4R Salou Park Resort I

“Definitely not 4 star, a 3 at most”

On arrival the checkin was quick and easy, we were on the 7th floor, only two lifts to accommodate a hotel of this size is ridiculous. The flooring layout is mind bending, arrive on the 2nd where the pool and bar are, down to 1 for the restaurant, back up to 2 if you needed the loo whilst having a… more

On arrival the checkin was quick and easy, we were on the 7th floor, only two lifts to accommodate a hotel of this size is ridiculous. The flooring layout is mind bending, arrive on the 2nd where the pool and bar are, down to 1 for the restaurant, back up to 2 if you needed the loo whilst having a meal, down to -1 for the snack bar, go over to the ajoining Hotel for the spa and go down again into the belly of the building. Snack bar limited and used by park salou 1 & 2. We gave up eating in the restaurant, the food was repetative and extremely salty. The coffee was like dish water..... nasty. We had a double room with a beautiful seaview, the beds were very comfortable, the door to the balcony and window in the bathroom didn't lock, my partner not seeing this as an issue but I think they should of. The bathroom was very tired, terribly stained toilet (not of our making) the shower wad grubby but very powerful on a plus. The cistern lid didn't fit properly so looked filthy. There was no loo brush, cleaned up best you could but anything left was down to the cleaners which is awful. A do not disturb sign was put on the door as we like to clean up after ourselves yet this was put back inside the door, the beds straightened and bin emptied, DND means do not come in. The tv had bbc news and one GB cartoon channel, now I know you don't come away to watch tv but both of us were poorly at different times, leaving one alone in the room with nothing to do or watch, a radio station playing some English music kept the walls from closing in for a short while. If you suffer from any mobility issues, please bear in mind that access to the beach is extremely steep or has step after step after step and if it rains both of these become very slippery. Sadly we will not be returning to this hotel and the four stars next to the hotel name should be reduced or taken down.

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“A fair 3 star hotel”

The 4R Salou Park 1 is a 3 star hotel (downgraded from a 4 star earlier this year) located about a twenty minute ride from Reus airport. The hotel sits at the top of a long street lined with shops and bars with access to a small beach towards the rear and down a short path. The hotel shares the poo… more

The 4R Salou Park 1 is a 3 star hotel (downgraded from a 4 star earlier this year) located about a twenty minute ride from Reus airport. The hotel sits at the top of a long street lined with shops and bars with access to a small beach towards the rear and down a short path. The hotel shares the poolside bar and a second pool with its sister hotel (Salou Park 2) located next door. You enter the hotel up some steps and through the main doors to the left which open into a large reception area. We had a short wait before we got checked in. They take a copy of your passport, you pay the resort tax (which varies on the star rating of your hotel and number of nights you are staying) and you have to digitally sign to say you will adhere to the terms and conditions of all inclusive. I found this quite odd because I have never had to do this before and along with all of the other pieces of information you are given, appears to suggest you may be dishonest which I did not feel was very welcoming. The other pieces of information you are given are about the facilities, the all inclusive times and the rules you have to follow. I did find some of the information confusing and conflicting because one document says you have to pay for alcohol during meals and another says it is included so it is quite confusing. NB - I asked about the alcohol situation to a member of staff in the restaurant who looked at me like I was stupid and then she and her colleague shared a joke at my expense as I walked away and they both looked at me and laughed. When you check in, if you are all inclusive, you are given a wristband that has a barcode on it. This is used when you are ordering drinks or food from the poolside bar and it gets scanned every time. If you lose it or it becomes unreadable the hotel reserves the right to not honour all inclusive. The other thing you need to keep safe is the card folder your key card comes in as this has your room number on and you need to show this on entry to the restaurant. To the right of the main reception are two (very slow) lifts, an information screen where you can read about and buy tickets for local attractions. The hotel has 9 floors and we were on the 8th. One of the positives about the hotel was that I found it to be very clean even though in places, it is tired and very worn. We had a double room which also came with a single bed. We paid extra for a balcony view which was worth it because you can see Portaventura in the distance. There is a TV and a remote (showing BBC News in English) as well as a fridge and a chair. There is a desk under the tv that has a mirror above it. It was great that there was a fridge because it was around 28 degrees most days so having access to cold bottles of water were helpful. WiFi is free in the hotel so if you do like to watch something in your room other than news, you may need to take a phone or tablet and connect to the Internet. The room has air conditioning but this only operates when the patio door is fully closed. There is wardrobe space and a safe (charged additionally). The bathroom was large with plenty of towels, a large shower and shower gel and handsoap. I did notice our shower soap dispenser came off the wall but we took our own toiletries anyway so that did not matter. One thing my husband and I did notice was how well we slept during our stay with us both commenting that it was the best night's sleep we had had in months. The room was light and airy and there was enough space for us to potter without being in each other's way. The rooms are cleaned daily unless you put out a 'do not disturb sign' although ours was removed when we still had three days left. You are provided with two plastic glasses in the bathroom but these are disposable and ours were used by us but never replaced so if you are planning to have a drink in your room, you may need to pack some glasses. The lifts are incredibly slow and often really busy which can sometimes be inconvenient if you are on a higher floor. If you walk to the right of reception and passed the lifts, you come to a set of stairs and a lift down to one of the pools and poolside bar. In ten days we were there, the lift was out of service for 8 of them. Going down the stairs takes you to the shared pool and poolside bar which provides food, drinks and ice cream outside of restaurant hours. Some cocktails (all but two from the menu) are included as well as local spirits, beer, wine and sangria. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are also included. The snacks offered at the bar include sandwiches, pizzas, hot dogs, burgers and chips, all included as part of all inclusive. I have to say that the double cheese burger I had was the tastiest I have had in years, freshly made, juicy and hot. All inclusive hours were from 10am until 11pm. The poolside bar also has a small stage that provides home to the evening entertainment which means you have a choice between entertainment from the two different poolsides. Entertainment varies from night to night from the really good (ABBA Girls and Blue Lights Duo) to the random. There was a Michael Jackson "impersonator" that looked like he couldn't be bothered, barely danced, mimed badly and seemed (not to be rude) pointless. That said, when he reappeared on another night, a lady was shouting "we love you Michael" (I did not have the heart to tell her) so maybe it is just my taste which I appreciate is subjective. Entertainment is on every night at both poolsides. The poolside bar is like a well oiled machine meaning it is fast and efficient. Over the chairs there is roofing but this was leaking heavily when we were there meaning some of the chairs got wet. If you are at reception and turn right, you walk through a lounge area where there are several seats and information from tour providers. Toilets are located at the bottom of this lounge with the bar off to the right. Next to the toilets are some stairs which lead down to the games room and the restaurant. The bar backs onto the main pool which has a large amount of internal seating as well as poolside tables. The bar does not do food but does do snacks and ice cream (I think crisps are included as part of all inclusive). The bar space is large and is a comfortable escape from some of the heat. It is also quieter on the night when the entertainment is on so you can sit and watch from further afield. The restaurant is located down the stairs from the main pool bar. Each time you go in, you present your key card holder and they check your room number before you take a seat at a vacant table. Tables are set with linens, cutlery and glasses and self serve drinks are available including juices, sangria, wine and beer. There are condiments available at a station near to the entrance of the restaurant at a pump station. One thing that I found a bit inconvenient was that on a morning, I had to go on the hunt for the brown sauce bottles as there appears to be four bottles for a restaurant that seats a couple of hundred. Although this is a minor issue it did mean I spent about ten minutes each morning trying to find a bottle. The bottles are on the condiment station but people hoard them and do not return them. In one instance, I found a bottle on a table where noone was sat but there was a bowl of porridge. As I opened the bottle to pour some on my plate, a woman returned to the table carrying fruit and glaring at me like I had defiled her garden in some way. If people are going to take the brown sauce and use it at their table, they should have the courtesy to return it once done. It costs nothing to be less selfish. As you enter the restaurant from the main door, the restaurant is split into two parts via some double doors off to the left. As you walk into the main part of the restaurant from the main doors, you will see a selection of starters, salads, pastas, cheeses and meats. Round the corner to the right is a healthy eating section as well as food for children (pasta, chips, nuggets, lasagne etc). There is also soup and a selection of pickles and sauces. Opposite this food is the dessert section including cakes, mousses, tarts and flans. There is a fridge containing yoghurt and a freezer containing ice cream. Walking passed this section, you enter the second part of the restaurant where there is bread and a toaster to your right, additional seating and a hot food counter where some of the food is freshly cooked on the grill. This is the section where your proteins are held including chicken, pork, seafood, beef and turkey. There is usually a potato based option here as well. The food changes daily and there were two themed nights when we were there which matches the food - Mexican and a Hawain themed one. Breakfast is usually the same and consists of cold meats, cheeses, cereal, pastries, yoghurt and breads as well as hot food such as bacon, sausages, eggs, beans and tomatoes (located by the bread in the hot counter part of the restaurant). There is usually cava on ice with glasses so you can enjoy it at your table as well as tea, coffee and juices. The food is what it is and is subject to personal taste. There is enough of it but the quality is not brilliant. We never went hungry and we were able, on the whole, to find and try different things. One of the criticisms I have is that the hot food was mainly cold and unless you are there bang on opening time, food is likely to be cold and there may not be as much option as there would be otherwise. A safety concern I had was around the lack of allergen labelling on the food and the lack of labelling generally. I choose not to eat fish but for someone with an allergy, this is a medical condition that could be fatal if they eat the wrong thing. I ate something that was labelled as "Pollo" with a picture of a chicken on only to find out it was fish when I started eating it. I am not sure how such a mix up could happen because there was nothing in the area pertaining to fish or what it was. For starters in particular, there is a lack of labelling so I was not sure what anything was and did not want to try something (and waste it) if it contained seafood or fish. In terms of allergen labelling, this is done with laminated cards marked with a pen about what allergens were contained. It was hard to see what was marked due to the faintness of the pen and also because where there were multiple dishes, there was not always allergen signs for all of them or it was not clear which card related to which. I think that someone with a food allergy may have difficulty eating safely unless this is improved. It can be a simple fix by using preprinted cards that have the allergens clearly marked. When ingredients change in a dish they can easily be updated to reflect this by replacing that card. Equally, having correct labels in the correct place so people know what they are eating will reduce food waste as people will only eat what they want to rather than thinking they are eating one thing when it is actually another. NB - if eating fish, check for bones as my husband nearly choked on multiple ones in his dish (more than you would generally expect to find). I appreciate that the hotel has a mixed clientele and trying to please everyone is not possible as taste is subjective but I think basic principles of food health and safety are important at preventing people from becoming ill. When we booked this it was billed as a 4 star hotel but we were advised a couple of months before we flew that they were downgrading it to a three star. We were given the chance to change hotels or cancel the holiday and get a refund but we decided to go anyway. I think the downgrade could have been due to the ongoing issues with the upkeep of some of the parts of the hotel (towels were used on the floors to mop up flooding, the poolside bar roof was leaking and there appeared to be similar issues with leaks around the hotel), as well as some of the issues explained around the food. The hotel is a very efficient and effective processing machine that aims to get guests in and out as quickly as possible. The downside to this is that the staff (not all of them) appear to be less interested in providing a good customer experience and more about gossiping with each other and going through the motions. Some of the staff, including the maids and bar staff, were nice but other staff looked at you like you were inconveniencing them when asking them for something. One point to bear in mind is that check out is at 10am and you are able to continue to access food and drink up to just before you are picked up. Reus airport is tiny and it has a pub/restaurant in there, a small duty free and a sandwich/drink shop. There are vending machines as well for crisps and pop. If you can take advantage of all inclusive before going to the airport then I would recommend that to save money at the airport or when on the plane. There are water fountains at the airport so you can fill up an empty bottle. The hotel lacks personality and warmth in my opinion but I cannot complain because you get what you pay for and I would not expect 5 star service at a 3 star level. For 10 nights, all inclusive for two of us at a cost of around £1800, I think we got exactly what we expected for what we paid. I think the hotel offers a fair 3 star approach and experience suitable for families and couples alike. Its location is good with there being local shops and bars, as well as the beach behind it and being a short walk to the centre of Salou. I think the food is plentiful and enough and that the hotel is generally, clean and tidy. For families with young children, I think that this is a cost effective way of ensuring you are not having to spend a lot of additional money and equally, for those, like us, that like to drink, it worked out the same for us. I think we made a mistake by going for 10 days because it felt too long and with the heat averaging around 28 degrees, we were ready for home by day 7. Most people in the hotel appeared to be there for 7 days or less so maybe we should have taken a leaf out of their book and stayed less. Would we stay there again? Knowing what we know and having a realistic expectation of it, yes. It is what it is, nothing more and nothing less.

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“4R Salou Park Resort I”

Arrived early and had to wait four hours to check in for our eleven night stay. The hotel is in a good location, albeit up a hill with good views of the sea. We were on floor seven. We booked half board and when we went for breakfast/dinner as per the package we were told we had to pay for soft dr… more

Arrived early and had to wait four hours to check in for our eleven night stay. The hotel is in a good location, albeit up a hill with good views of the sea. We were on floor seven. We booked half board and when we went for breakfast/dinner as per the package we were told we had to pay for soft drinks/water separately as that was not included. We challenged this because surely if you’re having a meal you would expect a soft drink/water with it but they wouldn’t listen. The woman who asks for your room number in the restaurant was rude and spoke to me as if I were a child. I had to remind her it was a hotel, I was not at school and that I am 58 years of age and not 12. We were warned about the food by other guests when we got there. Breakfast was the same every day, bacon was poor and streaky. Dinner was hit and miss and we ate out a few times as a result. The room was presented clean and tidy. We had the cleaners come in a few times thinking they would clean the room. They just made the beds, emptied the bins, put out clean towels and put more loo roll in the toilet. Bath towels are more like large hand towels rather than bath towels. The floors were not cleaned or the balcony floor during the 11 night stay. The dressing table was damaged, the shower leaked and was mouldy at the base and the air conditioning didn’t work. We reported the air conditioning to reception on the first day and was informed it would be fixed that day. It was still not looked at when we checked out! The lifts were small and very slow so we had to wait ages for them. Good luck with getting a sun lounger unless youre up with the larks! People reserving them with the usual towels thrown over and then going out for the day. Same with tables for the entertainment at the night. People putting drinks and fag packets on the tables then going for dinner. Informed the chaps on reception and they fobbed it off as one of them things. Not much help at all. Personally, If I’d have worked there I’d have took the items away and given decent people a chance to get a lounger/table. Entertainment was hit and miss. One of the best nights was the Karaoke night. Some of the other entertainment was not so good. The last night with the American chap playing the electric piano’s was great! Bingo was provided and free. However, I think the caller needs lessons in bingo calling as there was no enthusiasm, atmosphere when calling numbers and often monotone and very quiet. Prizes were a small t shirt or a small canvass bag or a bottle of fizzy water! Salou itself was ok. Lots of shops and eateries and the beaches were nice. The main streets were busy however, we were fed up with being asked by the obvious drug dealers hanging about the streets and blatantly asking if we wanted drugs! The police who were present didn’t seem care about this blatant act! Violetta and Irene at reception were most helpful in terms of providing information about the area and helping with the transfer back to the airport. However one of the male reception staff tried to interfere with the help from Irene by fobbing us off to sort it ourselves. Would we go again to the hotel? For the location, yes. For the service provided, No. No disrespect to Violetta and Irene at reception. The hotel is more like a mid-range 3 star hotel certainly not 4 star! Would we go again to Salou? No, as one week was be more than enough.

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