Playacálida Soul Collection By Senator

“A little piece of heaven 😊”

This is the first time we have gone on holiday and actually felt refreshed coming home. This is a beautiful part of Spain unspoilt by tourism. The hotel looks exactly like it does in the photos. The infinity pool has to be seen to be appreciated. The photos I tried to take did not do it any justice… more

This is the first time we have gone on holiday and actually felt refreshed coming home. This is a beautiful part of Spain unspoilt by tourism. The hotel looks exactly like it does in the photos. The infinity pool has to be seen to be appreciated. The photos I tried to take did not do it any justice. There was never any issue getting a sunbed around the pool. There were no towels put down early to hold beds, and even if there was, there were still plenty of beds to go around. There is a shack bar by the pool that serves a variety of drinks. A beer was only €2.50. We went half board and with a beer at this price and a glass of wine the same cost you couldn't go wrong. There is a lovely coffee shop facing reception, and it is under €2 for a coffee. The guests are mainly Spanish, as are the staff, which added to our experience as it felt more authentic. The staff are so lovely, and there was no issue with the language barrier. We chose this hotel because we wanted a relaxing break due to ill health and we couldn't have picked anywhere better. We used the spa facilities, and we were blew away by what was on offer and even happier at the cost. €25 for use of all spa facilities for 90 minutes. Food on offer for breakfast and dinner offered a lot of variety and allowed us to taste things we wouldn't normally order. We especially enjoyed having breakfast outside with some processco and fresh orange juice, which was included with the food. We were offered a superior room with a Seaview for €20 a night, and it was worth every penny. The bathroom was spacious, and the beds were big and very comfy. We loved the big fan above the bed it kept the room nice and cool. We had robes and slippers, which were great for sitting out on the balcony at night with a glass of wine looking out at the sea. The room was cleaned every day to a very high standard, as was the rest of the hotel. I seriously cannot recommend this hotel highly enough. I had actually considered not leaving a review because I wanted to keep it for myself. Well done, Playacladia. we will definitely be back next year.

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“Good experience in general, food average.”

When booking these summer hotels we always book only half board and wait to taste the buffet/restaurant, etc.. We had a very bad experience with a full board long time ago and we wanted to be tied to restaurant's buffet. And indeed, here we had similar experience, not terrible but not fulfilling ou… more

When booking these summer hotels we always book only half board and wait to taste the buffet/restaurant, etc.. We had a very bad experience with a full board long time ago and we wanted to be tied to restaurant's buffet. And indeed, here we had similar experience, not terrible but not fulfilling our expectations. Luckily, there are 2-3 restaurants extremely good 10 min walking. Beautiful place.

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“Amazing pools, lovely views, spacious lovely hotel in a quiet coastal area 10 min taxi to lovely town of Almunercar.”

Large spacious hotel, quite grand looking, very clean and tidy. Amazing pools, large infinity pool overlooking the sea with plenty of sun beds and an outside bar. Palm trees everywhere and nice flowers and plants. Plus a jacuzzi. Then another 'River' style fun pool aimed at kids, with slides on the… more

Large spacious hotel, quite grand looking, very clean and tidy. Amazing pools, large infinity pool overlooking the sea with plenty of sun beds and an outside bar. Palm trees everywhere and nice flowers and plants. Plus a jacuzzi. Then another 'River' style fun pool aimed at kids, with slides on the river route, at the other side between hotel walls/court yard contained area, so much more shaded. Also 3 big curly tunnel slides. Also another jacuzzi and a pool bar. Two main large buffet restaurants serving same things (serving breakfast until 10.30, lunch 1pm til 3.30, snacks 5pm til 7pm, dinner 7pm til 10.30pm). The restaurants get very busy and very noisy the longer the service goes on. On couple occasions people had to queue to get in for evening meal after 9pm) We found it best to get in as early as possible and get a table at the back away from the buffet (and clattering of plates amplified by tiled floors - I'm sensory sensitive and found it a bit much). However there is a much quieter and nicer veranda area outside which I found much better and quiet, but obviously no air con and a further walk to and from the buffet! Stay seated when you first get your table and waiting staff will come to take a drinks order. If you miss this, its quite hard to get their attention for a drink later on as so busy. There is a wide selection of foods but can be a bit repetative. Very limited vegetarian mains but it is doable (2 of us vegi) if you like salads and pasta/pizza. Fussy eaters may struggle. There are 4 good restaurant options in walking distance of hotel(see below) if you want a change. We were all inclusive and most basics included (Wine, Cava, beer, Sangria, cola, fizzy lemon or orange, bottled water, slushies, but not cocktails and some selected drinks). Ask to see the drinks menu, front page all included, back page only some things). Bar staff on the whole are not that helpful in explaining, and also not that friendly as some other reviews have mentioned, unlear if this is particularly towards English and/or non-spanish speaking but some certainly lack customer service skills, made worse if you can't speak Spanish. Others (a smaller few) had much better customer service skills and were friendly/made more effort to be nice to English only speakers (and did speak English) It helps to know some Spanish. The area generally is not aimed at English tourists, its a genuine Spanish resort area. So if you are expecting English speakers and English foods, this is not the place for you. You will experience Spanish culture, the town of Almunercar is a 10 min taxi ride (costs 10 Euros). Lovely old town centre with squares for restaurants. Lots of shops. New parts of town as you work outwards. There is one macdonalds if you need it! We avoided. Fridays there's a great market with clothes, bags, jewellery etc. There are a number of beaches and some bars/restaurants in walking distance (10 to 20 mins) from the hotel. If you go out the hotel and then right there is a steep path down to a couple of really nice beach front restaurants (note you need to book ahead for Paella). Or out the hotel and up the sight hill (and uturn down next street at the top) there is a really good pizza/pasta restaurant and another restaurant right next door to it, with lovely outdoor area and cocktail bar. Other tips. Inflatables not allowed in pools. There is a shop at hotel selling beach things, gifts and some toiletries (closed in afternoon). Rooms have a small fridge. Rooms have balconies but only 2 chairs oddly (rooms are for 4 people). There is Aircon but it's not particularly powerful, its cool enough, but it can still feel warm not 'cold' (we went in height of summer) so we had to keep balcony door closed at all times, doesn't really get cold in room until night. Beds have one thin sheet so kids woke up cold. All towels are provided. Bottles of water you can get from the bars in addition to your other drinks (rules state with all inclusive that you can only get a round of drinks up to the number of people in your group, but water is on top of this). There is an beach side aqua park nearby (few mins in a taxi) but the pools at hotel and good enough that we didn't bother. Reception will book you a taxi and also had a bus timetable, there is a bus back and forth along the Road to Almunecar but taxis cheap so we didn't use the bus. Make sure you get the taxi phone number as no taxi ranks, we got dropped off/picked up at the central Tourist Information booth. As easier to explain to taxi where to get picked up from! If you want a relaxing, quiet holiday, spending time round the pools in a quiet area then this is ideal. There's also a mini golf, table tennis and chess at the hotel. Theres a show bar with spanish speaking entertainment. We tended to get a table outside and play games/cards and admire view instead. There are bars and restaurants in the town but we didn't venture out at night with kids (and I would have worried about getting back). There are lovely beaches and parklands/paths to venture around the coast. It is generally too hot in an afternoon (height of summer) and shops etc shut about 2pm. Go out early then relax and cool off in pools in an afternoon. I would give the holiday 8/10 (due to lack of vegi mains, and rudeness of some selected bar staff).

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