Lopesan Baobab Resort

“It was OK”

Visited as a family. The hotel is lovely but the food is really bad. It’s one of the worst foods I’ve had on holiday in a number of years. Everything you try will be luke warm, not hot and the quality and cleanliness is questionable. Would go bed&breakfast if we returned and lots of lovely restaura… more

Visited as a family. The hotel is lovely but the food is really bad. It’s one of the worst foods I’ve had on holiday in a number of years. Everything you try will be luke warm, not hot and the quality and cleanliness is questionable. Would go bed&breakfast if we returned and lots of lovely restaurants within walking distance and so reasonably priced. We had a family room, very spacious but tired in areas. Overall, I wouldn’t hurry back for the price point we paid.

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“Mixed experience.”

My partner and I were looking for something comparable to the Grecotel Luxme hotel chain, and somewhere outside of Greece for a change. The good .... - the buffet is a high standard and better than some four and five star resorts we've travelled to, and a nice variety of options. The freshly cook… more

My partner and I were looking for something comparable to the Grecotel Luxme hotel chain, and somewhere outside of Greece for a change. The good .... - the buffet is a high standard and better than some four and five star resorts we've travelled to, and a nice variety of options. The freshly cooked fish every night was delightful. - the restaurant staff are lovely and always trying to make the experience better. - the lazy river is wonderful. It has a gentle current, and is about 20 minutes to do a full loop if you don't paddle - quite chilly in the mornings though! - the standard bedroom was huge, and we also loved having separate toilet and shower rooms. The water was always hot for the showers and the provided body wash smelled lovely. - having a bracelet connected to your account was helpful, as you didn't have to carry around a debit card or a room key. This acted as both. - we brought some floating chairs from amazon and they proved to be absolutely perfect for the lazy river. - we loved seeing the turtles every day, and the birds chirping outside our room was a lovely atmosphere to wake up to. The bad... - parts of the resort are quite tired, as described in other reviews. My partner cut his hand on some tiles in the pool, and I scraped my knee on the bottom of the pool in a more shallow spot. The desk chair in our room was worn (flaking faux leather) and we had some mould on the ceiling. - the daily cleaning was more of a lick and a promise, though the staff were lovely. - the check-in staff are not welcoming. - having a dress code for dinner is quite an antiquated idea and didn't suit how we like to travel (of course, we wouldn't wear swim-wear to dinner, but do men reeeeeallly need to wear closed-toed shoes and trousers when it's warm?) - we would probably go half-board next time (we went full-board), as leaving the poolside at the middle of the day to go put regular clothes back on was more faff than it was worth. If you're hungry, you can get food from the beach bars (and pay for it with your bracelet). - it would have been nice to have in-room coffee/kettle/iron. - the rooms are very dark, everywhere. There isn't enough lighting. Don't plan to shave your legs while here, you won't be able to see properly. - the vibes are, as the kids say, mid. It feels very old fashioned in a lot of ways and not quite as relaxing as some holidays we've been on because of this. We seldomly saw staff next to the pool (even though we lived there for a week), and it didn't feel like there was much "above and beyond" that one would hope for at a five-star establishment. I asked for ice at the pool bar and was refused, and then given some when I indicated that it was for an injury, not for consumption. - though they don't encourage reserving a deck chair, I would recommend it. It is difficult to find a spot with an umbrella after breakfast otherwise. The ugly... - the pool tiles are really coming away at the edges (so, I wouldn't suggest getting in to the lazy river at any point outside of the ladders, which there are plenty). - there isn't a tonne of things to see and or do outside of the resort. There was a lot of construction at the waters edge nearest to the resort when we were there (there isn't a sandy beach on your doorstep, it's a cliff) - we went to Puerto Mogan on Friday for the market, and found it mostly to be cheap tat. Save your holiday time and skip it. We lucked out with the public buses and didn't wait long for one, but think we were really fortunate as other passengers waited over an hour.

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“Champagne Check-In, Nescafé Breakfast, An honest review of a 4*ish star resort.”

We’ve just returned from a fantastic week away with our two young children (aged 2 and 4). We’re in our mid-to-late 30s and have been lucky enough to stay in some amazing hotels around the world. There’s quite a clear split between the good and the bad, which I’ll try to outline as fairly as possi… more

We’ve just returned from a fantastic week away with our two young children (aged 2 and 4). We’re in our mid-to-late 30s and have been lucky enough to stay in some amazing hotels around the world. There’s quite a clear split between the good and the bad, which I’ll try to outline as fairly as possible. The Good The Baobab is, without question, one of the most visually striking hotels we’ve ever stayed in. The main entrance genuinely feels like stepping into another world. The theming is fantastic—our kids (and us!) were really impressed. Check-in was seamless. We were welcomed with a glass of bubbles and juice for the kids, and our Junior Suite (Unique) was ready on arrival. Our luggage was delivered promptly. The Junior Suite itself was huge and definitely worth the upgrade (around £800 for the week including Unique benefits). I had requested a top-floor room but we were allocated the second floor with a garden view—which we understand isn’t always guaranteed. The pools are enormous and, surprisingly, not too cold. In fact, it often felt colder getting out due to the breeze. The “Unique” guest area with reserved sunbeds is a real advantage, as by 9am most beds across the resort are taken. Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t seem to enforce a towel policy, which leads to the usual frustration of reserved-but-unused beds. Breakfast for Unique guests is à la carte, which makes for a much calmer start to the day (more on food later). The staff across the resort—bar one exception—were fantastic. They engaged brilliantly with both the children and us, and genuinely seemed to care about guest experience. Drink prices were also reasonable: around £4.50 for a beer and under £10 for most cocktails. Compared to the Middle East (where we usually travel), this was very welcome. Quality was consistently good too. We opted for the half board plus package and ate at Ankara, Ovo, and Callao (twice). The food and service in these specialty restaurants were excellent. The hotel is also well located—just a 7–8 minute walk to the beach and promenade. The Bad Unfortunately, the food outside of the specialty restaurants was disappointing. The buffet was limited and repetitive. We only used it once for lunch and dinner. Breakfast was just about acceptable but nowhere near 5-star standard—more like a 3–4 star experience. There was no fresh yogurt (only pre-packaged pots), no proper table coffee service (just self-serve machines with long-life milk), limited fruit, and a poor selection of pastries and bread. The hot food was inconsistent—burnt pancakes, inedible sausages, and overcooked Spanish omelettes. The poached eggs were reliably runny though, which was a plus. Poolside food was particularly poor—more like low-end theme park quality. The menu was very limited (burgers, pizza, hot dogs), and everything felt mass-produced and frozen. After the first day, we chose to eat lunch down by the beach, where there are some lovely options. Poolside service was also stretched. The staff who were there were great, but clearly too few to cover such a large area. The bar often had just one overwhelmed staff member. This feels like an easy fix, and the hotel is likely losing revenue because of it—we would certainly have spent more if service was quicker. The Biggest Issue: Front Desk & Service Our main frustration was with the front desk, where service fell well below expectations for a 5-star resort. On day one, we reported several issues: no iron (despite it being a “Unique” perk), a broken Nespresso machine, and non-functioning phones in the room. It took three days to get an iron—and when it finally arrived, it was broken and leaked water. In the meantime, I requested some clothes to be pressed (confirmed as complimentary), but this was poorly handled. Despite repeated follow-ups, the clothes were returned late (after we had already left for dinner), and I was initially charged for the service. Communication was difficult due to the broken phones, meaning multiple unnecessary trips to reception. There was little sense of urgency or ownership, and apologies were minimal. Turndown service—also included in the Unique package—didn’t happen once during our stay. Instead, we were occasionally handed low-calorie chocolate bars at the door. Even on evenings when we left the room early, no service was carried out. Oddly, staff still entered the room to remove the key card, turning off the air conditioning. Housekeeping was also inconsistent. Dirty cups were left behind, floors weren’t cleaned properly, toiletries weren’t replenished, and used milk cartons were left in the room. We always try to be respectful and tidy to make things easier, so this was disappointing. Overall This was very much a holiday of two halves. If the service and operational issues were resolved, I’d be recommending this hotel without hesitation—it really does have the potential to be outstanding. However, these recurring problems made the experience frustrating at times. I’m undecided on whether we would return. We had considered trying the resort across the road (Costa Meloneras) which is the sister hotel but this experience has made us question whether it might be more of the same?

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