El Cid Marina Beach Hotel

“Great!”

I liked playing the darts game because the activities personnel are friendly and fun! They take time to talk and visit with you! Very helpful and friendly! The facilities are great! Lots of room to enjoy yourself! The food is great and they make sure to offer usbeverages when they see we are runnin… more

I liked playing the darts game because the activities personnel are friendly and fun! They take time to talk and visit with you! Very helpful and friendly! The facilities are great! Lots of room to enjoy yourself! The food is great and they make sure to offer usbeverages when they see we are running low this is a great resort to relax and enjoy the scenery!

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“Worth the trip!”

The food is excellent, variety strong, service far better than average (particularly Pedro at the French restaurant). There are many different pools that appeal to different groups. The only problem is at the adults only pool where lots of people don't act like adults. At one point there were seven… more

The food is excellent, variety strong, service far better than average (particularly Pedro at the French restaurant). There are many different pools that appeal to different groups. The only problem is at the adults only pool where lots of people don't act like adults. At one point there were seven different boom boxes playing. That takes away from our experience and needs to be dealt with by the staff. Not by the paying customers.

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“Needs to retrain in customer service”

This trip was not up to par like previous visits. Servers,maids are always on their phone. Constantly trying to get their attention. Even have to get up from table to the bar service area and ask for a drink that I ordered 10 min ago with only less than 10 patrons in pool area. And we are tippers! … more

This trip was not up to par like previous visits. Servers,maids are always on their phone. Constantly trying to get their attention. Even have to get up from table to the bar service area and ask for a drink that I ordered 10 min ago with only less than 10 patrons in pool area. And we are tippers! So by no means am I stingy lol. Even when asking a general question, the servers were still texting or scrolling instead of acknowledging me. It really saddens me because I have never experienced this unprofessionalism. Thankfully the food remains very good! Next trip next year, we will be going to another location.

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“A nice, warm place, but lots of irritants.”

First know that this resort DOES NOT have a swimmable beach (no matter what pictures you see). If you want to walk from your room to the beach, book at another hotel. If you have a boat you need to moor, this place is great. Second, avoid the membership sales sessions unless you have a six fi… more

First know that this resort DOES NOT have a swimmable beach (no matter what pictures you see). If you want to walk from your room to the beach, book at another hotel. If you have a boat you need to moor, this place is great. Second, avoid the membership sales sessions unless you have a six figure sum sitting in a bank account and you are willing to spend it on a 20 year world-wide membership - not a time-share - you have no equity in this program. If you do sit through the 90 minutes, beware of the math in the pitch, and remember the quote they give you for the annual maintenance fees, which strangely are close to your current annual vacation costs, do not include airfare. The room was very nice and the staff good and friendly. The food was good enough, occasionally excellent. There is the predictable array of steam tables and a small salad bar. There is no carvery. There are two grills, but not always both operating. Restaurant bookings are hard to get. Food at the pool bar closest to the ocean has a better menu than the other one, which is more a snack bar. I am puzzled about why they don't put nets around the outdoor eating areas, as do other resorts. We were constantly plagued by doves, grackles and blackbirds while we were eating. We watched a grackle steal a shrimp off a plate at the grill before the waiter could come to pick it up. They are pests and bird poop just isn't sanitary. They do employ a couple of falconers who come along with hawks to scare away the birds, but the birds just come back. The most annoying thing is the need to have a bar/restaurant bill for everything you consume. You are constantly tracked. Sit down for a drink and you will be scanned, and you have to ask for and wait for the bill to be presented, so that you can sign it and provide a tip, which can be in cash. We had an instance where we had neglected to sign the bill in the lounge before we went in to dinner, and the waiter had to go close that tab, before he could scan us for the meal. It is highly intrusive and tiresome. Unlike other resorts we've stayed in, there is no obvious entertainment program, apart from a pianist in the dining room. If you want entertainment, most of the bars and restaurants in the town (close to the sister hotels) have musicians. As others have written, there are no drinks stocked in the refrigerators (unless you want to pay for them as part of room service). You can pick up bottled water at the bars, and you need to take a travel mug/bottle, to take other drinks from the bars to your room. There are no plastic or paper take away cups to take coffee or tea from the restaurant to your room. There was a kitchenette in the room, so if you had your own coffee, you could make it. But this is an all-inclusive, and other all-inclusives include in-room drinks, the entertainment, the take away coffee, etc. Perhaps the be best thing about the resort is that the grounds are extremely well kept. Many people go to this resort repeatedly - it is in a beautiful setting and better than snow and ice and it's about 5.5 hours flying time from Alberta.

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