| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Deborah from County Durham travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Our holiday was only £800 including flights and so we were nervous about what we would get for our money. We needn't have worried and wished we hadn't read half of the comments on this page. It was perfect for our needs. We upgraded to half board which wasn't fantastic grub but it beats cooking it yourself in the middle of August! The breakfasts, BBQ, Paella, the Dino salad and the lemon cake were delicious. Staff were friendly enough but the best part were the people we were lucky to be holidaying with. Very pleasant people with families who were all out to enjoy their holidays with their children. The hotel was a few minutes walk from the beach and a small park shaded under the trees was perfect for our son. The resort was extremely clean and while it does not boast a lot to do (older teenagers might struggle)there was enough for us in our two weeks. We would recommend the BBQ, the ice cream shops, Paul the entertainments manager who was very knowledgable, friendly and honest (a geordie) and had bits and pieces on to keep us going. We did the bike ride which was a highlight for us and we would often take a pleasant walk along to the marina and watch the fisherman bring in their catch. We would like to have seen a disco for the little ones early on in the evening, and a swimming pool that was a little less bracing (however when you are hot all you want is cold so....). If you want beautiful clean beaches, a nature reserve on your doorstep, a marina, a few shops, quaint towns to visit and a mixture of French,Dutch and German people to add to the cosmopolitan feel of your resort you will be pleasantly surprised. If, however, you need a MacDonalds, British pubs blasting out Del Boy and Chubby Brown, x-rated tacky souvinirs, indoor swimming pool and night clubs avoid this like the plague!
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Beverley Wootton from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at Festamar when we first went abroad in 2001 and loved it. Very close to the beach and clean, friendly staff etc. Decided to go back this year for 6 days with our 14 year old son and booked a 1 bedroomed apartment for 7 nights (so we had the benefit of the room right up until our departure which was late on day 6) My son met several other youngsters there aged between 12 and 16 and they got involved in the football, swimming and pool competitions etc and were having a great time. The staff at the hotel were on the whole fairly pleasant although we didn't need to see them apart from check in & check out.
I would warn all families to avoid Dino's bar which is attached to the apartment complex but apparently a separate entity as far as responsibility goes. The children were made to wait between 50 minutes and 1 hour for food due to children with their parents being given priority. Priority was also given to anyone French staying in hotels opposite who went to Dino's for their half board food. On our last day two children, including my 14 year old son, were awaiting food (50 mins) and were staring at the lady working behind the bar who did no more than make a middle fingered gesture to them. I witnessed this happening and was less than pleased. I asked her to apologise to the boys and was subjected to a barage of abuse in Spanish from her. The hotel reception staff didn't want to know and the Thomson Rep was never anywhere to be found. Overall it ruined our time in Spain and I will never stay at the Festamar Apartments again.
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paul from birkenhead travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a friends holiday.
There were 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel nice and clean,2 minutes from beach,nice staff,usual british entertainment(bingo,karaoke,
kids party games),and also some games for the adults d
aft enough to let their kids get them on the stage,but on holiday it,s all in the
name of fun
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Suzy Hall from Edinburgh travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a friends holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were a bit dubious after reading some of the reports on here but our fears were unfounded. The Festemar was a wonderful place to visit.
We travelled on a self-catering basis but upgraded to half board once we arrived as the food is quite expensive in L'Estartit. Half board consists of 5 days and 5 nights breakfast and evening meal. The breakfast is a buffet style with full English and your cereal, crossiants etc! The evening meal is a set menu with choices and you can have one starter, on main course, dessert and a drink. I have to say the food was absolutely delicious and the lemon mousse is to die for! All food is made on the premises and if you go try the tuna bake also delicious. There is a BBQ on the Friday and to be honest I do not know how everyone managed to eat everything put on their plate - boy do these guys know how to feed you.
We arrived during the night and were able to get into our rooms pretty quickly. Our night flight home was 3.20 a.m and we were not picked up till 1 a.m. We did enquire about keeping the room on but it was 35 euros and you could only keep it till 5 o'clock!!! That was a bit annoying especially considering we had an 8,7 and 3 year old. They do have a luggage room and a courtesy shower room BUT THEY DO NOT PROVIDE TOWELS!
The rooms are fine and we received clean towels 3 times out of the week we were there. The maids do not do anything else in the room - not even collect rubbish although we had bagged and tied it. We realised on the last day that you are expected to put your rubbish in the green bin downstairs!!
The pool is a good size with separate children's pool with steps leading down. The pool is cold but once you are in you do not notice. It is a welcome "cool down" if it is very hot!
Entertainment is good - usual apartment style entertainment. Paul the entertainments manager is a lovely chap though and very knowledgeable and helpful re the area in general. See Paul for upgrade to Half Board also! We had disco, karaoke, magic show (which was amazing!!).
My daughter turned 8 whilst she was there and they arranged for her to get a kids cocktail. The bar manager Salvador ordered a cake for me and the magician presented it to her - very nice and very much appreciated by us!!
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Graeme from Cumbernauld travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in Festamar Apartments. Through Thomsons we requested a late check out and a pool view, both of which were honoured. Upon arrival we were already assigned a room and handed a key by the staff who were very friendly, even though it was 1:30am local time.
The apartment was on the top floor, facing east so we had sunshine on the balcony til mid afternoon.
The apartment was basic layout with kitchen/lounge together and bathroom and bedroom to the left as you walk in. The videos of the apartments [found elsewhere on the web] are fairly accurate, although we were pleasantly surprised when we saw it in real life. It is not the lap of luxury or the most modern apartment in the world, and I would class it in the same bracket as a 2 star tourist class hotel.
The apartment was well kitted out with kitchen utensils, cutlery, crockery, glasses, electric cooker [idiot proof], microwave. There was no grill or oven but then they would be difficult to keep clean. There was a small welcome pack with a scrubber, 2 small cloths and a single serving of washing up liquid.
The lounge had a dining table [chairs were wicker, too small and not very comfy], sofa bed [again not greatly comfy but adequate], sideboard, TV. The TV had BBC News 24 and BBC 1, along with channels from Belgium, France and about 5 Spanish channels.
The bedroom was spacious enough, had a large wardrobe which had iron/board to use, hangers, extra blankets and a chest of drawers. The beds were comfortable and the sheets changed by the maids one day. As per previous reviews the sheets are left for you to re-make your bed.
The balcony was spacious enough and had a standard plastic patio furniture set of 4 chairs and a table. There was also a clothes horse for hanging your towels out etc. I didn't see any laundry facilities, but didn't need any during our stay.
The bathroom again is adequate size and does the job. The water ranged from scalding hot to cold. To be safe put the mixer to the middle before pulling it out to put the tap on and wait a second before using the water. Our sink tap had a small leak and the shelf part did not run water into the bowl, which resulted in a puddle on the ground. It did not really cause us any bother though. The shower was powerful and refreshing.
Outside the apartment there is a pool, with a separate shallow pool for young children. The pool is not heated and is pretty cold, but does the job. We found loungers were free but I think other reports said you had to hire them from the reception. We were never challenged, so we never paid for them. The decking has good sun from around 10am until 5pm. It is longer next door at FestaPlaya's pool, but FestaMar residents are not allowed in there.
Within FestaMar there was Dino's bar, which again has been commented on before. It offers food but the range was not tremendous. Their toasties are good for a snack but the main meal was ok. There are better places to eat in the town so we stayed away mostly. The average for a beer was about 2.50. Their half board menu offered a choice of 4 meals so it might be better to go self catering.
The entertainment at Dinos seems to have been exaggerated a bit in previous reports. Although Roy the DJ did do a decent pub quiz, he was only there a couple of our nights. The rest of the time just seemed to be the same old holiday music over and over, with some shady megamixes thrown in. And karaoke....
The apartments with pool views all look into the "square" between FestaMar and the next door complex Festa Playa. In this there are two outdoor terraces for Dino's and Cafe Barracuda. This is fine as you either get sun in the morning or evening depending what side you are on, although the entertainment can go on until 1am, or 1:30am as it was on the Friday. If you are looking for peace and quiet at night this might be a problem for you. Outward facing apartments all look onto other apartments or towards the beach, overlooking a campsite on the south facing apartments.
The apartment overall did the job for us. It was clean and in decent condition, aside from some peeling paint and the odd dent or scratch here or there. There were a good mix of clientelle at the apartments from very young couples with babies to older couples, full families, friends, etc.
Late check out and a luggage room are on offer. There is also a kid-zone type creche but it is downstairs in a basement, but I dont know if it is good or not.
FestaMar was definitely not a place for the 18-30 type holidaymaker - neither the resort or apartments are geared up for it. If that is your thing don't go here. If you are after a short break in the sun, in a quiet-ish resort at a reasonable price this might well be for you.
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wood from Chesterfield travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Festamar apartments were very noisy, you can hear all surrounding rooms. Staying on the ground floor near to Dino's bar was bad, you'd get kids running from the pool area through the corridoor into the bar all night long.
Didnt really rate the food in Dino's bar cheap English style. And on second to last day couldnt get any food as they were jet spraying kitchen down ready to close for the winter, hope the people departing four days after us got fed! Ran out of all draughts and only had limited bottles.
DJ Roy was apparently good , or so we were told but he left early to return to UK
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pestell family from leicestershire travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Me, my mum, dad and two brothers have been going to the Festamar apartments since 2002 and every time we come back off holiday we go and book for the next year. We think that it is the nicest place in the whole world and we can’t wait to go next year.
We would recommend l'estartit to anyone who likes to relax on holiday and just chill out and have a good time.
The hotel cleanliness is excellent and all of the staff at l'estartit are very helpful and have a laugh with you.
The hotel is very close to the beach and also there is a supermarket just round the corner that you can buy anything that you need and it is also very cheap, we used to get the cans of pop and water from there because it was a lot cheaper than the hotel.
The food at the apartment is nice but we prefer to go to other places that are much nicer, we would recommend you look down some of the side roads because we have found some very nice and helpful English bars, one of them is called Clances.
The entertainment is excellent as well there is entertainment every night and there is also bingo and a magician comes as well which is amazing.
Overall we think that l'estartit is the best place in the whole world and one day we hope to live there!!
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Lesley from Salford, Manchester travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: 17 of our family stayed in the Festamar in July this year with ages ranging from 4 to 45.
On arrival we found the apartments to be clean and all items needed for a self catering holiday easily available, kitchen has a microwave,toaster 4 ring hob and all pots and pans to cater for a small army.TV in lounge but only 2 English channels, but did the job.
The apartments a re in a brilliant location, only 2 mins to beach, which is never too busy and sea not too deep so we aware able to let younger ones play safely.
Hotel entertainment bit Butlinsish but after a few cocktails soon get into the swing of things!
Would not recommend Estartit as it is very quiet, but if this is your thing then so be it.
All in all it was a good 2 weeks but as there were so many of us we sort of made our own entertainment, visits to Barcelona, Water park at LLORET-de-Mar and Marineland highly recommended for all ages.
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susan from musselburgh travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomsons
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Apartments very well equipped and clean.
Location fantastic 2 minute walk from beach and supermarket and ten minute walk along prom into main Estartit.
Pool was lovely but not enough loungers for peak season. entertainment great for kids party games etc bingo and quizzes for adults DJ very friendly.
Safety deposit boxes for hire and could pay extra to keep room on until 5pm 35 euros expensive but worth it when you have kids. would definitely return to Festamar.
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Pezza from Leicestershire travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I went with my family for the fourth time to the Festamar apartments and had as much fun as any other years because you never get bored.
In my opinion it is the best place in the world and we have booked to go back after being back for 2 days,the barmen are really funny and are also joking around and roy(the d.j)always puts good entertainment on every night like quizzes,karaoke,games and he gets a singer or a magician to come in and perform.
The food is really nice and a place called Bryliz is nice aswell, the apartment are dead clean and get cleaned once a week.
It is rated 3 star but I would definitely rate it a 5 star, to round up I would like to say it is the best place in the world and would reccomend it to any family because it also has a really good games so go to the best place in the world L'ESTARTIT!
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steve owen from teeside travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 5 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Stayed 2 years earlier at Castell Montgri site and was a bit apprehensive about staying in a hotel but what a suprise from arriving in the early hours of Sunday morning we found the room to be clean and spacious with everything in it you need for a self catering holiday.
The entertainment was excellent and Roy the D.J. knew how to get people in a party mood.
The bar staff where extremely friendly and very generous with the Bacardi.
A fantastic holiday Estartit itself is a beautiful village with plenty of places to explore if you don't mind walking.
Joseph who hired the boats and sun loungers on the beach was one of the nicest men I have met on holiday.
We are definitely going back again and staying at the Festemar apartments.
Brannigans over the road from the Festemar did a fantastic full English and sunday roast.
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andy from london travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is a family hotel wonderful if you have kids but not good if a couple.
And the fact that if you have to fly out early hours you have to vacate the room 13 hours before is really a pain.
We hired a room at another hotel for trhat time as festmar wanted 35 euros for 5 hours the room we got was 36.80 euros till we vacated so think festamar is ripping people off.
Also on our return for coach found that all passengers (old young or disabled ) had to sit roadside till departure.
If you get room 7 make sure at night you pull down the shutter as the sign across the road shines in all night on this visit shutter was broken so was told to hang blankets over curtains (lol) I forced shutter down and didnt tell them.
As for resort itself its ok but very dead
but if you take a stroll on main road out of town past jocs on right hand side there is a large camping site go through there and follow the basa signs this is a great oasis waterfall bar icecreams food and swim in the waterfall brilliant peace and quiet.
Best bar we found was a small English one on seafront called Harveys staff there are great.
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geoff from gt yarmouth travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We visited the festamar apartments in May 06 and were quite impressed.
The apartment was very clean and well equipped.
We had previously always gone away all inclusive so this was a new experience for us. I had quite low expectations as it had quite an average write up on the review sites. But as I say it was very nice.
The pool was a nice size and very clean. The food in the bar was cheap & plentiful. The staff were very polite and always friendly.
The evening entertainment was of the typical holiday hotel variety although it did keep our children (6 & 9) entertained, especially the magician who even I have to admit was very good.
The hotel is literally a stones throw from the beach.
We went quite early in the season but I think this would still be quite a quite place even in the summer.
All in all a fantastic holiday that I would definetley reccomend (We are already thinkink of going back!)
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Kevin from Rotherham travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We found the apartments very good value for what we paid. The staff were very helpful and friendly.
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bond from doncaster travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Festamar for 2 weeks our children 8,6 and 2 this was our first holiday abroad.
I didn't expect top quality for the price we paid but I was disappointed when we first arrived and I opened the door. The apartments are very basic. The maids come once a week to change towels and take the sheets off the bed. What I was most disappointed about is the the maids DO NOT make the beds it was worse than being at home. There was no TV in the rooms or radio I know you don't go away to watch TV but on the bad days when the kids are bored and driving you mad it would have been nice to have a bit of back ground noise. The safety deposit boxes was next to the reception and not in your room which I thought was a bit strange. You were told to tidy your rooms so I can make the maids job easier WHAT A CHEEK!!!
We have to pay 50 euros to move to another apartment the Festa Star as our bus wasn't picking us up until 1.45am to take us to the airport. Which I though was expensive but we have no choice because of the kids as you have to be out of your room by 12 noon.
Dino's food was o.k but in the last week we was there you could have gone half board to eat and it would have saved us a lot of money on food but again you are not told. All the these things should have been told at the welcome meeting but they wasn't you have to find out for yourself.
You get a comment card at the end of your holiday and I commented about maybe they will change a few things.
The kids club was o.k the kids enjoyed so that's all the mattered.
The reps wasn't much help really.
There are lots of good bars we tried most of them. There are the Barracuda, a good English bar they have a Doncaster Rovers flag outside, there is also a Chinese buffet all you can eat on the front near the beach.
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Mr & Mrs Stevens from Barnsley travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Bit disapointed with the Festamar apartments.
Did'nt really expect too much but a smile/greeting from the reception staff wouldn't have gone a miss every now and then. The Rep's were there if we needed them but decided to spend all our time away from the apartments.
The cleaners come in just once whilst we were there and the bathroom looked like it needed a good clean.
We ate in Dino's a couple of times but nothing special.
We didn't go into Dino's in the evening to sample any of the entertainment but heard it all when we come back.
The apartments have no sound prevention whatsoever and you will hear the people at the side, above and below you.
Barracuda Bar around the block were much more friendlier, better entertainment and nicer food.
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Sara from Basingstoke travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a singles holiday.
There were 1 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just come back from a week at the Festa Mar.. Had an amazing time and didn't really want to come back!
I've just been reading everyone elses reviews and some of them don't seem as though they stayed in the same place as me!! I think every aspect was just great! and those people need to just enjoy their holidays!!
As for Roy, what can I say... I thought he made my week! Thanks for looking after me!! Great with all the kids that were there and he was always having a laugh with everyone, a brilliant entertainer and DJ! Would definitely come again..
I also have to give credit to the Thompson reps, again very nice people - went out of their way to make me feel at home.
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bob from Norfolk travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: One must remember that one does not pay 5 star prices to stay at the Festamar so it is unreasonable to expect 5 or even 4 star luxury. However if you are looking for clean self-catering accommodation in a good location then the Festamar fits the bill.
We had a 'sleeps 4' apartment for the 2 of us and had plenty of room.
The food at the complex cafe Dino's is cheap and edible ..again you get what you pay for.
There are a number of supermarkets close by and the resort has many different places to eat..these range from the 'All Day Full English Breakfast' to something a tad more elegant..again the choice is yours.
The 'Reps' (on site every day) and Festamar staff are friendly and would appear to be helpful (The reason I cannot say that they are helpful is that we did not need any help at any time of our Holiday .. that speaks for its self.)
Festamar is at one end of the town and is very close to the Beach. It is a pleasant stroll along the 'Prom' into the Resort centre. Estartit feels very safe both night and day .. It is more suited to families and older couples and I feel teenagers would find it a bit dull.
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Smith from Birmingham travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The apartments were very basic however clean! We ate at dinos a few times and really enjoyed the food served!
Brannigans and Bryliz were a big favourite, Bryliz being a home from home even show the soaps! The location of the hotel was ok near to the beach and not too far a walk from the main shopping street!
The hotel staff were excellent, really made you feel welcome, the rep Katey was always around and was very approachable! Our 2 children loved going to kidzone and hardley ever missed a club their favourite reps were Sam & Angela, the kids loved the mini disco!
Again always around the hotel complex and made a great effort with all guests, a real credit to Thomsons! Roy the DJ was alright good singer!
Would definatly go back to the Festamar.
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Jo, Terry & Kids from Cheshire travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went with my sister and her family in September 2005, we arrived early hours of the morning, no beds were made but I was ready for this as reports on this site had pre warned me!
The pool was OK for the kids apart from the older kids hogging the kids section.
The Kids Club was great all 3 of our kids and 1 of my sisters kids went everyday to the club and enjoyed themselves that much that we paid for them to go to the evening sessions - however it was a good job that they enjoyed it as there was nothing else for them to do!! we went on the little train nearly everyday as the kids got bored with walking everywhere,the reps were all great esp sam, laurie.
We ate in Dinos once and didn't think much at all, we spent most of our time at branigans and bryliz, we had a budget to stick too but with not much to do at the hotel or for that matter the resort itself we found ourselves paying for trips out which took ages to get too and the kids got easily bored.
We went to the aquadiver which was absolute rubish we spent all day looking at our watches and willed the bus to come to take us back, and marineland which was a bit better but not much.
We spent over £2000 in two weeks as it rained for most of them we had to sit in bars putting money in machines for the kids we eat out every night as we'd have gone mad having to stay in the hotel, we even tried to get flights home, but could only get one to a london airport.
We are far from kill joys but really looked forward to going home I will never return to Festamar or Estartit again even for free! The beach was full of cigaratte ends as you went down to the water it got much better and had the weather have been better we would have spent more time there, because this really was the highlight of the holiday, the kids enjoyed themselves but when it rained (90%) there was NOTHING AT ALL to do.
Far too many chips on the menus all over, the kids got fed up of eating spaghetti in the end and didn't ever finsh the chips
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lynne from middlesbrough travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was basic but clean, sheets changed twice in 2 weeks.
Food at Dinos simple but cheap and nice. Beach 2 minutes from apartments. Staff very pleasant apart from one.
Entertainment more or less same as holiday camp entertainment at home,ok for small children but not for mine (15 and 16 years).
Pool is cold and everyone has lilos and boats in there so cant swim even if you wanted to. Also there are'nt any brollies so if its really hot theres no shade. The only good thing was they didnt unlock the door to the pool till 9am so didnt have to get up at crack of dawn to get sunbed.
Theres no entertainment during day every holiday weve been on had water polo archery darts shooting football etc. If it rains get the cards out.
I would not visit this hotel again not because I didn't like hotel but because the resort was so boring.
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darren barley from scunthorpe travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I stayed in the Festmar apartments.
We arrived in the early hours of the morning first impression of the hotel was it looked really nice and it was it was clean. All round the hotel the rooms are basic but you get what you pay for and as I was on holiday I wasnt planning to stay in my room all day, so it didnt matter what the room was like.
The rep's were very friendly so was the staff Dino's bar has some cheap and very good meals the gammon was really nice. At night the entertainment was a bit weak so we didnt stay in the bar at night. We went elsewhere it was noisy at night. The walls must be very thin because you can hear everything but other than that I would go back next year.
It was brilliant, the pool was smaller than I thought it would be but it was clean and safe apart from people not reading warning signs about taking glasses around the pool - that should be stopped.
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Paul and family from Middlesbrough travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel very basic, (you get what you pay for). Rooms could really do with some air conditioning. Could also do with a really good clean and a touch of updating/maintenance.
Although hotel wasn't too bad, don't think I would ever go again even if it meant the difference between no holiday and a holiday. It is just too noisy, people coming in really late and slamming doors, dragging chairs etc. over the floor, sounding like a heard of elephants, this would go on to the early hours (this is the main thing that spoilt it for me).
Bedding was changed twice in two weeks, but you have to make your own beds.
My 9 year old son loved it, he made so many friends (he had no trouble sleeping through the noise). Some families had no consideration for others, swearing and using bad language, not the kind of thing you would like your children to listen to. There was notices all over stating no glass in the pool area but some families had glasses and bottles of beer and no staff member ever queried it, this was not very good as lots of children about who were bare foot and if glass was broken, do I need to say anymore.
Entertainment was exactly the same every night, Karaoke, we went out most nights, plenty to do in resort and lots of bars and restaurants to go to. Barracuda Bar, right next door to Festamar was brilliant, food great and very cheap, we ate there quite a lot, also Brannigans opposite Dinos Bar, very cheap and tasty.
I could definitely go back to Estartit but not Festamar.
Daytime activities were planned every day at hotel but these never materialised as they were cancelled for one reason or another, you were never informed of this you just realised when you were sat at meeting place and no one turned up so you went to enquire.
Thompson Reps were ok. Went on the Barcelona trip, what can I say BRILLIANT, magic fountains, out of this world. Stadium, didn't do anything for me but husband and son loved it. The whole day was a dream. Went to waterpark, loved that also. I would definitely recommend these two trips.
Festamar, didn't do it for me.
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tracy from Boston travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Third time at the Festamar, great holiday as always, you get exactly what you pay for. Brilliant, friendly staff, especially DJ ROY who makes it a holiday to remember :-)
The Festamar Apartments is an excellent base, basic but perfectly adequate.
An excellent holiday choice if your family is older and boisterous! not for anyone wanting a quiet retreat.
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Long from Edinburgh travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said:
I booked this via the internet for a cheap last minute family deal and i can 100% say i wasnt disapointed.
I went with my boyfriend, his gran and his 2 year old neice and we had a lovely time. The weather (although a little overcast) was brilliant, the resort had some lovely little restaurants (that didnt serve chips!!) and we sorted our own entertainment in the evenings away from the apartments.
Many reviews on this site slate the entertainment, the hotel, the early morning noise - which most holiday destinations are going to have and to be quite honest if they are after a five star experience then they should book it.
This holiday as the ad says does exactly what it says on the tin. Its 2-3 star, meaning its basic clean, basic fixtures and fittings and situated in the resort. It also had the added bonus of being right on the beach which was lovely - a bit packed at certain areas but what beaches arent at high season in the summer.
The entertainment and food in the on site restaurant were pretty much the same - bog standard and nothing out of the ordinary.
If like us you only use the apartments as somewhere to store your stuff and sleep (and we had a 2 year old who slept soundly through any noise there was) then there is nothing wrong with the Festamar or Estartit.
If however, you are looking for more (ie a hotel/apartment that you want to spend all your time in) then its probably not for you and you should maybe widen your holiday budget.
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Linda from Colchester travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomsons
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Festamar Apartments are clean (communal areas cleaned daily and rooms once a week)and there's plenty of room for luggage and clothes! Dino's restaurant by the pool is very cheap, although we chose not to eat there much as we can get egg, chips and sausage at home!!
There are plenty of restaurants in L'Estartit serving English style food if that's what you want and also those serving Tapas and meals for the more gastronomically adventurous!
We didn't stay around for much of the evening entertainment but it looked fairly average - much the same as that offered by English holiday parks in Cornwall etc! Loads of people seemed to be enjoying it.
The reps were friendly and helpful and so were the reception and bar staff. The staff are really happy to help you with your Spanish but equally willing to speak English.
The only real drawbacks were these: our apartment faced onto the street which gave us a great view of the beach and all the buzz of the streetlife but also kept us awake most of the night! Still, it's all part of the holiday really, isn't it? Our kids (13 and 9) just slept through the dustcarts emptying the bins at 3am and the rowdy revellers (of all nationalities) making their way home.
Being far more easily disturbed, we didn't! Also, the pool is a bit too cold for comfort, unfortunately. Ok if you're literally going in for a few lengths but not if you are going to be bobbing around watching the kids do handstands etc. Brr!
There's a really cheap supermarket over the road from the apartments and everything in L'Estartit is reasonably priced, we thought.
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siobhan from Boston in lincolinshire travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: First time at Festamar it was wonderful the family who I went with ('Annabel' Tracy, Gaynor, Antonia and Conner) had been before and all year was telling me how amazing their holiday was before.
We arrived late at night first impressions basic on outside but lovely inside it was very clean.
We ate out in Dinos most nights and it was lovely didn't have a meal I disliked.
During the day it was a lovely walk to the beach and shops and it was pretty tidy!
The staff were amazing so kind and funny, it was a good laugh.
Every night there was entertainment with Roy!! Bingo, kareoke, quiz nights, games, music, party games for the children bbq night its great rally enjoyed it.
I would most certainly come back see you next year!
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Marie from Dublin travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We booked the apartment through Thomsons over the internet.
I can honestly say that I'll never trust photos again nor Thomsons' ratings. In my opinion the Festamar apartments should be given a 2 star rating and should definately not be described as a 'family' complex. The apartments were very basic and need of a thorough clean and maintenance.
The first apartment we were in (we asked to be moved) was disgusting with green limescale on the taps. It overlooked a street with another set of of run-down apartments on the far side of the street. A depressing view and extremely noisy with motor bikes and a games room a couple of doors down.
The second apartment overlooked the pool but was above Dinos. Loud music until 12 midnight and then continuing noise until 1/1.30am. Cleaners visited twice in 2 weeks and did a very quick sweep and mop of the floor - not what I would call a proper clean. The second bedroom had a window which when opened was a hazard as it didn't fit the wall which it should opened back onto and instead it would swing half open, it's metal frame awaiting a small victim's head or eye!
The pool area could do with a complete uplift to make it even a little attractive. A few small palm trees are all it is graced with. The rules at the pool were ignored by a number of families and hotel staff didn't seem to enforce them, glass and bottles of beer were consumed by the poolside.
Shouting, swearing and basically no consideration for other people seemed to be the order of the day. We avoided the apartment and the pool as we found it depressing, noisy, and an unfriendly environment for children.
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anon from North East travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Festamar was ok but would never go again. Rooms were basic but clean.
Room was not cleaned in the two weeks I was there and bedding was changed twice although they dont make the beds, they leave the sheets and you have to make your own.
Kitchen had everything you would need to cook a meal, I never switched the cooker on as we ate out for every meal. Hotel was much too noisy, guests coming in at all times of the night moving furniture slamming doors, singing, shouting. I was desperate for a good nights sleep.
Entertainment left a lot to be desired, mostly Karaoke
Courtesy Room was something out of the dark ages, I felt like I needed a good bath after I came out of there. You had to vacate your room at 12 noon so when you have a late flight, there is a long time to hang around.
There was a lot of swearing and bad language around the pool and in the Bar on an evening from adults and children
Food at Dino's was ok and very cheap.
We tended to go out a lot and spent very little time in the hotel.
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Paul from Dublin travelled to Festamar Apartments with
n/a
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Do you rise at 7am to stick your Union Jack towels across 8-9 strategically arranged sun lounges in order to "reserve" them, then return to bed until 11 or 12 to sleep off a hangover?
Would you describe your ideal holiday to comprise the relocation of your local boozer to a sunny and culturally interesting part of the world and to park yourself at the bar for two weeks?
Do you have trouble closing your suitcase for the plethora of England football strips you have crammed inside?
Do you find yourself repeating phrases such as "You would have thought they won the war" (genuine quote)?
Do you believe a "family" holiday should mean staying in a place where it is impossible for your children to get to sleep before 1am due to the noise of fellow guests?
Do you enjoy eating while on foreign holidays because it means you can have bacon, egg and sausage, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding al fresco?
If you can answer yes to these questions the Festamar apartments are for you. Go there for some less than salubrious surroundings and travel companions. If you find yourself there my best advice would be to hire a car pronto (do it over the internet and catch a bus in to Girona to collect it if you want to save a couple of hundred Euro on the great deal the "rep." can deliver). Spend alternating days on the beach (which is in fact quite pleasant) and sampling some of the wonders of the locale, including the beautiful villages of Pals and Ullastret; the picturesque bays of Callela, Tamariu and Sa Tuna and the fantastic food that you will find generally out of the resort (though we found a couple of Spanish gems in L'estartit).
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kevin from north wales travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Good size rooms well equipped kitchen. Clean & tidy on arrival and after maid service mid week. only complaint was there was not enough hot water.For every one in the morning!!!!!. Staff and reps friendly and helpful. Pool great for kids and adults. dinos was great for a few beers, while the kids enjoyed the games room.
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Phil +Kerry from Swansea travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson's
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Festamar apartments L'Estartit is a very clean family based apartment block.
All the staff are friendly and helpful.
Food at Dino's is inexpensive and of reasonable quality.
The apartments are around the corner from the large clean beach.
Roy the entertainer makes your holiday even more enjoyable, he's so friendly and helpful and excellent at all he does, what more can we say.
We went there last year, and went back for more!!!
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Samantha from Stoke on Trent travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: If I had a family I would definitely travel there again it was great for families as Dino's bar has great entertainment for adults and kids, (I even dressed my partner as a woman) What a sight. He also won on the bingo and another couple we met there did the same.
It was a late deal we booked and worth the money.
Hotel was clean and the pool was great we had a choice of three as there was 3 parts to the hotel.
All in all top holiday bit quiete for my liking but I am only 20 so love the night life but perfect for families.
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darren from bury travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The festamar hotel was clean and tidy. But unfortunately the cleaners did not do such a good job with the rooms as there was sand all over the floor and we even found a babies dummy under the sofa. The reps were ok. We did book to go to Gerona market but it got cancelled the night before.
The food at dino's was ok but the food at the barracuda bar was excellent.
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ray + gemma from nantwich nr crewe travelled to Festamar Apartments with
skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a weeks stay at the festamar in October with the weather on average about 80 degrees.
The hotel was clean and tidy with a medium sized pool but beware the water is cold because the sun does not get on it much.
The food in dino's was ok but it was hard work trying to get a smile out of the staff!
Dan and Naomi the reps were good and very helpful if needed, Roy the DJ was a real good laugh, I won a bottle of wine on the karaoke and gemma won one for stuffing marshmallows in her mouth and having to say fluffy bunnies each time! Ha ha the memories!
The kid’s zone club was very good, Chloe our 5 year old was always there when it was on, which also gave us peace as long as Katie our 9 month old was asleep.
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Katrina from Coatbridge travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Portland Direct/Skytours
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have just came back from 1 weeks holiday in the Festamar Hotel. Both myself and my partner thoroughly enjoyed our time there and found the staff and the reps to be really friendly. The food in Dinos Bar was excellent and Roy the DJ was excellent and very entertaining. The apartment itself was very clean.
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Jo and Mark from Derby travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We booked a late deal which was a 1 bedroom apartment which I expect was for 3 - 4 people. It was huge, sofa bed living area, dining area, good well stocked kitchenette for self catering. Lovely big clean bathroom - brilliant shower and twin bedroom with big wardrobe space. Both the bedroom and living area had slide doors onto the balcony.
Our room was in the main part of the festamar and I thought it was very very quiet. I didnt hear a peep of noise of outside and we could even see the sea from our balcony.
All in all I thought the hotel was clean. The reps helpful where needed (only once)!
Dinos bar served great food. I thought the staff were always polite (if a little sullen at times!).
There was not a great deal to do for a couple but we had fun taking part in the quiz night / bingo night.
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steve from kesgrave travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thompsons
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My wife,myself and our 6 year old daughter stayed at the festermar appartments the last week of august.The hotel was good,the reps,Naomi and Dan were friendly and very helpful with any queries we had during our stay there.Roy the entertainments rep was very good,he was great with, both, adults and children alike always ready to crack a joke and have a laugh.The beach was superb,only about 5 mins walk from the hotel.The "wally trolly"(the little blue train that picked you up outside the hotel)was a great way to see the resort dropping you off at the marina.Being a self catering hoilday the local supermarket stocked everything you needed.The food in Dinos was good also good value for your money.The Kidzone club was superb,our daughter loved going to it every day.
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Marianne from Richmond N Yorks travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: When we arrived it was about 7am, so we made the 2 single sofa beds up in the living room as they had not been prepared, bearing in mind they were aware that we were a family of 4.
The chap on Reception when we arrived does not speak any English, although he was nice and helped as much as he could. Dan gave us the keys.
The lift started playing up and we were in a room opposite Festestar which turns out to be part of the same group of Festemar, but for the French. We were also opposite Brannigans. We tried to get a bit of shut eye and that was next to impossible; as we tried to sleep then the seagulls were screaming their heads off - that is probably the only criticism I or my family would have of the hotel it self and really there is nothing that can be done about it apart from shooting the damn things! You do get used to the screaching though - eventually!!
The staff on Reception were lovely, friendly and extremely helpful. Some of the bar staff were a little miserable EXCEPT the man with the glasses on, he was always cheerful and friendly. Maybe the other bar staff should take a leaf out of his book !??
You were left a note to say the maids would be calling 'tomorrow' so please tidy your room basically to make their job a little easier I expect. One time they came at 10am which was smashing, but the next time they came to clean the room at 6pm and I thought that was a little out of order, so I asked them just for the clean sheets and towels and left it at that.
We paid 30 euro when we arrived at the apartments for a late check out which is worth it if you have an early hours flight home like we did, being picked up at 2.45am on the Sunday morning! We therefore checked out at 5pm on the Saturday. If you book it in England with the Travel Agent apparently you can stay in the room until 6pm though, but I was quoted substantially more for that service when booking the holiday and left it knowing that we could pay Reception for late check out.
When you go to the pool then you must pay 1 euro for a sunlounger. At first I thought that was a little odd but on reflection, I suppose it stops what can happen in some countries of some people putting their towels on the sun loungers at 5am, and taking all the best spots for the sun! Maybe it is not such a bad idea after all!!
We shopped for necessities at the supermarket which is left from the steps coming up from the games room and across the road. They cater for everyone and all nationalities in there although you are not allowed to take your bag into the shop and have to leave it behind the cigarette counter with the girl who will give you a ticket to collect it at the end of your shopping.
We never ate in Dinos but from what I saw, the food looked decent enough and you got a decent quantity.
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The Hughes Family from Unknown travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was the 5th time we have stayed at the Festamar Apartments. We have alway's found the staff helpful.
one of our visits was as one would say the holiday from hell!, not because the apartment staff or the staff at Dino's but of other British holidaymakers. They totally disrespected other peoples idea of a nice family holiday. They had a young child with them who cried for her mummy, her mummy was drunk who verbly attacked myself and my daughters, the story goes on and on!.
The staff at the apartments were so kind and the reps also tried to help as much as they possibly could. The only good thing is they were asked to leave the complex for their total disrespect of other people. We have been back there 3 times since meeting up with other family's. We have made very good friends with the people we meet there.
Dino's staff are great you just have to get to know them, they remember us each time we go and make us very welcome each time.
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Scott Pestell from Leicester travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have been to the Festamar appartment twice now. It is very nice the view from the balcony from our room was great too.
The weather was great everyday there are trips to Marineland (which is terrific)Barcelona (great) and Waterworld.
I would love to live there one day it is terrific it is very relaxing and the hotel staff are great especially the barmen because you have a good laugh with them you do activities like football, killerpool and watervolley I would guarentee it to any one who likes fun.
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Six 17yr old girls from South England travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Lunn Poly
on a friends holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was pretty good.
The entertainment at night was a bit rubbish and the main entertainer attempted to crack the jokes but he really wasn’t funny..... At all! We had one alright night at the hotel when we played bingo and did a pop quiz! But the place to be is the square which is within walking distance, it has about 10 bars..... a bar called Blaunit is good and drinks are cheap.... and bar staff (one in particular) are lovely looking. At about 3 am everyone went to Maxims.... Good club but the only one that is really big, so after 6 nights can get boring! This place is good, if you don’t want a really loud 18-30's style holiday but still want to have a laugh!
The resort all together was good, nice places to eat..... definitely go on a snorkeling trip.... it was brilliant and have a go on the banana boat.
Our hotel room was good, it fit 6 girls nicely with a bit of room, the shower was a bit dodgy, but I'm not one to moan so.... I'm not going to.
The security staff at night can’t speak any English but they were still so friendly, one of them gave us key rings before we went home!
Didn’t go in hotel pool once because the beach is so nice, all sand and no pebbles!
We also went on a day trip to Barcelona, shopping, football stadium and a church... bit pricey but definitely worth it!
For seven days I took £250 and came home with change so all in all wasn’t a hugely expensive holiday!
Oh yes one more thing, supermarket is opposite and it is nice and cheap and sells decent food and drink at good prices!
That’s it really, one last thing to say is that Estartit is nice, relaxed but if you want night life you can look for it. Quite a lot of families around but that didn’t bother us, and other good thing lots of different nationalities!
I have said that I wouldn’t visit hotel again, but the thing is I wouldn't visit anywhere twice as I feel it’s a bit of a waste.
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Peter from Wigan travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Festamar apartments are around a quarter of a mile out of town, situated very close to the beach and with easy access. The sand is clean and the beach is large enough to cope with any numbers of tourists (and cars!), but watch for frequent ‘sand storms’, which are blown up in the early evening.
Unfortunately, that’s all that I can praise this particular holiday for.
We booked a 2-bedroom apartment, which supposedly catered for 2 adults & 4 children. It was obvious from the start that we were in an apartment designed for 3 people – 1 double & 1 single, but an extra bed had been crammed into the single room & a sofa bed added. This in itself wasn’t too much of a problem for us as far as sleeping was concerned, but the available space for storage was virtually non-existent. Be prepared to have suitcases littered all over the place! If you are unlucky enough to have an outward facing apartment (like us) you’ll soon discover that the noise is horrendous.
The brochure doesn’t tell you that a busy road runs down the back of the complex. You can expect loud music & traffic until around 1am. Then the musical drunks reign till around 4.30am. The dustmen kick in around 3 till 5am (and they love to rev their trucks!) and if all that doesn’t keep you awake, the seagulls will – they sound like screaming babies. The only way to blot out some of the din is to close the patio doors. Then you cook in your own juices all night. It’s up to you.
On top of this, at certain times, when the wind blows across the adjacent campsite, you will receive a strong sewer smell.
You are expected to strip your own beds twice a week & leave the laundry & dirty towels in the corridor. But don’t expect the maids to remake your beds – they just leave a pile of clean bedding & towels wherever they can drop them! It feels like one up from a hostel! In a full week there, the rooms were only cleaned once. Bearing in mind that we arrived at 5am and only four of the beds had been made.
This is great fun when you’ve been travelling all night and have 4 dog tired kids to contend with.
Very family friendly. Then you get the loon from Skytours telling you that there is a meeting at 11am, to welcome everyone and explain all about the forthcoming events for the week. So if your reading this Lunn Poly / Skytours / TUI, please remember that 6 hours is probably not enough time to arrange your apartment, make beds, sleep, shower & dress and the listen to some hyper person blabber on about what’s not worth knowing. GET REAL.
The brochure says that this is a family oriented complex. This is definitely a case of being economical with the truth. There were a few short kids clubs available, but were poorly advertised and had to be booked one day in advance. Even the youngest children soon got bored being stuck in a basement, colouring, etc. The DJ was a joke, full stop. Don’t believe the other reports you read on this site about Roy. We think he owns about 5 CD’s (all rubbish) and obviously doesn’t care that no-one gets up to dance, even though the place is packed. Wake up Roy and give the people some decent music.
We aged between 41 and 5, and you didn’t cater for any of us.
If you like to sunbathe around the pool, allow 1 euro per day for sunbed hire and understand that self catering at Festamar means your room only – don’t assume that you can cut costs by bringing drinks and food into the pool area from the supermarket, because it’s not allowed.
If you want a safe deposit box, expect to pay 35 euros for a decent sized one, which includes 10 euros deposit.
Don’t expect the bartenders to smile, even if you give them a good tip – I tried all week and it’s impossible. You will get depressed going to the bar – that’s if you can make then understand what you want.
All in all, Lunn Poly & Skytours have seriously let us down with this holiday, with regard to the cost versus facilities. I will NEVER book with them again. Last year we went to Cyprus with Libra Holidays and it was 100 times better.
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tracy from newcastle upon tyne travelled to Festamar Apartments with
dunston
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: we found the festamar apt okay, but you had to strip your own beds and the maids would come round with clean bedding and towels, but we had to make the beds.
apartments were cleaned twice a week supermarket round the corner, not much to do though, we found if you want a poolside holiday this was it.
shops closed 9.00p.m
we would not recommend this holiday to anyone that wanted a bit of a lively time.
other than kids club there is nothing for children ours were 7,9 and 11 and they were bored on a night time.
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Stacey from bournemouth travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: I visited costa bravo from the 10th of july to the 17th and it was the best holiday i have ever been on. Not only did i have the best time and meet so many new people but i will definately be going there again. I travelled with my dad his girlfriend and her 2 daughters and we couldnt of wished for a better time. Roy made our evenings very entertaining not to mention making my dad dress up as a women! I loved karaoke and there is fun for everyone. I do hope to return next year and i hope to see all the great people i met again same time next year!
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Ruth from Sunderland travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: it was amazing the reps were great dan especially. we love roy he does the entertainment in dino's and likes to think he's 21 when doing the bingo and quiz night. we loved the water vollyball he did with us in the pool and we played the swiss at the beach and won. paul is at tropic just round the corner the atmosphere there is great. ranchos is also just around the corner and is great for the younger ones. i think it would be pointless going back if roy isn't there because he creates all the fun and activities. it has enspired me to go out there to live. but if i don't ill be there same time next year with some of the other guests we made good friends with (hey booby) 11-07-04 until 18-07-04.
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Sheila & Kevin from Newton travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went on this holiday as a couple wanting to enjoy a relaxing break without too much noise and hassle and that is exactly what we got. The hotel was very clean and, o.k. if you attended the welcoming meeting you didn't have to go along with it. The reps were very helpful but you didn,t have to go along with what they suggested. We enjoyed a few nights in Dino's but we also had a very good time eating out at some of the lovely restaurants in L'Estartit. All in all, we did our own thing, hired a car and saw the Costa Brava, didn,t just spend our days relying on the pool or the reps to keep us amused. It was a lovely holiday, in a lovely hotel, with the holiday reps there if you needed them, but please don,t cringe if you want to spend your two precious weeks going nowhere further than the hotel pool and relying on other people to provide your daytime entertainment.
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Gary from Sunderland travelled to Festamar Apartments with
Thompson
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back from a great holiday, there were 2 couples 35-49 and we found loads to do. The appartments are large for 2, very clean, 1 min from a great beach and entertainment looked good for families but not really a couples scene. There is a great market next to the hotel on a Thursday(not that the reps told us tho) so dont book a Thursday trip or the trip to the other market.
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Donna from essex travelled to Festamar Apartments with
skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2004 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were very pleased with our apartment which was spotlessly clean. We had maid service to change our bed's and towels. Wouls highly recomend to anyone with a young family. Kids club very usefull. Would not recomend the port adventura excursion. staff were helpfull and friendly and many locals speak basic english. Apartment about 3 mins from beach, which is beautifull and clean. local shops including supermarket 2 mins away.
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cheryl from sheffield travelled to Festamar Apartments with
sky tours
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2003 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: We travelled in September last year for one week. We went on some good advice from friends who had been the previous year. We are due to go again in 10 days time and all the family is really looking forward to it. The room was very clean and facilities were good. The kids never got bored even when it rained. The only down side was we couldn't book a late check out so we had to wait about 11 hours for our flight home but there is facilities to shower and change. The staff were always helpful. The food was good in Dinos bar and the beach is just a short walk away. We met some lovely people. I would definitely recommend this complex for an all round good holiday
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keeley pestell from leicestershire travelled to Festamar Apartments with
thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2003 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: we had a brilliant holiday the reps were really helpful!! There was always plenty to do. We enjoyed going to marineland and barcelona. The beach is fantastic! It was that good that the day we come home we went and booked to go back there again for this year!!
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ray & gemma from nantwich/crewe travelled to Festamar Apartments with
skytours
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2002 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just come back from a weeks stay at the festamar, we had good weather considering we went in October on average 80 degrees. The pool in the hotel is a medium size and not too deep which is ok for kids but the sun hardly gets on the pool so it is always very cold.
The rooms were a good size, we had a one bedroom apartment but other guests who had a two bed roomed said their rooms were small.
The food in dino's bar was ok but nothing special, it's hard work trying to get the bar staff to smile!
Dan and Naomi the reps were very helpful and Roy the dj was always good for a laugh, I even won a bottle of wine on the karaoke and gemma won one for stuffing marshmallows in her mouth and saying fluffy bunny each time! Ha ha the memories!!!
Our 5 year old Chloe enjoyed the kids club and so did we because it gave us a bit of free time especially if Katie our 9 month old was asleep.
It was a good hotel but we would not visit it again, purely because we like to go different places each year.
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sam from wales travelled to Festamar Apartments with
airtours
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2002 |
rated the Festamar Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: i've been here twice and would love to come again. the beach is practicly across the road. the hotel is surrounded with grate pubs. the town is just a ride away the train comes past every 30min. the food in the hotel is good and the staff are very friendly all speak english. its not bad for the kids has a games room and the beach isn't far so the older kids can go on their own and theres a friendly bar round the corner tropic. the entertainment is ok for the adults theres quizes and thingslike that they also had the spanish dancers one night.
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