Hotel Best Costa Ballena

“It was ok. Just ok.”

All in all, the holiday was ok. Travelled as a family of 3 (daughter is 4 years old). Upon arrival, joined long check in queue. The process was slow. Rooms not ready until 3pm so we were instructed to leave suitcases in the luggage room and go for lunch. Room still not ready by 3pm, but got key … more

All in all, the holiday was ok. Travelled as a family of 3 (daughter is 4 years old). Upon arrival, joined long check in queue. The process was slow. Rooms not ready until 3pm so we were instructed to leave suitcases in the luggage room and go for lunch. Room still not ready by 3pm, but got key around 3:15. Not ideal when travelling with a young child whom had been up since 4am. We were all inclusive and paid for a premium room as we thought based on the advert through jet2 that the rooms had a bath tub. No bath in our room. Another supposed advantage of going premium was coffee making facilities in the room and water replenished daily. Didn’t make use of coffee facilities as only condensed milk was provided and the water supplied was in glass bottles that required a bottle opener to open. We couldn’t make use of the rooftop bar and infinity pool as it was 12+ years only. We had to visit reception to request toilet paper as it wasn’t replenished. The beds were made daily but sheets not changed. We arrived on the Friday and found the weekend incredibly busy, mostly with Spanish guests. Fortunately it got a little quieter from Monday onwards. We didn’t feel particularly welcome by the Spanish guests who would shoulder barge as they walked past us because they refused to leave any room for us to pass by, even though we would walk single file so as to take up as little room as possible. The all inclusive also wasn’t very good. I was really looking forward to a good pina colada but the cocktails were premixed and of low quality. I mostly drank Pepsi max and Bailey’s, although was often served the cheaper local Irish cream. My other half was drinking Budweiser at a supplement of 1€ per bottle. There weren’t many drink options for young children other than fruit juice, fizzy pop or slushies. The dining experience also wasn’t fantastic. It was a free for all around the buffet, no such thing as an ordered queue. Right up in the corner, almost like the corner of shame, was the “British corner”. It was the smallest area that only ever had chips, plain pasta, boiled rice, baked beans and pasta sauce. You almost felt embarrassed going over there as it was placed about as far away as it could possibly be with the blandest most unappealing food. The pizzas were good, but with so many guests dining at once, and them only putting 2 normal sized pizzas out at a time, you were lucky to get a look in. Breakfast started at 8am, lunch at 1:15pm and dinner at 7:30pm. The resort is very much set up for its Spanish customer base with staff speaking little English, and the entertainment and notices predominantly in Spanish. There’s really nothing in regards to local restaurants and shops to visit. To kill time we would walk 20mins to the supermarket to buy bread to feed the ducks. There a few little parks scattered around outside of the hotel which my daughter enjoyed. All in all our experience was ok, but when staying 4* and paying so much, we had hoped for better. Unfortunately we will not be returning

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“A lovely holiday!”

It’s probably going to be a long one! Start with check in- to be honest after a long day travelling, check in took a while too! We were offered to drop our bags in the luggage cupboard and eat though! Rooms- clean, comfy and cleaned everyday with fresh towels if you wanted. Only niggles are showe… more

It’s probably going to be a long one! Start with check in- to be honest after a long day travelling, check in took a while too! We were offered to drop our bags in the luggage cupboard and eat though! Rooms- clean, comfy and cleaned everyday with fresh towels if you wanted. Only niggles are shower tray fills and lets water onto bathroom floor which is slippery and there was the odd sewage smell. Balcony was clean and there were a couple of complimentary drinks in the fridge which was a lovely touch. The curtains are also black out and they were fab! Restaurant- we were all inclusive and had all our meals in the main restaurant. At times this could get busy and noisy, so if you’re noise sensitive like me, I took my loop ear plugs to help. There was a lovely selection of food. Bordered on the edge of being the same each day, you had your staples for each meal like bread, the desserts were pretty much the same, but the main meals tended to be varied. There was also a snack bar by the pool which was really good for day time snacking outside meal times. Plenty to eat! Bars- there was one bar for the day, one for the night. This was an issue sometimes as there was hundreds of people at the hotel! You could self serve water and fizzy drinks (fizzy at the pool bar) but everything else you had to queue for in terms of drinks. Cocktails came out a machine too which I was disappointed with. Stuff to do- if you’re going for a chill holiday and plan to swim and sunbathe and visit the beach, great. If you want to get out and explore then I’d recommend somewhere else. There’s not really any shops apart from one at the hotel and you’d need to organise transport to do anything outside hotel. I thought excursions were expensive and not often enough. Pools- initially we found the outdoor pools really cold but got used to them. The indoor pool was better for us. Night time entertainment- kids disco was mainly in Spanish. Gave my child a good opportunity to learn Spanish but he was unsure what was going on. We also saw a magic show and the saxophone man was so lovely! Travelling- this was seamless and no issues. Overall- lovely holiday, would come back but I would have liked to see more of the local towns. Comfy, clean, lots of space to chill for everyone. Staff were nice, mostly Spanish so gave us a nice opportunity to learn some Spanish.

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“Lovely relaxing holiday”

We are a family of 13, 7 adults and 6 kids aging from 8 to 15. We had a weeks stay at this hotel and couldn’t fault the resort itself. When we arrived, there were only Spanish in the hotel, no Brits abroad anywhere. Sun beds were free constantly throughout the day, even 13 together. The pool d… more

We are a family of 13, 7 adults and 6 kids aging from 8 to 15. We had a weeks stay at this hotel and couldn’t fault the resort itself. When we arrived, there were only Spanish in the hotel, no Brits abroad anywhere. Sun beds were free constantly throughout the day, even 13 together. The pool doesn’t open till 10.30/11 am as it gets cleaned in the morning which gives a nice relaxed vibe. We did notice it was a total shift to what we were use to, the Spanish ate late, (9pm ish) and didn’t make it down to the pool till 11am, then left for siesta times. This meant it never felt overcrowded or busy. Later in the week there was a shift with more British coming, sunbeds did get busier but never too much of an issue to get. The only problem was the queuing for drinks at the snack bar and the evening bar. However, it was a formal queue instead of just standing around a bar waiting to be served so it looks long, but does go down fairly fast. Drinks were always branded spirits and AI cocktails were not too bad, only €3 to upgrade to a posh one if wanted. Entertainment wasn’t great, but we don’t tend to watch it, as kids preferred to play in the mugger. The kids disco didn’t stay till around 10pm, but like I said, everything was relaxed and later with more of a traditional laid back Spanish feel. The pool was lovely, nice and big. The beach is stunning but can be a rough ocean. Not many of the Spanish here speak English, felt very typically Spanish which was lovely. The only thing I would mention is that the location isn’t near anything. A long walk to the small supermarket and a struggle to carry everything back. We did hire the bikes one day but they were awful, easier to walk than bike! We did a trip to Cadiz which was amazing, organised through jet2 rep, who was brilliant! Thank you! We also took a taxi to Chipiona, no English again and very traditionally Spanish. Very pretty, few shops and bars. We struggled to get a taxi back, may of been due to siesta which they take very serious, but we ended up waiting 2 hours for 3 taxis to take us back to the hotel. There are no bars or restaurants around to treat yourselves to a nice meal if you fancy a change from buffet style. That being said, it was also quite nice to not leave the hotel, the food was very good, different bits every night, and I am a very fussy eater! Mass catering as huge hotel, but done very well here. Personally I wouldn’t return only because I like trying different places, however I would say this was a very nice hotel and we all loved our stay here.

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“Clean Hotel”

This isn't a bad review, just an honest one. we all look for different things. Family of 5. I think there had been a mix up with our booking as they couldn't find any trace of ours, luckily I could show on my phone etc so within about half an hour of arriving, we were given our interconnecting fami… more

This isn't a bad review, just an honest one. we all look for different things. Family of 5. I think there had been a mix up with our booking as they couldn't find any trace of ours, luckily I could show on my phone etc so within about half an hour of arriving, we were given our interconnecting family room. The hotel complex is quite huge really, very busy. Lovely pool, particularly liked the shape tbh. Didn't use the spa or gym. Be prepared to wait up to 30 minutes for a table to eat. quite a queue most days. Pool bar, again, on average 20 minute queue. The staff work their socks off, I just felt there wasn't enough staff for the number of visitors. Even reception you could be queuing a while, even just need to ask a simple q. I'm not moaning though! its a lovely hotel, spotless (loo rolls need replacing more often, and coffee pods only topped up on day 4, no clean cups given etc, but minor really) The beach has direct access which was great, the waves are pretty cool! The area itself has no shops as such, about a 20 minute walk is a street with a couple of shops, 3 estate agents, cafe, pharmacy but nowhere really to buy much as such. We hired bikes for a little explore from the hotel which was a nice option. Got a taxi to Rota one day (about 25 euros each way), that made for a nice trip out. The area itself is super peaceful, lots of apartments and kids fitness parks, but that really is about it. I like to be able to pop out to a shop or 2 when away, break up the day, you don't really get that here in my opinion. The hotel has a small shop, which is helpful. Again, lovely hotel, rooms were brilliant, staff work hard. Food was alright, lots of choice, just very busy at mealtimes etc

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