PLAYABALLENA SPA HOTEL

Alright. So we’ll start with the aesthetics. The hotel is gorgeous. I’m not gonna lie. Probably one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been to. That includes the ones in the USA. The amenities here are terrible though. How does an all-inclusive resort have no washers or dryers to do your laundry? The closest laundromat is in Rota. 20 minutes away. There is no gym. And the worst aspect is that it has no air conditioning. How does a hotel in a location where it easily reaches 95 F here in southern Spain have no AC? Everyone with me was sweating all night. This is 2021. Good luck charging anything when you leave because the keycard is your source of power to the rooms. The showers spray water all over the door because there is only half a shower door. On a side note, they do have a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food isn’t great but I guess it could be worse. They do shows at night in the ballroom and they are really good and the arcade is pretty cool. The swimming pool is gorgeous but closes rather early. The jacuzzi by pool is way to cold to be jacuzzi but it’s better than nothing. I speak for the 40 people that traveled with me. Please fix these things!

Terrible experience from reception staff.

The people from the hotel are mostly Spanish which is nice but communication is a issue if you are coming from another country and don't speak the language.

I asked for help from the hotel staff a number of times and the staff know nothing. No help at all. Laura is the only helpful one.

I complained to the manager and said that one of your colleagues didn't help when I asked about any transfers, bus routes, things to do in the area, sites to visit etc. She simply said no and she doesn't know anything. The next day I saw a train ride outside the hotel so very frustrated to hear no-one at reception knew about this.

I explained to the manager my frustration and he was rude and abrupt. All he kept said was, we are not a tourist company and I explained if someone is asking for help and advice in the area the staff should know. He didn't even say sorry despite me saying I'm unhappy with my stay.

We booked though TUI (PLS DONT BOOK WITH THEM) and no reps came during our 7 day stay.

The all inclusive option is ok but you don't get the nestle ice creams just 2 basic ice cream flavour pots (considering you pay a lot for all inclusive silly the nestle ice cream isn't included). Cakes are also not included.

Location is nice, near the beach and all inclusive food is ok.

Sadly to say this hotel should NOT have 4 starts, not even 3. I reserved the Suit for my wedding and after multiple communication with management and reservation to request a room on the 3rd floor, it still didn't happen. Thinking the 2nd floor would be similar I came to find that the room smelled like sewage, sofas stained, wood had water damage and many elements in the closet broken and rotten. The room was so sad and outdated. The reception team is nice when nothing is wrong but when something is wrong they just fight you saying it's not their fault. Very unprofessional. We brought so many guests to this hotel and it was disappointing that they didn't make more of an effort for the Bride, on my special day. We wrote the manager multiple time but never received a response and now I am not allowed to review the hotel directly on their site. Save yourself the disappointment and reserve the other hotels near by such as Barcelo and Best Hotel Costa Ballena, you will be much happier.

No in-room wifi, the only good connection is in the lobby. besides the beach and a small strip mall about .5 miles away there is nothing near this area. No easy access to groceries either. The hotel buffet is extremely wasteful. Employees were always wonderful though, professional and often bi/tri lingual.