Hotel AR Almerimar

“5 Adults, 5 Kids Family Holiday.”

We have a family of 5 but 10 of us travelled together to stay here and we really liked it. The hotel caters to Spanish people mainly with not much English translation regarding the food and no translation at all with the entertainment. This wasn't a big problem for us but may be for some. There … more

We have a family of 5 but 10 of us travelled together to stay here and we really liked it. The hotel caters to Spanish people mainly with not much English translation regarding the food and no translation at all with the entertainment. This wasn't a big problem for us but may be for some. There were different activities for kids held throughout everyday but we don't usually join in with these. The entertainment team really worked hard and seemed fun. But I don't know how it would be if they were unable to speak English. There is also a board letting you know the different shows on in the evening. First one starts at 9:30pm. The staff, waiters, cleaners, etc. All worked really hard and were really nice. They tried their best to understand and help us as much as possible. During meal times they are quick to wait on you, bring you drinks and clear your table. A maid cleaned our room and changed our beds and towels every day. There were different food themed nights throughout the week. If you have picky eaters like us then you may struggle at meal times. But there is alot of variety if you aren't picky. We went All Inclusive and anything top shelf cost extra. But this wasn't a problem as there was plenty of options and they don't hold back on the alcohol either. We had a junior suite which 2 adults 3 kids stayed in at a time. (Although the rooms sleep up to 4, we took on another one of the kids to stay with us). They are very big, clean and had 2 seperate balconies, one bigger than the other. The Air Con is amazing and made it too cold if anything but this was great as we stayed during a heatwave. The best bit for us was the kids pool. It is quite big, it had an octopus slide with 3 slides coming off of it and 2 other slides. Our 3 year old was able to run around it freely as it isn't deep at all. So we were able to sunbathe and watch him at the same time. There is a small park next to it as well. Around the other side of the hotel was a big pool, quite deep and had 2 pretty big slides. These were only closed from 2pm-5pm which didn't bother us and were alot of fun. They weren't too strict at all regarding who was able to go down it as long as small kids had an adult with them or armbands, etc. And allowed 4 people at once sometimes. The lifeguards were always on watch though. The location isn't the greatest, you are very out of the way. There was only 2 hotels including ours to be dropped off at and it still took 1hr 30mins. A short enough walk down there was a harbour with a lot of shops and places to eat, supermarket, etc. Although most of the restaurants didn't open til around 8pm. If you wanted one open sooner then you'd have to walk further. You are literally on the beach, the water was amazing and very shallow a long way out. The problem is it is not sand, but a mixture of shells, stones and dirt so it wasn't great to sit on. There was lot of showers located along the edge of the beach to help this though. There are places to hire jet skis and to go banana boating also. If you're going here during a heatwave like us, then be aware that there isn't much shade. There are umbrellas around which you cant move, so we still had to clip towels to them to cover the sunbeds more. If you want a sunbed I'd recommend getting up and claiming some as the good spots get taken early. Towels were never removed no matter how long they were there either. Would definitely visit again. Thank you!

less

“Poor Service”

Just called in for a drink in the golf bar..had to walk in and order the drinks..once the drinks where finished. Staff never asked if you wanted another drink or anything thing else. Not very good for a supposed 5 star hotel...

“Good for a chilled holiday with not much to do”

It's ok, not great, but alright for a chilled holiday and for doing very little. The hotel is old and dated and needs some proper TLC. Some of the grips on the steps had come away and were hanging off which were a trip hazard. The lifts were really dirty, the glass was like looking through a piece … more

It's ok, not great, but alright for a chilled holiday and for doing very little. The hotel is old and dated and needs some proper TLC. Some of the grips on the steps had come away and were hanging off which were a trip hazard. The lifts were really dirty, the glass was like looking through a piece of used old cling film. The Room - The sofa bed for our little girl was damaged with a sharp piece of metal sticking out which is dangerous for a child, could potentially cut and injure quite easily (see photo). The bathroom has a weird swinging door to the toilet which I thought was bizarre (be careful as it does swing back and forth quite quickly potentially smashing you in the face if you're not careful). The sink was cracked and the taps were mucky and dirty. There was some weird splatter of something gross on the back of the TV and the table it was sitting on looked like it hadn't been wiped down since 2012 (again, see photos). And the hairdryer is something that belongs in a retro 80s museum, I recommend bringing your own hairdryer if you're not going for the dried frazzled look. Air con is decent, but noisy. The restaurant - we did half board which I'm relieved about because the food choices were poor. Same starters/salad bar selection every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The mains were ok, sometimes the meat was really overcooked and rubbery, and one night the pork was underdone. Everything is either really salty or has no flavour. The plates, cutlery, cups and glasses are really dirty. Some of the waiters seem really annoyed that you're there, like it's a massive inconvenience to them to have to ask you what you want to drink. Dessert was disappointing, pretty much the same every single day - mostly some kind of cheesecake or cream cake, and suspect looking ice-cream (3 flavours to choose from). The pools - the only good thing is that there are enough sun loungers, so no sunbed wars here. There's not enough umbrellas though so if you want shade you can put the sunbed by the fence with bins either side, and a road on the other side of the fence. There are no tables and nowhere to set down your drinks so be prepared for ants and critters to crawl into your drink. The pool is ok, there's a bridge across the middle but it is cordoned off and you can't go across it. There are little island things in the middle but you're not allowed to climb up or sit on the them. There's 2 spiral slides which was fun. The kids pool is for really small children, very shallow, and has a couple of little slides. In both pools the water is really really dirty. The entertainment - everyday there's a hotel mascot which is a person in a big red dog costume that walks around waving at people and you can have pictures taken with him, then he does a dance with some of the hotel staff. The really young kids seem to love it. There were some pool side games everyday but if you don't know any Spanish it will be difficult to take part and get involved. There is a games room with a couple of pool tables, table hockey, cherry pickers, table football etc, but most of the machines are broken and will swallow your money without warning. The note change machine was also broken and took some poor dad's 10 euro note and did not return any change. The beach - the beach is only a few minutes walk from the hotel. Literally walk out the back gate from where the swimming pools are, cross the cycle lane and footpath and you're there. The beach is pebbly and rocky so I would recommend wearing water shoes. You will need to walk a bit further down along the beach if you want to hire sunloungers which are 5 euros each. The area - there are some really nice restaurants nearby - Restaurante Puertovino Almerimar, best calamari I've ever had. Note that they don't have a menu in English but Google translate works well enough. The marina is close by (about 15 mins leisurely stroll) and there are some decent restaurants there too - Carbónico Bistró, really good food and pleasant staff. Not much for shopping or sightseeing. Overall it's not really worth the money, and if you're looking for a holiday with a nice beach, good food, decent entertainment, nice facilities and friendly staff then you're best going somewhere else.

less