SBH Hotel Royal Mónica

“GOOD HOLIDAY ,HOTEL COULD OF BEEN BETTER”

Arrived around 8:30 pm, check-in was not the best. Receptionist was not the friendliest or helpful, these are your rooms (party of 5 ,3 rooms) no real directions, no site map, site quite large and it was dark! Eventually found my room ,we had been given a family sea view double. Room was a great si… more

Arrived around 8:30 pm, check-in was not the best. Receptionist was not the friendliest or helpful, these are your rooms (party of 5 ,3 rooms) no real directions, no site map, site quite large and it was dark! Eventually found my room ,we had been given a family sea view double. Room was a great size ,but could do with some TLC. Bed was 2 singles pushed together ,not ideal but very comfortable. Bathroom sizeable with over bath shower ,sink ,toilet and hairdryer. Large balcony looking out see was lovely. We had just enough time to sample the all inclusive evening selection, which i have to say was not bad, good selection of meat, fish .pasta and salad and sweets/deserts. EVENING MEALS FINISH 21.15. Breakfast again offered a good selection of both hot and cold options. POOLS .2 pools and a kiddies pool in a separate area. Plenty of sunbeds around pools and also sheltered sunbathing areas with sunbeds along sea front for use of hotel guests. POOL BAR. Open10.30 -23.00 , snacks (burgers, chips and ham and cheese toasties) available 12.30 is until 17.00. his where evening entertainment is held.TO BE AWARE this building and the pools are set away from the main hotel, so if you are not so mobile it is not ideal. Only 2 drinks person served at any one visit to the bar. There is another bar that is very close to the restaurant but is not manned , there are self service wine dispenser and beer pump, cannot think why this area is not put to better use. Overall the food was good at all mealtimes, the drinks were plentiful and free. The staff in the main were pleasant and tried their best(some spoke very little English). The hotel itself is a little out of it, being probably the last Hotel in Playa Blanca, very close to the Lighthouse. Not a problem if you want a quiet time. Playa Blanca harbour and town is a pleasant 1 hour stroll, Rubicon is about another half an hour walk further on. Taxi's are a problem, being so far out , we waited over 3/4 hour after booking one along with with other families with taxi's taking over an hour especially on market days, i suspect larger hotels and airport runs take most taxi's .Checkout was no hassle 11.00am and there is a locked luggage room. Overall we had a good holiday ,would i go back to this hotel ,possibly. Just a note to bear in mind the brits are a minority at this hotel, mainly French ,German and Dutch ,again this did not bother me in fact it was quite nice to hear different languages. Lots of slopes ,steps around he hotel, there is a small shop on site selling water ,souvenirs ,tobacco products.

less

“Only a 3 star. Good if you wanted a bed to sleep for the night if you were to hire a car and travelled around the island.”

Arrived about 11.30 at night. Given the key to room 1019, ground floor. Directions given were not clear by the receptionist. All I needed after a long day of travelling. Managed to find it eventually. Room with 2 single beds pushed together. It's very clean, but very out of date. Towels were old an… more

Arrived about 11.30 at night. Given the key to room 1019, ground floor. Directions given were not clear by the receptionist. All I needed after a long day of travelling. Managed to find it eventually. Room with 2 single beds pushed together. It's very clean, but very out of date. Towels were old and thin in patches. The sliding patio door was a nightmare to shut. The frame wasn't that secure. Agree with previous comments regarding food. Wasn't the hottest beans always cold. Only one toaster for all in the main restaurant which causes a que, and only one counter with a few different ice-creams which again, causes a que. Beach bar by the pool was so out of date and positioned quite far away for some. No beach here. Rocks and definitely not safe to swim in. The seafront, as they call it, has a public walkway with joggers from early in the morning til evening. I was a bit concerned about being on my own at night and so close to the walkway. It was ok. There is a lot of noise at night. People above me, next door and outside. Take earplugs. The TV had no English channels. I did not pay a deposit for a remote control for the air con. In this day and age, it's not heard of. The room definitely needs a mini fridge and kettle. There is no information pack at all in the room. There's not much info in reception. To get to the beaches, marina or bus station, you need to catch the number 30 bus at Faro Park 10 minutes from the Hotel. The small area for kids looks unsafe. The toddlers pool is next door to the main pool, so not ideal if you have children of different ages if you want to keep an eye on them. The new photos that have been updated on the website are not realistic. There are showers by the pool. In one block, only one shower. The other block had 3 showers but only one working. The paths around the whole site were not even and needed repairing. Not for those that have walking difficulties. Check out is 11 am. My transport was as 18.40 so I had to wait in the reception area. I asked to use the complimentary room to shower in after sitting by the pool all day, but was told they had none and use the shower by the pool which had no privacy. This could be a good hotel if money was put into it. Needs so much updating and basics in the rooms such as kettle and mini fridge. No deposit for a remote controller for air con and a tv with English channels. WiFi was basically non existent. Hotel is definitely no more than 3 stars. Food is ok, but waiting for some food to come out took ages. Food could be cold.

less

“Ok for what we paid”

Honest review , no where near as bad as people make out! Pool area is clean and plenty sunbeds , rooms dated but spotless and everything you need , WiFi pretty non existent unless at pool . Food- breakfast had everything you would expect at. Spanish AI my only mind was the amount of fat/oil off… more

Honest review , no where near as bad as people make out! Pool area is clean and plenty sunbeds , rooms dated but spotless and everything you need , WiFi pretty non existent unless at pool . Food- breakfast had everything you would expect at. Spanish AI my only mind was the amount of fat/oil off the bacon and the time it took them to refill finished items. Lunch- restaurant always had plenty selection only one day out of 7 was nothing I liked. Evening meal, plenty of choice and all food labelled. Managed to get something to eat every time. One thing that was overall dissatisfying with the food was the temperature of it, lukewarm warm at every service, including the snack bar. my sister even had beans one morning that felt like they came straight out the fridge! They could also be done with another toaster a standard 4 slice household toaster is no where enough for the amount of guests! Evening Entertainment wise we can’t comment as we didn’t go they always had something advertised but wasn’t to our taste ballet etc. Day entertainment/ staff organised activities randomly for example we had seen no staff during the day for our first 3 days then they just randomly appeared one morning with a pool dance.. There is 2 bars on the complex but one nearest blocks 1/2/3/4 is only open for 2 hours a day! Which is a pain as it’s a fair walk back and forth to other bar for a drink if any sort. Hotel is a good bit out of playa Blanca but can jump on the bus and be at the marina within 15mins costing 1.40euro each or a taxi is 6/7 euro. If your looking for some where to relax and chill then this is perfect. See view rooms are amazing

less