more or less what we expected.The appartments are quite basic , the washing machine was very handy and there was also an oven so if you really wanted to cook you had everything at hand , so the facilities were good.Some lights and fans didn't work , we reported at arrival but they were never fixed.The complex is very large , we were lucky to be on the edge of it , very close to the beach , but even closer to the esplanade where there were a couple of clubs and for some reason the music was getting louder around 2-3am so every night we were up by that time because of it and we kept the windows closed overnight.
Food wise , there are plenty of restaurants on the esplanade , the first night we picked the worst one - New York Grill- so DO NOT GO THERE FOR FOOD ! The rice in paella was not cooked , the burger for my daughter was absolutely not edible , brrr , horible experience !
The Waterfront has good food but the service lacks speed so be prepare to wait to get your order taken , to get the food and even to get the bill .
The best restaurant in the resort is got to be Les Barques , is located at the end of the esplanade , on the corner . We have tried some dishes there , highly recommend the paella , the mussels in fisherman sauce and the monk fish . They speak quite good English and the customer service in impecable , if you are not happy with something they will sort it out straight away .
Overall , a very nice holiday !
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: First Choice May 2007
Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : Joanne Oddy - Surrey ( 63,63,53,50,46,42,37,35,12,5)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
On arrival we were the first drop off from the airport which was great, the Location of the hotel complex is ideally situated very close to the beach and within a little village type complex.
Lots of building work going on opposite the hotel but dont let this put you off as apart from arriving and leaving this will be the only time you see this side of the hotel as on entering the complex everything you need is beach side.
The Hotels were immaculatly clean and every member of staff we met was very nice and helpfull. You can eat and drink in any of the 3 Hotels and let me tell you the food was great and the choice was fantastic, the snack bar was also fully stocked with hot and cold snacks including peanuts , crisps, cakes , icecream, toasties, bacon sandwiches, chips, lollies tea coffee hot chocolate soft drinks sangria and lager ( both on tap ). Fabulous.
Our 12 year old met loads of friends and the 5 year old travelling in our group loved the kids club area.
We used the Spa where the steam room sauna jaccuzi's and indoor pools were open to us from 8 - 5 every day.
Also on top of the usual All Inclusive drinks you could have your standard bottled lager ie: Bud and Heiniken for a suppliment of 1 euro a bottle and the lovely cocktails the same. So enjoyment all round really, the draught lager that was on tap was San Miguel and according to the men in our group " a decent lager".
No complaints from any of us in our group who all had a great time.
Hair dryers in rooms plus shampoo and soap .Beach towels were available to hire next to pool in hotel no: 1 save taking any . We stayed in hotel No 2 and have no complaints at all.
The water park is located at the end of the complex well within a stroll's distance.
Please go and enjoy..... We went from the 29th of May for 1 week and will be going back next year. We have been on 6 All Inclusive holidays in Spain and this has been the best all one so far.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays May 2007
Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : 42,41,14,12
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
La Pineda is a lovely quiet resort only a short bus journey from Salou. It is an ideal place if you prefer somewhere a bit quieter, although it most likely does get busier in the summer months of July and August. Estival Park Apartments are close to all amenities and the bus stops are only at the top of the road where you can get buses to Salou, Port Aventura, Cambrills, Tarragona. We arranged with the local bus company to visit Barcelona. The bus company; Plana, do regular trips and these are less expensive than going with the tour operator. It cost us around 26 euros each for 3 adults and 23 for one child to take a trip to Barcelona and visit the Nou Camp. This included some free time in the City Centre (about a couple of hours which is not really enough as it is a very large city) and a trip to the magic Fountains later at night, then return home.This was with entry to the Nou Camp included. It was very well organised and we felt that it saved the hassle of going to Salou for the train and then trying to find our way to the Nou Camp etc. Plus the bus is just at the top of the road and drops you back there too. The Apartment complex is large and secure as there are locked gates.
You have access to all the hotel facilites. There is your own pool at your own section of apartments and this was nice and quiet. The pool was lovely and clean. The Apartment was nice with a huge balcony with a table and 6 chairs. There was also a clothes horse which was handy as the apartment had a washing machine too. The linen and towels were changed twice per week. We found that the clean stuff was left in a bag outside our door so we could do it ourselves, however, if you preferred the maid would do this for you. Dish towels, toilet roll and rubbish bags were also provided on each occasion. The apartment was secure as the balconies are completed detached and the patio door had a good lock on it. Additionally, the door had a strong lock too.
On arrival at the apartments you check in at the main hotel. We arrived at 1pm and were given our key straight away. There are safety deposit boxes for rent at 2 euros per day plus a 10 euro refundable deposit. These are located in the main reception area of the hotel so if your apartment is some distance away you do need to go back to the hotel each time you want to gain access to it. There is also a deposit requested on arrival of £50 sterling or 50 euros and this must be in cash. Refunded on check out. The whole complex has a range of facilites such as indoor pool etc. We did not use any but at least they are on offer. There was some sort of entertainment each night at 9.30 which I thought was a wee bit late but maybe if you are having dinner later this would suit. There are 3 hotels to choose from with different entertainment and you can choose any you fancy. I would definately go back to this place again and to the apartment complex because there wasn't anything really I could fault. The living area was a wee bit small for a family of four with only two chairs as the sofa bed can be converted to a sofa during the day. The two chairs provided were not comfy so I had to use a plastic chair from the balcony indoors which gets a bit uncomfy after two weeks. But we weren't indoors that much.
The waterpark, Aquapolis is right next door and worth a visit. It cost us around 90 euros for a family of 4. This included the dolphin show. There was charge for sunbed hire, donuts and lockers also. As it was quite quiet when we were there we did not need to hire donuts. The best place we found to eat was the Waterfront. The menu had loads to choose from and the food was always top quality and served piping hot. We didn't try many other places as this one was so good. There are seafood restaurants if you like that too.The supermarket is close by too with everything you need. Unfortunately one of the staff at the checkouts, an older lady, was particulary rude and unhelpful. She didn't even try to speak a word of English so didn't project a very positive image of the Spanish. Otherwise most people were ok. Not over friendly I would say but just ok. Port Aventura is a great place and again as it was out of the peak season we managed to get on all the rides without any queing. Although when we visited once,on a Friday it was very busy so I would recommend going mid week, unless ofcourse you are going at high season when I suspect it will be busy most of the time.
We didn't get to visit the water park at Port Aventura so cannot comment on that. If you have been to Florida it is not a patch on the parks over there but nevertheless very good. I would say you would need a good couple of days to see everything and visit the shows. The shows we went to were mostly in Spanish though. And midweek, some of the restaurants weren't open, but again that might have been because it wasn't the height of the summer.We visited Cambrills one afternoon and that is a lovely fishing village with excellent seafood restaurants to choose from. All in all it is a good location if you want to visit the theme park and the Nou Camp or Barcelona itself and much nicer than Salou which is very built up now. Having said that Salou does have a lovely beach and promenade also with fountains so nice to visit. The bus fares cost around 1.50 to 1.80 euros to Salou, Port Aventura etc. That is each way and there doesn't seem to be a child price. Most of the food and drink prices were about the same as home so not as cheap as some people would have you believe. The only thing that I found a bargain was the wine so that was a bonus!!
So a most enjoyable, relaxing holiday with a nice mix of places to visit to keep the children from being bored! Worth a visit if you don't want to venture too far and spend a fortune.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Skydeals - Oct 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Sarah H - Essex (36, 35, 1)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just returned from 2 weeks at Estival Park Apartments. Very disappointed when arrived to see apartments, not 4 star accommodation we were expecting. Also put on the first floor with a toddler. Had to carry pram up and down 15 steps every morning and night and no gate on the veranda, had to use the pram to block the top of the stairs off. Apartments are clean and washing machine was a nice touch - although needed as towels only changed once a week. The hotel facilities are excellent and the animation team work very hard to entertain although due to the amount of Russians staying at the resort, English is not widely used by any staff although they all speak it!
The resort of La Pineda is very quiet, about 30 bars, shops and restaurants along the main strip but the beach is a dream. People poured off the Salou bus every morning to come to La Pineda because Salou beach gets so busy. Bus service to Salou etc. is excellent and about 1.40 euros each to Salou Central. La Pineda is only an hour from Barcelona and a short ride to Tarragona which are both great busy resorts. If you are looking for a nice lazy holiday using the beach and pools and a quiet meal in the evening - this is the place for you. Although, I went with a 16 month old baby and found it very hard as the holiday facilties are not very baby friendly i.e. stone steps around the main stage and the mini disco is a bit late at 9pm and takes place near the main pool and the hotel does not give preference for ground floor apartments to those with small children or those in wheelchairs. My little monkey nearly climbed out the apartment window. Thank goodness there was shutters on the outside.
All that said, if we had gone without children and wanted a quiet break, I would not have anything critical to write in this review. Happy holidays!
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - oct 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : robertson/mclaren ( 29,24,6 and 8months)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Have just arrived home after a week in la pineda . We stayed at the estival park apartments and although we thought we were prepared for not getting into our apartment till 5pm when we got there we so weren't after arguing with staff because people from england were getting straight into there APARTMENTS they eventually let us into ours at 415.
The weather was scorching and the aquapolis waterpark is excellent well worth a trip other than that though there is not much to do in la pineda spent most evenings in salou which is a little livlier and only 10 mins on a bus.
We went to barcalona (by ourselfs not with reps) we got the train from salou to barcalona at a cost of 10.80 euros for an adult return and 7.20 euros for a child when we arived in barcelona an hour and 22 mins later we went to the metro which is found within the train station and bought 3 metro travel passes each valid for 10 trips costing 20 euros for us all and from there we went to the nou camp then on to goudis cathedral and then on to the rambles for a spot of shopping before a trip to the magic fountains then headed back for the last train back to salou at the 9pm we did all this for less than what they wanted for two adults to see the nou camp.
there are some excellent things to see and do in and around the costa dorada but the locals are rude and speak no english at all the food was appalling and very expensive.
We made the best of our holidays but i would not go back would possibly go for a weekend to barcelona but that would be it .
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: first choice sept 06
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : veronica kennedy (40,42,47,41,26,27,17,20,8,3)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just spent 2 weeks at the esival park on an all inclusive holl there were 3 familys went me my husband our 2 lads my friend who is in a wheelchair and her husband and her daughter, boyfriend and their 2 kids 1st my sons both got id taken when we got to hotel (they dont look their age) which upset my younger son who is a month off 18 as he had to have a kiddies band on the rooms were clean and tidy but the basic english tv did not exist we had a lovely view of the pool but my friend was behind a tree it was the laughing point of the holiday the food in the hotel is ok if you like fish and things with sauces on unlike my husband ans my friends boyfriend also there was very little choice for kids and as we had gone with a couple wasnt nice they ate at the snack bar more than the restaraunt we were in hotel 2 there are 3 altogether and some appartments i have been on a few all inclusive hols and this is the first 1 that the drinks finnished at 11 30 then you need to start paying for them
the entertainment staff were great they worked hard but again at 11 everything stopped we could not believe it a bonus we found was there was a great kids club on site you could leave the kids there for a few hours to have a relax they loved it many time they didnt want to come out when we went for them they got the kids doing plays and fashon shows talent competitions face painting it was great some of the waiters were a bit rude but we soon found the good ones and tipped them
allin all it was a good holiday but the food and entertainment let it down
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays Aug 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Julie, Leigh + 2 kids (32,31,11,10)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having arrived at 12.30pm and travelling through the night it was disappointing to find out that we could not get our keys to our apartment until 4pm.Our apartment was set in block 7 with a lovely pool and key to that block. Which only people could use if staying in that block.Most of the apartments were owned by the locals but were very friendly and it meant only us british had the pool as the locals tended to stay away.Apartments are basic with ceiling fans and an added bonus of a washing machine!Wonderful!Balcony was a good size too! Beach gorgeous and shallow sea for a long way out which was very good for kids.The resort itself was beautiful but not many british around. Night entertainment very low key(most of it spanish)La Bolera and Waterfront were the only british bars worth visiting with very friendly staff, but a short 10 mins bus ride to Salou at 6 euro for a family of 4 was well worth paying for an excellent night life.
Portaventura well worth a visit but buy off internet before hand definately a lot cheaper at £142 for a family of 4 for a 7 day pass.Took us 3 days to get around it.
Barcelona and Nou camp brill, but don't buy from reps.We bought off street of apartments was a bit unsure but a lot cheaper and well worth the visit at 98 euros for a family.Excellent.Although enjoying our 2 week holiday we wouldnt return again to La Pineda but would consider Salou as our kids are getting older and need to be kept entertained which La Pineda definately lacked.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays june 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : les cath fatkin-gateshead (51,51)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just arrived home after 2 weeks at Estival Park Arrived at 2.20 expected to have to wait until 4.00 pm for key but room was ready. Accommodation excellant, staff very friendly and helpful. Were given 2 bedroom appartment with ceiling fans and we even had a washing machine! Bedding and towels changed twice weekly, if you find bag outside your door these are dropped off for maids to use when they come to do room service and not for you to do yourself as read in some of the other reviews. Plenty of loungers around pool area only complaint was not enough shade.
Plenty to do in resort and bus service to Salou and Cambrills very good. If you like a walk it is possible to walk from resort to Salou and Cambrills following coastal path. Both these resorts worth a visit.
Best bar to watch football La Bolera and they had entertainment every night also bar snacks very good. Went to Pizziera Artisan 4 times because the food was so good..If you like pizza or pasta you wont find better for a reasonable price and very friendly service.
The short walk to Cap Salou is definately worth it and a cold beer at Don Panchos is a must! You can catch the Tourist Train from here and for 2.5 Euros the hour long ride takes you to Salou and Port Aventura and then back to La Pineda.
Loads of nice places to have a snack but one of the best was Los Juncos, where staff very friendly.
Although we found the resort more expensive than Costa Brava would definately return and stay at Estival Park.
There was a wide mix of nationalities, including lots of Russians. The locals were very friendly and although all did not speak English we were glad that we had learnt some Spanish which the locals seem to appreciate.
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Estival Park 1 Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) Mytravel-june 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : angus (51-54)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
the best thing about estavil park 1 is the gates at the bottom of the pool area were you can walk along the boulavarde to the left and go into the waterhole for a warm welcom good food and nice wine and beer there is nothing else to do in LaPineda if you are not a pool or beach lover even in june the hotel was full to bursting with babys todlers teens ex.
the hotel is not 4star it is 2-3star with aircon they is no service that you normaly get with 4star. food is all the basic selfservice cheap lots of it food you get anyplace.The hotel is clean and again basic not the standard 4star.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays -May 2006
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Jacqui,Rab,Val,Erland edinbugh (49.48.44.39 )
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
the apartments were great have everything that you need on holiday if you have messy adults or kids, the beach is very good and if you feel like a change of scene hop on the local bus to salou, there is a good choice of places to eat at reasonable prices or just pop into the local supermarket for lots of fresh produce we found a really friendly irish bar hennessey's which serves great yummy burgers has a quiz night every night has lots for the kids games drawing and a playstation (in the brochure it will say £50 deposit infact it is only 50 euros)you get it back at end of holiday provided nothing is damaged we all had a great time and would go back again as everyone makes you feel so welcome
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - may 2006
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Amy Owen - Northants (54,28,9,1)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just returned from a fantastic week in La Pineda staying at the Estival park apartments. We arrived at 11am and after asking nicely was handed our apartment keys at 1pm.The apartment was lovely very spaciuos and clean and the wasing machine was a god send!!! La Pineda is beautiful very clean and pretty, it was our first time here. They have a great market on a friday morning, which is well worth a visit. The weather was more than we had hoped for in early may, reaching almost 30C every day and not a drop of rain. The balcony is huge enough to sunbathe on, which i did most days. The only complaint i could make if pushed is the cleaner only came once the whole week!! and we had NO air conditioning, which would be a nightmare in july/august. PLEASE PLEASE go and eat at the WATERFRONT the food is fantastic and say hello to Julie and Hugh the waiters they are two lovely english people who made our holiday! would i go back Yes, tomorrow if i could.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: Globespan April 2006
Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : Iain macrae 41,43
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
First of all this was a last min holiday
1 the hotel estival park was very comfortable to stay in .
But that was it it was a comfortable bed and surroundings. The food was terrible buffet style and always cold.
the drinks are over priced. Need I go on any more.
For a 4 star hotel rooms yes 4 star facilities 4 star (Language problems aside) food Big fat zero Bar Big fat zero
But hey the resort IS very good nice bars nice people and I liked it
Would I go back YES but to La Pineda NOT to the Estival Park
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: August 2005 - booked independently
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Linda Graham Pinner (58, 57, 15
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just returned from Estival Park Hotel, La Pineda. Flew with Ryan Air to Reus Airport, local bus (Plana) waiting at airport to take clients to resorts - cost Euros 5.30 one way excellent service and they even take your return flight details, enter them in a diary, advise collection time from your hotel, and arrive on time! Brilliant service.
Hotel excellent - wonderful animation team who provide just the right level of entertainment, exercise programmes etc. Food and service in hotel v. good.
Things to do - Park Aventura v. good, Acuopolis Water Park practically next door to hotel also excellent. Beach across the road! What more could you ask! This is our second visit to Estival Park (first 4 years ago) and everything as impressive this time. Can thoroughly recommend it!
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- July/ August 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : W. Brown- Belfast (83,56,35,33,32,31,14,8,3)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read previous reviews I thought WHAT have we got ourselves into!? Thankfully our fears were unjustified. The apartments were clean the grounds of the complex were spotless. The only pants part were the steps upto our apartment but the view once up there was beautiful. It was fantastic to have the washing machine as my 8yr old is the original 'muck magnet'. They do hand you a map when you get there and it is roughly 4pm before you get your keys, but thankfully we were prepared for that. Some of the apartment numbers don't have numbers on the doors it was a little tricky finding our apartments but we got there in the end.
The Waterfront had good food and those of you who like to try local cuisine when on hols they have a good variety of food.
For roughly 14 euros for adults you can go to the resturant in the hotel and eat and drink all you can, huge buffet with everything you can think of.
The 'supermercat' can get quiet busy, prices are reasonable, they have a bakery attached OMG some of the treats have to be tried to be believed.
We spent our time on the beach across the road from the hotel it was cooler than around the pool, there are bars on the beach selling hot and cold food, cold beer and cold soft drinks. We also learned very quickly the bigger the waves the louder the thunderstorm heading in would be!!!
Port Aventura a must for those who are not faint hearted. My brother-in-law and I plucked up the courage to go on the Hurakan Condor I never dreamt that you could drop so fast and be so scared you can't physically scream!! (Some of the fireworks display can be seen from the apartments).
The water park was great and would be a lot better if they fixed the path on the way upto the slides very painful on bare feet. If your little ones are under 120m don't even attempt to go up they will be turned away and have to walk all the way down again it's quiet steep I was convinced I was going to slip somewhere.
There were 2 dolphin shows the day we went round one about 11am and the second about 4pm you could go to both if you wish they open the gates from the slides into the show area and you're free to come and go as you please between both areas.
The locals all were quiet pleasant, my motto is treat others the way you wish to be treated. Smile and say gracias they can't be anything but nice back again haha.
Overall we had a great peaceful, restful holiday and given a choice I probably would go back again.
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Estival Park Apartments - La Pineda
Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - July 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Fran Minns - Norfolk (49,44,39,17,14)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We went with a mixed party of family and friends and the only criticism was that we were only given one set of keys. the apartment was lovely, right near the very nice pool which was open until 12midnight. The apartments were clean and the towels and sheets changed once a week. We were near the beach and facilities and didn't even get to the hotel entertainment as there was so much to do. We can totally recommend the Aq