Hotel Fuerte El Rompido Spa

“Good hotel for an extended holiday”

Currently in our 1st week of 2 : third time here with Saga. Contrary to some reviews here, I think the quality and choice of food has continued to improve. The self-serve coffee definitely has. The staff are good and friendly. To our amazement Elena in reception recognised us from last year's visit… more

Currently in our 1st week of 2 : third time here with Saga. Contrary to some reviews here, I think the quality and choice of food has continued to improve. The self-serve coffee definitely has. The staff are good and friendly. To our amazement Elena in reception recognised us from last year's visit with a friendly welcome. Dining room staff are fast and efficient, especially serving drinks to the initial surge of diners on Friday & Saturday. Elisabeth makes a point of greeting everyone as they come and go. One evening I left my bag on the back of my chair and a waitress (don't know her name) found me just as the lift doors were about to close. These are the small touches that make holidays special. I'll update this once we're back home.

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“Vegetarians beware”

We took a Saga holiday at this hotel. The hotel is very good: the staff are very friendly, it is very clean and comfortable and in a great location; you can go birdwatching and walking in a variety of habitats from the door. Unfortunately the food let it down. There was a buffet of uninspiring cant… more

We took a Saga holiday at this hotel. The hotel is very good: the staff are very friendly, it is very clean and comfortable and in a great location; you can go birdwatching and walking in a variety of habitats from the door. Unfortunately the food let it down. There was a buffet of uninspiring canteen style food at breakfast, lunch and dinner and in an area famous for fruit growing most of the fruit on offer came from a tin. We informed the hotel directly and also Saga in advance that we are vegetarians, but we had a real battle to get a hot vegetarian main dish for our evening meal. The chef was either unwilling or unable to create vegetarian dishes or to research suitable recipes. Eventually after several interventions by the Saga rep, who was brilliant in his support for us and his dealings with the hotel management on our behalf, there was something vegetarian on offer in the buffet each evening, but it was mostly a variation on pasta bake. However, we still had problems as food items in the salad bar were poorly or incorrectly labelled eg ‘vegetable burritos’ and ‘vegetable sandwiches’ which had meat in them, mini croissants labelled as containing York cheese had ham in them. Also it was not uncommon to find meat or fish hidden in many dishes eg potato salad with ham in it, mixed leaf salad with tuna hidden amongst the leaves, potato croquets with ham in them, ragout with pieces of meat sausage in it. You would think they had never had vegetarian guests before, but we know that they had.

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“An excellent chilling holiday”

This was advertised by Saga as a bird watching option so we stayed for two weeks, mainly to see flamingoes, which we did especially on the boardwalk adjacent to the hotel. On arrival we did not get the room we paid for, but after some insistence, we got one overlooking the pool. The staff are unf… more

This was advertised by Saga as a bird watching option so we stayed for two weeks, mainly to see flamingoes, which we did especially on the boardwalk adjacent to the hotel. On arrival we did not get the room we paid for, but after some insistence, we got one overlooking the pool. The staff are unfailingly helpful and smiling, the abbreviated entertainment programme under Sunji and Luiza helped occupy the guests, but the only downside is the quality of the food, especially the fish. In the local markets the variety is astonishing but the grilled and cooked fish is disappointing.

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“Great hotel, lovely location but difficult for vegetarians or those with special dietary requirements.”

We stayed for 14 nights on a SAGA all-inclusive package. The hotel is lovely, very clean, with excellent staff & in a great location. It’s not a busy tourist area & there are lots of walks possible straight from the hotel as well as beaches & boat trips. The room was large & comfortable with a balc… more

We stayed for 14 nights on a SAGA all-inclusive package. The hotel is lovely, very clean, with excellent staff & in a great location. It’s not a busy tourist area & there are lots of walks possible straight from the hotel as well as beaches & boat trips. The room was large & comfortable with a balcony over looking the gardens. Our main problem was being vegetarian. All meals were buffet style. We did enquire beforehand with both SAGA & the hotel directly that we were vegetarian & were assured that was not a problem. The breakfasts & lunches were fine but there is no labelling to show what is veggie. Things were often labelled as veg or cheese something but actually had ham or tuna or pieces of sausage mixed in. Even the potato salad had ham in it one day but not another but with the same label. Our main problem was the main course at diner. On the first few nights there was only spaghetti with a tomato sauce. The second night we made a complaint & the chef showed us there were sautéed mushrooms with onion & potato wedges. When I explained that was not really a meal he asked us what we wanted & offered to cook it. That night we had an Omlette. The same thing happened the following night when the pizza had ham on it & everything else was meat or fish. Again the chef made us a veggie pizza which obviously took time & was delivered to our table with no word said, just put down. The SAGA host Chris was excellent after we explained our problem. He obviously pulled some strings & we met with the catering manager & head chef. The manager was fine but it appeared that the head chef was either completely disinterested or couldn’t really see the problem. Things then improved with one thing each night we could have. The feedback from a lady who was coeliac was similar to ours. Other SAGA guests we spoke to described the food as canteen or upmarket school diners & generally thought it was disappointing & repetitive. The catering was to a budget not a standard. There was very little local produce used, which in an area which grows loads of fresh fruit, strawberries & blueberries, was a real disappointment. Most of the fruit at breakfast was canned. In an international hotel where a majority of guests, when we were present, were from the UK or Germany we expected better. It’s such as shame that our holiday was made difficult & stressful when a few changes in labelling & an understanding that not every salad or main needs to have meat or fish in it could have made a difference. Being facetious it would appear that ham is seen as a condiment alongside pepper & salt & not really an ingredient which could offend.

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