| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
john from portsmouth travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: well where do i start,the hotel itself is ok just a big travel lodge really nothing outstanding rooms are smaller the a ibis at home,the food is plentyfull but not to our liking nor to the liking of a lot of brits i spoke to while we were there, the restaurant staff were strange and couldnt add up as with a lot of the staff i encountered when i had checked my change.If this was a 4 star hotel why is there not a free jug of water on your table when you dine?.
The hotel entertainment was very poor unless it was a paid act which was a welcome relief after watching Grease,lionking too many times performed by the hotel staff.The childrens entertainment was terrible with kids being asked to come a draw for an hour,brilliant from first choice to ask the kids to come to spain and draw.
The bar staff were rude and ignored children.
The only people in the hotel that deserve praise is the cleaners who do an outstanding job.If you choose this hotel from first choice or any other tour operator i would recommend you go self catering and then you can sample the hotel food first before deciding whether to upgrade to half board.This hotel is not 4 star by any means.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Tom from Huddersfield travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: ON arrival the hotel looked very impressive. the staff are quite miserable and arnt much of a help but not to blame them as we seemed that some of the people staying in the hotel did make work hard for them. while we were there some people seemed to be there just to make trouble so i thought why are you even here. the location of the hotel is ok quite near the shops with a local supermarket across the road. the food in the hotel is very repetitive so we ate out a few times. not bad overall but wouldn't go again.
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Sozmic from Caerphilly travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On arrival was very impressed with the hotel's appearance. The reception area is beautifully presented. We stayed half board so had a room which was adequate for our stay. When pull out bed is used for 4th person it was a little cramped but we didn't spend much time in there anyway.
The hotel was cleaned to a very high standard.
The restaurant staff were lovely and the food was of a good standard.
The hotel is about 20 min walk from the beach and very close to the main street of shops.You need to be careful on the roads and ensure you use the crossings. You need to have your wits about you in most shops where they don't price their stock. They make up their prices as they go along!
During our stay we had 2 days of torrential rain-this was unfortunately where the hotel let itself down. The staff just couldn't cope with the amount of people in the hotel during the day. No extra entertainment was put on for the children and the waiters couldn't cope. One waitress was extremely rude during this time as she obviously couldn't cope with the pressure. There was also towels placed on the floor as the hotel walls and ceilings leaked during the rain-not a good look for a 4* hotel! I understand this weather is not a normal thing for them but feel they should have something in place to look after their guests better.
The entertainment was good and my children (4&7) thoroughly enjoyed the kids show every night. The Grease show was fantastic, put together with the entertainment team and a few guests in 1 day! Drink was a reasonable price 8 euros for a bottle of house wine.
The hotel is very close to Portaventura and aquapolis which we would have loved to have visited but due to the poor weather were unable to.
Had it not been for the bad weather I would rate this hotel as superb but unfortunately they let themselves down during this time.
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Tina from Walsall travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
Travel Republic
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2008 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: Stayed in 1 bed apartment on s/c basis. Weather lovely and can't fault this hotel - it is a 4 star.
Room - apartment fantastic and lovely and clean. Everything for s/c, although kettle boils on et hob so takes ages. Very spacious - 1 seperate bedroom as well as bed in living area and in hall area. Super
Food - Although was s/c, chose to eat in hotel as very good value. 7.50euros for buffet breakfast - no charge for my 2 year old and 15.50euros for dinner again foc for my daughter. Excellent food complimented by show cooking - good 4 star
Entertainment - not very good - shows were late to start. Although very nice lounge cabaret roon with waiter service and tv screens. Drinks a bit pricey - same as home really, but then I thought that generally. 12euros for a bottle of white wine
Pool - 2 pools - quite cold this time of year though - although childrens pool adequte and usual bar
Hotel Location - at the far end of salou at the back. Probably near port aventura than salou town. 500m to main strip down through the shops and to the beach. On a very busy island so use the pedestrian crossing to get to the main promenade.
Only down sides - this hotel demands 100 euros or £70 on arrival - refunded at the end if room check ok. This is a total waste as you end up with euros to change, so use £s if you can. Also I stayed 6 days and the safe was 29euros with 10refundable.
Overall, would definately stay again - very nice and upmarket
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Emma from Kent travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
firstchoice
on a friends holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well what can i say this hotel was brilliant the staff couldnt do enough for you cleaners were fantastic.
we went on the 5th october came back the 12th.
wish i was back there, the bar staff were brilliant miss their jokes already.
food never seen so much choice lovely breakfast was good too always fresh replaced and always hot.
entertainment good really good for kids, they get everyone involved in the music.
cant wait till next october it was BRILLIANT!!!!
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Simon Brooke from Peterborough travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel is located in a fairly decent location. It's about a 10 min walk to the main beach area with bars and resturants and a supermarket about 5 mins away.
There is a fairly steep incline - approx 150m long - not a real problem for anybody, unless you have mobility issues.
The hotel was spotless. You couldn't fault the public areas or the rooms. The maids worked very hard and did a very good job.
The rooms were a decent size, we had 3 beds (one was a converted sofa-bed) and still had space to move about. However if you're fitting in 4 beds the room could be a bit cramped.
One wardrobe and 3 small draws were provided for your cloths.
Food? Was pretty standard spanish buffet food. Nice touches at breakfast were the freshly cooked fried eggs, pancakes and omelettes. For the evening, there was often freshly cooked steak, chops available. The main areas of the resturant was the standard warmed up offerings. A fairly varied choice, kids menu mostly chips and pasta plus a meat dish. Many adults were eating from the childrens menu so often had to wait for the dishes to be re-filled.
I've never experienced HOT food from one of these buffets and the Dorada Palace didn't break this rule. I suppose it would be near impossible to seat that many guests and serve hot food!
Resturant staff were fairly friendly, BUT were slow at clearing tables. A particular problem in the morning. Bit annoying to see empty dirty tables while you wait for the staff to slowly clear them.
We found the day time entertainment poor. The night time stuff was better, but started quite late 2100 for the kids disco.
Bar prices for soft drinks are quite expensive. 1.50 Euro's for a small glass of Coke/ Tango etc was expensive compared to surrounding bars.
TRAVELLING WITH FIRST CHOICE:
Most UK visitors will visit this hotel by First Choice. Just to echo what has been said previously. You will not be able to check in until after 1400. So use the hotel luggage room for just 1 Euro and hit the town. The rooms are already pre-allocated, so no need to get back until too quickly. If you go self-catering you WILL be charged a 100 Euro deposit. I over-heard an argument between the reception staff and an appallingly rude woman over this charge. From the reaction of the reception staff it is an argument they've had a million times before.
We found the Kids Club range from good to very poor. The brochure hinted that the this hotel had an extended kids club, but in reality only about 2-4 hours per day (rather than the 13 hours quoted). I agree we went "out of season" but bewarned, especially if you also travel "out of season" (the brochure makes no reference to travelling out of season!). The kids club staff were OK, but we felt they could've done a bit more to get a good atmosphere going.
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nicholson from gateshead travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were halfboard and I would say that the breakfasts were better than the evening meal as there was more choice. You could not fault the cleanliness of the hotel as it was absloutely spotless you seen maids 24/7. The location of the hotel wasnt that bad but would have been better had it been nearer the beach.
The hotel staff were helpful and courteous at all times, now for the best the entertainment team was fantastic the shows they put on were very entertaining and the effort they put in was 150% they made our holiday the best ever.
I would defintely visit this hotel again it was the best ever.
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mrs carding from great yarmouth travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
eclipse direct
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Arrived at this hotel at 10.00 am could not check in until 2.00 pm which was ridiculous we had to store our luggage in the basement which they charge you for. Hotel staff not very friendly except in the dining room. Food was OK had a different theme every night, didn't find the childrens selection very good. Desserts were very good though. Did request a pool view with holiday company and the hotel direct but did not get one! Entertainment OK if you have very young children the animation team tried there best but got fed up of listening to everything in Spanish. Sunbeds are crammed around the pool and unless you get up very early you will struggle to get one even in the afternoon. Hotel I would rate more as a 3 star.
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L Scott from Great Yarmouth travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed here for a week and am looking to go back again. I cant believe all the negative reviews!!
Room was small but we went with a 7yr old and a 14yr old so ended up sleeping on the balcony as quite small!!
Hotel itself was clean, busy, and kept up with demand in our eyes. Restaurant food good, plenty to offer, catered for all ages. most people headed to the kids bit, what is it with Brits & Chips???
Location great! Plenty of bars shops, lovely promenade for evening strolls which we did every night! Shopping a must!
Easy access to Portaventura, we walked it in 15m easy!. Weather was great, bar a mega lightening storm which i thought was great lol!
Beach was lovely, clean, couldnt fault it.
Only downside for me was we had a pool facing room on 1st floor and entertainment was right outside, so noise (if you had a headache) went on late until sleep could be acheievd!! That and a 2pm check in, as we arrived at 10am so it was like Hmmm now what, but when we left it was good we wasnt kicked out of our rooms till 12pm so it kinda went hand in hand.
Other than that top holiday. Gave all we wanted for the money, we had a gd time, kids had a gd time.
Simple.
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Jane from london travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have just arrived back form the dorada palace and it was absoulty fantastic I can't say a bad word about any of it the Kids Club is Fantastic and so are the other reps Claire, Ali and Joe. They were great always smiling and always in the hotel making sure we was OK. They work so hard and they deserve all the praise they can get.
So I don't agree with comments that have been put on this website regarding them, all the reps in the Hotel was great!
The hotel is spotless really clean and the food is lovely. I will be returning again next year for sure nad look foward to it!! My kids loved it and so did I!!!!!!!
Thanks
Jane
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Michele and Ollie from Northants travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We've just returned from a fortnight at the Dorada Palace and I have to say we won't be going back.
We arrived around 10 am and couldn't check in til 2pm which was a nightmare with me having been up for roughly 24 hours by then and a very grumpy and tired 11 yr old in tow! I have to say the hotel is lovely, very clean and modern and the staff were very friendly and helpful because there wasn't a rep to be seen!!
So 2pm came and luckily we were at the front of the enormous queue to check-in and were dealt with quickly and courteously. Have to say though that the 100 euro deposit on the apartment and then another 50 euros for the safety deposit box was a bit of a shocker!
It was only when we got to our room we realised that the hotel was built on the side of a Spanish dual-carriageway (which our apartment faced!) The constant noise of cars ruled out any peaceful evenings on the balcony. Don't even get me started about the ambulances!
I think the most we counted in one day was 27! The apartment was capable of sleeping 5 apparantly but I think claustrophobia would have set in! It was big enough for us 2 but maybe a third but no more! The maids were fab and kept it spotless.
I had read about the 9am sunbed dash and thought I would get up to see if it was really true. I have to say it is. I have never seen anything like it! Grown men queuing at the doors from 8.30 and nearly barging the receptionists over when they opened them! Pushing and shoving like kids running for ice-cream! People falling over, losing shoes and throwing themselves across the sunbeds to get "their" spot. Absolutely ridiculous.
Pools were good, although all the rules seemed a bit excessive and the life-guard made sure they were followed too!
As we stayed self-catering we only tried the restaurant a few times and as much as there is a good choice I didn't like it and found every time I ate there I had an upset tummy the next day. Not that cheap either and I think they could at least give you one free drink with your evening meal for the price they are charging.
All the staff were friendly and very helpful but I noticed that if you don't make the effort with them, they won't bother to make the effort either. It doesn't cost anything to say please and thank you and saw some of the staff putting up with some of the rudest people! It made me ashamed to be British.
The hotel is about a 5 min walk to Salou centre and about 10 mins from the beach (which is very clean and no mad sunbed dash!) Salou itself was a bit of a dump (think your local city centre with fountain and palm trees) full of English bars and restaurants which if you like that sort of thing is great but not my cup of tea.
I have to say I only saw the First Choice reps once and thats at the welcome meeting and for reasons of my own I can honestly say I will never choose First Choice again. Absolutely rubbish.
All in all if this hotel was placed somewhere else I would gladly stay again but sadly it's not so we won't.
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MR BAKER from WORKSOP travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
FIRST CHOICE
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned from a fantastic week at the Daurada Palace Hotel. The hotel was exceptionally clean and all the staff friendly, bar staff and receptionist alike.
The food was great and a large selection to choose from, something different for every night. The location of the hotel was good, just far enough out of the town not to hear all the night life but close enough for the little ones to walk to. There is a small hill to the hotel but I wouldn't let this put you off. The theme/water parks are within walking distance making this hotel a good base for visiting Salou.
I cannot really comment on the entertainment as my kids were to young to join in at night, although what I did see was good. The kids club reps were fantastic, my eldest is quite shy but by the end of the week he was really getting in to it. His fav was Alex, who just seemed to put himself out that little bit more for the kids. With face painting, teddy bear treasure hunts and a host of other activities this hotel was great for the kids.
The creche facility was good aswell, it just gives you that little break from the kids while they go off and enjoy themselves. At a cost of 12 euros for an hour and half, it seems expensive but its worth the money.
The pools were good all four of them, they were clean and the main pool had a resident life guard, although she doesn't smile a lot she does a good job.
All in all we had a great week and a seriously considering going back again next year.
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mike from cardiff travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well on first arrival to Salou at 430am everything looked lovely hotel reception staff were pleasant and patient with all the arrivals we received a welcome bag with coffee,tea etc.
The room itself was lovely apart from us asking for a ground floor and pool view, we got 5th floor bus park/petrol station view. Oh by the way the busses on the weekend tend to all start up all together at around 600am, one morning it sounded like Silverstone on grand prix weekend.
All that aside the hotel is clean and lots to do the entertainment wasnt for us but looked like alot of people were enjoying it. Kids disco the same as any where we've been keeps the little ones happy and amused.
Location of the hotel is debatable as if you got 14 day passes to Portuventura park it is ideal. But if you wanted to visit salou it self its a short walk across some very busy/dangerous roads. The pools are well kept and had no trouble getting sunbeds at around 10:00am. The hotel has 3 pools
1 main 1 kids and one which is situated at the side of the hotel which you can use inflatables but we found it quite windy. the kids club cant comment on it my kids didnt really bother with it they tend to make frinds and play in the pool.
The only thing that I can complain about is the bar staff we found some of them to be very rude and just didn't want to help or do there job, but saying that thers was about 4 of them who were the opposite and received a lot tips from us.
Cant comment on the food as we didnt eat in the hotel apart from at the pool side bar which was ok and very reasonable prices. I did here alot of good reports on the food however. The hotel is lovely and would recommend it would be perfect if it was some were else, for instance out of salou.
The PORTUVENTURA park which is out of this world busy but worth every penny we had a 14day pass we found the best time to go up there was at around 330pm - 4pm as most of the crowds start dying down and there's no waiting for the big rides. Dragon Khan is awesome must have gone on it about 20 times, but what made the holiday was the new ride opening on the day we left its called FURIOUS BACO and trust me its furious 0 - 130KMH in 3 seconds all i can say is don't put your hands up your arms will hurt after. Try to smile at the start of the ride as that's when it takes your picture, when it starts you wont be smiling for long and if you can sit at the front as its the best seat and the scariest. The water park is good not the best ive been to but apparently there's a better one in La Pineda.
We will go back to Salou but will stay at the park for a week and not bother with the town as we didn't like the place or the way the locals treated everybody.
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Karen, Pete from Newcastle travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
FIRST CHOICE
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was a lovely hotel, but I was not happy with the location.
Did not mind the walk to the beach, but via many main roads, you take your life in your hands. Apart from this, its spotlessly clean, lovely reception and rooms and nice staff.
I have to say however that the kids clubs were excellent and the reps, especially Jenny worked so hard and gave 110%. A credit to First Choice. My kids loved her and were crying when we left.
The First Choice caberet on Monday night was such good fun. Everyone worked so hard to please. I will be returning next year.
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Ian Chambers from London travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: OK lets get things straight! The Hotel is good apart from some silly rules like the not being able to check in until 1400 and the deposit needing to be left (for self catering rooms only by the way). The apartment we stayed in was adequate for the 5 of us though we had a self catering apartment despite being Half Board. Maid service was every day and she did a good enough job to warrant a tip at the end of our stay. Hotel food was good, and well presented but as with all holidays did become a little repetitive. However if you wish you can order a picnic lunch and forego your evening meal, meaning you can go elsewhere once in a while without feeling you have totally wasted money. Access to Salou was about a 10 min walk away and was usual mix of touts, takeaways and bars, but made a change for the in house entertainment. Fueteventura is also a 20 min walk away, and we went there a lot having purchased a 2 week pass online from attractiontix.com (prices are so much cheaper than paying at the gate so worth checking out befor you go....).
Hotel staff were friendly enough apart from the lifeguard who I believe didn't smile in the two weeks we were there!
All in all we had a good holiday here and we would go again if we didn't have so much left of the world to see!!!
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Rachel Carey from Aldershot, Hampshire travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having read the reviews on this hotel, I was dreading going. So I was surprised when we got into our apartment. It had lots of space, was very clean and had loads of wardrobe space.
The kitchen had limited facilities but you could make a cuppa and breakfast - What more do you need! The swimming pools were lovely but very crowded. The life guard was great and ensured safety at all times.
We had breakfast in the hotel at couple of times - 7 Euros. It was brill as the kids could eat as much as they liked and the selection of fruit was great. The kids disco was OK but it was the same every night.
There is a park just up from the baby pool and this was very well equipped. The roof top pool is a must if you want a break from the kids for 10 minutes. This hotel is worthy of its 4-stars and we will definitely be going again.
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snellgrove family from devon travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed from the 1st May for 1 week,with 3 children aged 2,7 and 8.
We arrived at 3am,and didnt have the luxury of a rep on the coach or to help us check in.
The hotel itself is lovely,very clean,the rooms are smaller than some,no kettle in h/board.you can use the fridge but you have to pay 12 euros deposit(refundable).the safe is 18 euros +10 euros deposit. Nice swimming pools, a park area for the smaller children,and games room. No ATMs in hotel, and some of the reception staff dont speak english,which can be a problem when the reps are nowhere to be found!
In the swimming pools NO inflatables!,NO swimming under water!!,and no wearing sunglasses! even if you are just dipping your toes in,you may laugh but its true and the lifeguard loves using her whistle.
The kids evening entertainment was arranged by hotel,and was the same old everynight,my kids found it very boring,the adult entertaiment consisted of Bingo,karoke,u bet and a couple of shows.
we went out most days so didnt use the kids clubs,we took them one evening and was told they were having a party night and would have to pay 15 euros each!oh and there closed all day Sunday.
The quality of the food was poor,we found it hard to find something we liked each day.
The hotel isnt central and there is a lot of walking,the beach being farthest away. The walk to portaventura is about 15min walk up slight incline,so coming back is quicker,however there is a steep hill up to the hotel,which can be a killer when youve been on your feet all day!!
If your'e thinking of going to Barcelona the train is approx 11 euros,you will need a taxi to station and back,but still a lot cheaper than the arranged tours.
PORTAVENTURA is GREAT get your tickets from attractiontix.co.uk.save yourself a fortune,we paid the same for a 1 week pass as what they were charging at the gate for 1 day!!
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Gemma Vincent from Bournemouth travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I stayed at the Dorada Palace Hotel from the 1st May for 1 week, with my partner and must express how disappointed I was.
Firstly I arrived at this hotel at 10.30am after an early flight from London, although I was aware that we couldn't check in until 2pm.. I found it disgusting that we had to pay 1 euro per case to have our luggage stored, surely this should have been a free facility?!
I cannot fault the rooms, they are to a nice standard and the housekeeping are exceptionally clean.
The hotel is not located in the town centre as stated on First Choices website, it takes a good 15 minutes to walk to any decent restaurants and nightlife is a good half hour walk, or 7 euro in a taxi, unfortunately our reps were useless and we didn't discover the array of clubs and pub until our last 2 days.
The Pool, was OK the only thing I found weird was no inflatables were allowed, bearing in mind this is a family hotel, so not even the babies were allowed to have the rings etc, the lifeguard spent most of the day on her phone, not impressed!
The food was not to my taste, breakfast was OK, they have a wee chef on the grill who does eggs, omelettes and steaks etc in the evening, but I just found the food boring and tasteless same old same old, it was good that they had a selection for the kids, and at there height range, which was sweet.
Portaventura is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel and was OK, but I have been to better parks in the UK, e.g. Thorpe Park and Alton Towers, but for what it was it was quite good one tip buy your theme park tickets before you go, we got ours for £80 7 days inclusive! The park charges £30.00 for one day!
Overall I found this hotel was trying to be something it wasnt i can see how people would enjoy it but I don't recommend it to families or young people. they constantly shout at kids to stop making noise and running etc, it doesn't create a nice image.
If you are older or looking for a quiet getaway you will be happy, personally I won't be visiting the hotel again.
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Jennie Brown from milton keynes travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We found the hotel nice and close to the airport (not to close you could not hear the aircraft noise) transfer time was very good. We found the hotel on quite a steep hill if you go to the theme park and you walk round all day be prepared for the hill on the way back.
Could not complain about the hotel very clean, good food and entertainment. Rooms were lovely.
The only thing I did not like is in the evening in front of the entertainment its just crammed with plastic tables and chairs so one knock of the table by the kids and everything just falls on the floor. I called it plastic city.
If you fancy a cappuccino like I did then expect to get a shot of coffee with squirty cream on top. It was lovely to stay half board as we think it would have been hard finding a decent restaurant every night.
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coleman family from perth travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Rooms were very clean, and a good size for the three of us.
The food was good and that's coming from two fussy eaters!!! Loads of choice and it varied daily.
The location was good as it is close to both the centre and the theme park.
The hotel staff were friendly and helpfull.
The entertainment was fab brilliant for kids and adults too!!!.
We would definitely visit this hotel again.
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stacey green from manchester travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This hotel is amazing, we got back today and I want to get back there.
All the staff are fab and really participate with games, such as when we had to strip them to win games ect, very friendly and speak brilliant English and you can always find someone when you need them.
The half board rooms are small but at the end of the day you only use them for sleeping and getting changed, but they are no smaller than most I have been in.
The food is amazing, even for a fuss pot like me, there was always something different to try, they also had themed nights like Italian and Mexican but there was still other alternatives if you don't like this food, there are also fresh meats being prepared in front of you at the grill such as steak, pork sasages ect. The only thing is that the deserts can get a little boring, although it is always different, it is always something with moose, although the chocolate profiteroles are to die for. Breakfasts can be a little greasy but again there are loads of alternatives. The only faults was that you had to pay for drinks with the evening meal, and at 2.50 Euro for 200mls of cola, it is expencive, but you can get a bottle of wine for 7 euros and it can be stored in the fridge for next time. Breakfast juice, tea coffe is free in the morning though.
I cannot begin to say how good the entertainment staff are, they are there from 9:30am till about 12:30am and are brilliant with the kids, and adults alike, loads of games and activities to do during the day, and they put on extra if the weather is bad like films and games ect for everyone. The nightly shows are great as well, the sweet tempations act was great as were others.
We had a late check out booked witch was very handy, but they have a secure room where you can leave all your luggage for one euro.
Bar area and staff are great, fairly cheap drinks with a glass of coke at 1.50 euro. Pool area very clean, but the floor is very slippy and with the amount of sunbeds out, it is difficutly to manover a buggy because the guests move them all. Kids playground is great, we used this alot to tire the baby out in the evening, but the pool its self is great, not too small, just the right size and never gets packed, and is also life guarded.
The location is brilliant, it is about a 10 minute walk to the beach if you take the longest route, also plenty of shops and supermarkets close by. Also very close to port aventura, it is only about 15-20 minutes in the opposite direction.
I can't wait to get back, I love this hotel, and is even better than last time I visited 3 years ago.
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mcminn family from doncaster travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back from 2 weeks at the Dorada Palace. We found the hotel not worthy of the 4 stars accredited to it. The standard of cleanliness in our room was dreadful. (just don't look under the bed is all I will say) we had our towels changed every day however most of them I wouldn't bath the dog with, they were hard as nails and full of holes. Same for the sheets on the bed disgusting for a 4 star!!
Didn't stick around for the entertainment after the first evening as found the kids disco rubbish and the bar staff very ignorant & rude.
The checking in at 2pm is a farce!! As is the sunbed dash at 9am - you have to see it to believe it!! The staff stand at the doors barricading them with snooker que's - I kid you not!!
Swimming pool is far too small for the size of the hotel and my five year old was up to her neck in the shallow end ... not good enough for a hotel which is sold on being a family property.
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Kelly from Derry travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
falcon
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Arrived at Dorada Palace at 11.30 but had to stand about to 1.00 to be checked in.
Staff were not over friendly verging on being rude with exception of the maids.
Apartment we found to be small. Bit of squeeze for 2 adults and 2 children.
Pool was very clean but you have to be down at 9.00 to queue for sunbeds. Lifeguard always on duty which was reassuring.
Entertainment is dreadful.
Would not return to this hotel.
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dawn paul &tyler from hemel hempstead herts travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: For a family of 3 we thought the lounge was to small compared to other hotels we have stayed in. cooking facilities weren’t that good no toaster but grill in microwave. Safe is in the wardrobe you buy the lock and key from rec which is 17 euro per week+ 10 dep. The remote for the TV was 12 euros but you can turn it over by the buttons. Also if you want the phone connected that was 30 euros. On arriving you will be asked for 100 euros dep for your room for breakages you do get it back at the end.
The road that runs up the side of the hotel which we were facing was really noisy and busy.
The entertainment was abit hit and miss I did like the Abba band.
The swimming pool is not big enough for the amount of guests and the terrace is cramped but the very sad people who do the towel rush at 9.00 grab all the best beds and then left for long periods of time. You all looked very sad!!!
The food at the bar was not that good soggy chips.
It sounds as though we had a rubbish time but it was a good holiday the things we have said about are our negative thoughts about this hotel.
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Hev from Cardiff. WALES travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I found the hotel reception staff very friendly and helpful.
I was glad I had read the reviews on here before going so I knew about the 100 Euro's deposit.
The rooms were better than I was expecting after reading some reports on here, there were 4 of us, myself and hubby, we had the bedroom, my 17yr old daughter, she had the bed-settee and my 13yr old son, who had the small bed just inside the door opposite the bathroom.
The room was much bigger than I had been expecting and fine for us.
The cleaners were very good.
I have to say that the hotels entertainment staff were excellent and worked very hard, they were friendly and great fun, they certainly made our holiday a fab one!! (much much better than the reps!!!)
We joined in with all the daytime games; rifle shooting, archery, pool, darts & water polo etc and had such a laugh, making friends as well.
Cheers to Juan......"omg is he mad or what" ;-)
The only negative thing I will say about the hotel is about 'NO balls' in the main pool, I knew about no lilo's but not about no balls or games in the pool, so my son was very disappointed with this!
We used the restaurant twice and did enjoy it, but only used it twice because it was expensive compared to places locally, we did try the breakfast on our last day but didn't like it (the snack bar is minging).
The location of the hotel is good, it is central to all the places ie. shops, cafes, restaurants, beach, buses & PortAdventura.
Best restaurant must be 'Buddys', if you go there say 'HI' to 'Stefan' from the 'Welsh family', the lady with the red hair and daughter who he wanted to marry!!! hahaha
I bought a '14 day' pass for PortAdventura on the Internet before going and it was well worth the money, we went most nights and tried it once in the day, prefering the nights as it was cooler, less q's and a better atmosphere.
Fantastic holiday!!
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thomson from fife travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Overall this was a nice hotel to stay in.
The food was excellent with lots of choice for all. You could not fault the cleanliness and the maids were in daily changing towels etc.
The only fault that I have with your evening meal was that you could only order a bottle of wine a time and not a glass and it became very expensive.
The kid’s soft drinks at the hotel were quite steep too: 3.50 euros for a small slush!
It’s in a good location, ten mins each way to the beach or the park. If you have tired feet after a few days going up and down to the park you can easily jump on a bus at the bottom of the road from the hotel and your there in five mins.
The hotel does sit on a slight hill, will feel like a mountain when you’re tired out!
The entertainment was good on some nights and the kids disco was great. The reps are kept going from morning till night keeping the kids busy.
Would come back again!
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Julie from new malden surrey travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Comfy and clean apartment size fine fits up to 5 although not 5 adults. Sofa beds are only for kids or short adults and 5th bed in a camp bed.
Pool area ok bit crowded and unable to access before 9am. Lifeguard on duty from about 10am and very strict.
Unable to get into rooms on arrival before 2pm can be difficult with young kids. Luggage room to leave cases but do charge 1 euro. If leaving on late flight would recommend pre booking late check out.
Cooking facilities basic but ok.
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Roy from Swansea travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Dorada Palace in July it is the best hotel we have ever stayed in.
The hotel is spotlessly clean the food at the hotel is of a very high standard and also plenty of choice for adults and children.
The hotel is a 10 minute walk to the shops bars and beach and also a 15 minute walk to Port Aventura theme park.
The hotel staff were always very friendly and the service at the bars and restaurant was good.
There were activities by the pool during the day run by the hotel and at night there was a children disco which started at 9.00 pm then followed by a show for the adults the shows at night could be improved on. While we where there we saw 4 good shows the rest where a bit cheesey. As we had 2 children aged 9 and 6 with us one of the best parts of the holiday was the First Choice kids club. The children enjoyed themselves at the clubs and the clubs reps were brilliant with them if you are going as a family
We would highly recommend the Dorado Palace to you. I know we are going back again next year. Booked already
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Mrs green from Kent travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We just returned from a lovely holiday in the Dorada Palace hotel.
We all found this hotel to be spotless and worth the 4 star it has been awarded.
We stayed self catering but a few times paid 6 euros adult and 3 euros child for breakfast(which filled you up for most of the day )and once for an evening meal 14 euros adult and 7 euros child. There was nothing wrong with the food but I'm glad we didn't go half board as there were so many lovely places to eat nearby and really reasonable too, making the hotel evening meal seem expensive.
The hotel location couldn't be better as it was less than 5 mins to the local supermarket, 10 minutes to all the local shops which lead down to the lovely sandy beach and 10-15 minute leisurely walk to Port Aventura theme park.
We found the hotel staff to be pleasant enough and thought they worked hard as the same staff were always there.
Everybody queued up by 8.45 for the sunbeds as the doors opened dead on 9am. It was fine for most but not for the ones wanting the same position every day and would run for them. The sun didn't get on the whole pool area until about 11 so once the towels were put down everybody disappeared for b'fast. If there was only 2 of you there were always a few beds about whenever you got there but for a family wanting to be together it was vital you were there when the doors opened. By about 3-4 pm there were loads of beds free as people went out from the hotel and lots of people arrived back from being out to a half empty pool and the sun stayed there until about 7pm and the pool would close at 8.
There were various activities run by the hotel during the day, archery, table tennis, water games as well as a kids club which was as well as the First Choice kids club. The evening entertainment we thought was ok when we stayed there for it, dancing and kids games between 9 and 10 then varied night entertainment until about midnight.
We would definitely stay at this hotel again and would love to go back.
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barbor family from lowestoft travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was our second stay at the dorada palace, liked it so much last year we booked up again straight away.
Stayed half board for two weeks.
Rooms are nicely furnished and certainly not huge but adequate.
Hotel was very clean couldn't fault maids.
Good range of food in buffet restaurant. Children have their own area at a lower level to serve themselves. Fantastic omelette's for breakfast and theme nights few times week. Men must wear trousers for dinner although 3/4 length ok. only grumble was restaurant staff too busy and sometimes had to clear own plates away.
Staff generally good. Waiter service from bar in evening had improved on previous year. animation team tried very hard to get you involved in their activities if you stayed in. Shows on every night except Monday (when they have karaoke instead) after kids mini disco and bingo. mixture of external acts and shows put on by animation team.
Hotel located not far from shops and about 20 minute walk from main beach, and about same from Port Aventura.
Would definitely go back again in a few years time
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Kirby from Shannon travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
Falcon Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We booked this hotel on the basis of reading the very good reviews. Very pleased when we arrived and saw the location and the facilities, but had to wait until 1.00 to check in.
Booked a one bedroomed apartments, brochure said it sleeps 5, but when we got the key, the apartments was tiny. Went to the reception thinking there had been some mistake, as 2 adults and 2 teenage children and one aged 9. When you sit on couch your legs outstretched reached the sideboard on the opposite side of the room, very narrow.
Receptionist was very unhelpful and said no mistake. Had to pay an extra 900 euro to switch to a different hotel.
We were very disappointed as the facilities looked fantastic. Room is good size for 2 adults and 1 child but no more
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whit from m-in-m travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Good sized room, loads to do at the hotel.
From what I was told the half board upgrade is worth paying for when you arrive.
Pool area was good with kids play area.
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maria from Somerset travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just got back from Club Dorada Palace do not be fooled by people saying its only a short walk into town it took us nearly 25 mins to get to the beach and town. The streets are quite dirty and loads of graffiti everywhere. I've been to Spain about 10 times and have never seen such a dirty resort. You can't have a nice stroll along the beach front or town without being bothered by touts who get in your face.
We booked the holiday as self catering so that we could have a separate bedroom, then when we got there we paid for half board which was 125 euro for 5 days.
The apartment was a good size for 3 adults and a baby you could manage 4 adults and a baby if need be, it was very clean and the maids came every day to clean.
The food was quite boring the same old stuff nearly every day, there is a good selection for kids.
There are 3 pools the main one gets very busy, there is also a snack bar but the staff are rude and unhelpful, never smile or say hello.
Also watch out for the floor very slippery.
The back pool is lovely and quiet and the beds are more comfortable but have to walk to the main pool to get drinks and snacks.
On the roof there is a small pool and a spa this area is great its adults only and there is always room up there.
Kids club and crèche are brill my 22 month old loved going and it gives parents a break.
If the hotels staff were more friendly and the hotel was in a different resort I would go back.
I have loads more to say but having a bit of a brain freeze lol.
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Mrs Bradbury from Cheshire travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned from the Dorada palace hotel and although I can agree to some of what people say I can honestly say there is no pleasing some people.
Breakfast was for everyone you had cereal, toast, beans, eggs,sausages, omelette's, juice, tea, coffee and much more they catered for every nationality. Dinner again there was a choice of salad, pasta, selection of meats for the children there was smiley faces chips pasta chicken fish fingers and much more with lots of different deserts for everyone.
The hotel itself is lovely and clean the entertainment doesn't start till ten which is a pain when you have young ones who are easily bored.
We found the room to be of a decent size witha nice view overlooking the pool.
I must point out a steep walk up to the hotel when you have been into Salou for the night or day and this can be quite hard especially if pushing a pram or laden down with shopping but the exercise does you good.
The beach is lovely no foul smells as previously pointed out my little one loved playing in the sea and sand as did i.
I do agree however that it is a Spanish version of Blackpool as of a night there isn't much to do for little ones, except waste your money trying to win teddies or on silly racing machines or drink. We didn't find much to do at all of a night except one bar called Champions did have some brilliant entertainment on for kids and the bar next door had a mini motorbike circuit and trampolines ball-pool etc which was good but still this went on till 12pm, and its a good 20 minute walk from the hotel not nice if you have small kids and you have to walk back with all the touts and the Spanish etc.
Overall I would say I had a brilliant holiday and would return but not in the near future Salou desperately needs to look at things for the younger children to keep them occupied.
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the Gerrard family from Newport travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
Thomas Cooke
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well were do I begin, what a place to visit, I'm still having nightmares where do i begin.
Food always cold, same old same old, no choice just chips with everything and tomato flavoured pasta (cold) yuk.
The hotel is 4 star but should be 3*.my room was ok if I was a midget and a lovely 1970's style camp bed for the kids(bring back Butlins). The balcony was laughable tiny you couldn't swing a cat and overlooking a beautiful constructed building site there is no better view (tongue in cheek).
cut to the chase Salou is a filthy dump it's a poor mans Blackpool, crowded beach, litter, funny smell, bad food.
Want my advice stay away book southern Spain or Canaries, I'm off for therapy now to see if my nightmares will go away...have fun.
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Robbo from Leeds travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel itself is rated as 4* and is very clean and well maintained. The rooms are a good size for 2 adults however would be a squeeze to fit 4 or more people in. We had a balcony overlooking the dual-carriageway and kids playground, so needless to say we didn't spend much time out there! The hotel basically caters for families with young children and there always seemed to be something going on to keep them amused, however if your looking for peace and quiet then i wouldn't recommend staying here. I can imagine it being hell in the middle of July! The hotel is about 10 mins walk from the beach and PortAventura.
POSITIVES
* Check out the 'adults only' roof top pool, jacuzzi and gym to get away from the noisy children at the main pool!
* You can hire large beach towels from reception free of charge
* Maids came everyday and replaced towels when needed.
* Reception staff are very helpful (We had an incident where the apartment next door to us had flooded and water was coming into our room, they responded immediately and cleaned everything up)
NEGATIVES
* Its a pain that you can't check in until 2pm, especially as you'll be waiting in the queue another hour along with everyone else when check-in opens.
* The security deposit of €100 seems quite excessive and takes a chunk out of your spending money.
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Jal from Glasgow travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have to agree with the previous two reviews about this hotel, we originally stayed in this hotel back in 2000 when I believe it was just opened, and this year we found quite a difference.
Hotel - We had no problem checking in as we arrived in the evening, we were a bit shocked at the 100€ deposit as this didn't happen when we stayed here previously (however, on the First Choice website it does actually mention this). The hotel itself was very clean, reception staff were very friendly as were all the staff.
Late Check out Rooms - We paid 50€ for a room for the day, which is the same in the UK, but you wouldn't have the worry about not getting one, we had to wait until our last day before we knew for definate. If this was booked in the UK you probably wouldn't have to move rooms like we did.
Pool Area(s) : There are two pools in this hotel, both are spotlessly clean and plenty of sunbeds. However, as it was May the temperature of the water was freezing, only managed once and never again!!
6th Floor : There is a fantastice adults only area, with jacuzzi, small pool, beauticians and small selection of gym equipment.
Room - We found the 1 bed apartment which according to First Choice should sleep up to 5 people - this just couldn't happen we were only 2 adults and a teenager and we found the apartment claustrophobic. The cooking facilities were not great, don't think you could have possibly made a decent meal there. Maid service was excellent, she came every day and changed towels etc.
Food - Although we were self catering, the last time we stayed we were Half Board and the food was brilliant, so we thought we would try the restaurant this time. We were extremely disappointed, yes there was a vast selection but it was utterly bland and tasteless, this was the same for Dinner and Breakfast, the standard has really slipped!!
Pool Bar: Food here was a definate rip off and OK if you like chips!
Entertainment : The seating in the bar area due to the design of the hotel is impaired in some areas and you are staring at a large column all night, so it is difficult to see the stage area. We didn't get involved in the day time events, so we don't know what these were like. However, the nigthly entertainment did start slightly late (10pm) for the shows to begin.
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S & P from Lincolnshire travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We'll get the negatives out of the way first.. staff on reception downright refused to let us to our room before 2pm, despite the maids leaving at 1pm and saying rooms were clean, so after arriving at 10am we had to leave our cases and try to find somewhere to go!
After booking a late deal and requesting a pool side view with little chance of getting it, we were shocked to find we had a massive corner room, overlooking the pool, shops and (in the distance) the sea.
location was good, far enough away from the town centre to get away from the noise, and close enough for walking distance.
hotel itself was gorgeous, nice open reception, very clean with nice bars and restaurant which served OK food (but at 6 euros p/p for breakfast, what do you expect?)...a massive choice of food with a chef who'd cook your eggs any way you wanted.
Overall, lovely hotel, great destination, the town is great with a lovely beach which really lights up at night, definately want to return *HOPEFULLY TO THE SAME HOTEL*.
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Mrs Witherow from Coventry travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Most of the reviews people have written are excellent, however, we found the hotel to be good in some areas, poor in others. Here is what we found:
Check-in - we arrived at 11am and had to wait until 2pm to check-in. I was aware of this before we went, but it was a bigger deal than we expected. We had been up since 4am and so were very tired when we got there and believe me, those 3 hours dragged, especially when you have to keep 2 small children amused.
Deposit - we were not aware, however, that we were expected to hand over £70 or 100 euros in cash before getting our room, this is refunded once the room has been checked over after you leave it. Luckily my husband had enough cash to pay it in sterling or we would have been 100 euros down before we'd even started!
Rooms - had read many reviews warning about small rooms and had to agree. Our apartment was the smallest I've ever stayed in and the equipment was minimal. The bedroom was a decent size to be fair. The balcony was very big but we didn't spend much time on it due to the view - a coach park. Heard no building work. The maid service is excellent, clean towels whenever you want them and they come in every day. In fact you could not fault the hotel on cleanliness.
Food - good in that there was a huge selection and we found the children's selection excellent, my two ate loads! So we wish we had gone half board. It cost 14 euros for dinner and 7 euros for children (they did not charge for my 2 yr old)
Pool - we didn't use the pool area as we preferred the beach but it looked very clean. No fighting for sun beds as we were outside the peak season.
Staff - very friendly in restaurant. Reception were efficient and helpful too - when my youngest was sick they insisted we let them know if he needed a doctor and they would arrange for one to visit us (we didn't but felt better knowing that!)
Entertainment - we didn't see it as it started about 10pm and the kids were tired by then. They did enjoy the children's disco at 9pm. The best thing for the kids was the kids club - our 5 yr old loved going and went most days and our youngest went to the creche a few times which was 11 euros and excellent - they sent him home with a booklet detailing what he'd done all week. The staff at the club are great and it's no surprise there are queues in the summer months.
Salou - we were not keen on Salou, the only really nice bit is the beach which is lovely. Away from the beach it is very drab. Whenever we ate out the food wasn't bad but we found it quite expensive.
Check-out- if you don't leave your room by ten you are pestered - we got a phonecall, knocks on the door and eventually someone from reception came up as we were about to leave at half ten. This was annoying since we were made to wait 3 hrs for our room and the rep had incorrectly told us that check-out was 12pm!
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ARMSTRONG from SURREY travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
FIRST CHOICE
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just returned from a week in the Dorada palace hotel. To be honest I was quite disappointed as was my spouse with a number of things on this holiday.
1) The hotel was located near a building site of another hotel, fortunately we didn't have a room facing this but some people did.
2) At night it was very noisy, our first room was located on the first floor and we asked to be moved it took them three days to do so as they were full. Not impressive!
3) Some nice person had flicked cigarette ash on our clothes from the balcony above. Not very nice or what you'd expect from someone staying in a 4 star hotel.
4) They took 100 euros from us when we got there - we weren't told about this but the reception took this from everyone as a deposit in case you broke anything. This ate into our budget which we weren't impressed about.
5) Also at night we had a room with a pool view in the end, and all we could hear was loud shouting, singing, horns beeping and traffic as it is next to the main road. It was very disturbing and we had our two year old waking saying it was loud.
On a positive note;
the kids club was excellent - really friendly staff and nice to have a break for parents and kids too
there is a good entertainment programme at the hotel
there is a little gym, jacuzzi and pool on the top floor which is for adults only
All in all we had an OK time but I wouldn't revisit this hotel. The resort isn't that nice, the room was small and I've been to better places for less money.
Salou reminded me of Blackpool but a Spanish version.
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Liz from Bristol travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed self catering at this hotel, and having been to Salou on previous occasions knew roughly where it was based.
A very late flight into Reus, but efficent and friendly staff soon got us to our room, along with a free welcome pack of coffee, milk, biscuits etc.. which was a nice surprise.
Impressive reception area, very clean, big and modern. Had a bit of a nightmare going up in the wrong lifts, but that was soon sorted.
Our apartment had one bedroom with a double bed (rare in Spain!), and a bed settee in the living room, a lovely modern kitchen, with microwave, kettle, fridge etc.. all clean and working!
Couldn't fault the apartment at all, nice bathroom, and a balcony over looking the pool. Maids who worked really hard at keeping the whole place spotless.
Entertainment looked very organised, and there were good acts everynight, we caught a few, including a Stylistic Tribute band, and a Grease show, which were all very professional!
They had things going on all day, and had music playing for the most part, which made it lively around the pool.. looked like they really took care of the kiddies needs too, although we're way past that stage!
The bars were quite slow, but once they caught on what you were ordering, all was fine! Very nice fresh chickens spit-roasted every morning at the pool bar, just in time for an early lunch after a busy time sunbathing by the lovely clean pool! I did notice there was a lifeguard in attandance constantly, which was reassuring. There were a lot of little ones running around that area.
They have about 4 computers in the basement area, which was nice.. good to catch up on emails, transfer some holiday money etc, well done for that. Also down there were various drink/sweet vending machines, loos, showers, and a luggage room, which was well organised and safe, along with a car park.
We had a late check out (paying £32 extra) but so worth it, as we had somewhere to rest, change and come back to before our 12am pick-up!
The rooftop terrace was 'Adults Only' and a haven away from the hussle of the family pool..nice views, and very peaceful, with a jacuzzi...bliss! Also a beauty salon if you felt inclined!
All staff were friendly and helpful.
We loved the place, and would return there again if we were looking to stay in Salou.
Anyone who says different must be mad! This place is super!
Short walk into the shops and to the seafront from our hotel...with various routes, of which many bars and drinks would help you on your way.
We love the entertainment at the Irish bar DannyBoy's..especially Sugar House Lane, who were amazing, and we have been back two years in a row to see them, great night out - guaranteed!! (If you're into rock/guitar music!!)
We shall return!!!
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vicki elvin from hull travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This Hotel is fantastic
The size of the apartment rooms were excellent with a seperate bedroom and 3 beds situated in the lounge area very big balcony and had a lovely view of pool and sea (room 507 )
The entertainment was good for familys with a mini disco and a show with another mini disco during the interval for the kids.
We never had a problem with sunbeds and the kids pool was next to the park so you could still sunbathe while watching what they were doing
the hotel is situated close to shops/beach and port aventura without been on top of it all.
we had the breakfast once but was a bit too disorganised for us the food was nice though.
the bar service is very slow but been self catering we took our own drinks down (dont display what your doing!)
i would highly recommend this hotel so much we are intending on going back next year.
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Mcveigh from mansfield travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back from Salou and went straight back on the internet to book this hotel for next year.
We have been abroad on numerous occasions and always said if we find a good hotel we would go back well this is our favourite.
The Room, Food( way too much though!), staff, pool, etc all were excellent see you next year.
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DARREN from WOLVERHAMPTON travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
FIRST CHOICE
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Have just returned from a fortnight's holiday at Dorada Palace hotel in Salou.
The location is excellant being 15-20 minutes walk from Port Aventura (20-35 minutes with kids depending on how much their precious feet hurt) and 15-minutes, if the kids are frog-marched and blindfolded (unfortunately, there are numerous kid-magnet shops), to the beach.
I read numerous reviews before my holiday and most complained about the size of the rooms. I can only assume these reviewers have never stayed in a hotel in their life as the rooms are standard size. I make frequent visits to Europe, unfortunately on business, and the size was as expected. Yes, the room was cramped, with 2 adults and 2 children, but who stays in the room all day?
As I visited with FirstChoice, I had access to the Kid's Club which operated for 4-6 hours per day with sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening. If this is not enough the hotel lays on entertainment for the kids as well. My kids wanted to go back again and again and ....
As we stayed half-board, I can comment on the food which was buffet-style and, on the whole, of a good quality. Please bear in mind that you are paying something like 12 Euros for both breakfast and dinner. Overall, I found the restaurant offered good value. My only gripe is that the deserts were the same every day. The best day to visit the restuarant is Saturday as the seafood selection is excellant.
The hotel has four pools: one for tots, two for mixed ages and one for adults only. If you like to rest on a sunbed all day then you have a problem as the beds go quickly. The hotel recognise this as an issue and prevent people from 'reserving beds' before 9:00am. If you are one of the people who towel a bed at 9:00am to arrive at 2:00pm then may you burn in hell. Fortunately, I am not a sun worshipper and there were plenty of shaded beds from which I could keep an eye on the kids. If you actually use the pool, I realise this is a preposterous idea, then you will not have a problem as the ratio of people sunbathing to taking a dip is 20:1.
My room overlooked the main pool and entertainment stage which meant that going to bed before midnight was a no no. However, I would not choose another vantage point.
One tip: the thing with a key-lock under the telly, which I assumed was the minibar, is actually a fridge for which a 12 Euro returnable-deposit is payable. The room manual tells you this but who reads the manual? In anycase, why should you need a key for a fridge in the first place?
Summary: great hotel (don't believe anybody who says it isn't), great location, great holiday.
Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did.
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Debs from Norwich travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Have just returned from a week's holiday at the Dorada Palace hotel in Salou. Overall we had a good holiday but were really disappointed with the hotel.
It was situated about 10 minutes walk from the beach and about 10 minutes walk from Port Aventura (which was the main reason we picked the hotel). The was a huge building site just opposite the main entrance to the hotel and it was very noisy.
On arrival (at 10.00 am) we had to wait until 2pm before we could check into our room. When we got to our room we found that it was really small - obviously intended for two people but they had squeezed a sofa chair in and all three beds were squashed up against each other with a wall on one side and about 12 inches on the other so that you could get out on the balcony. You couldn't move and had to crawl over each other to get into bed. The balcony was laughable. We had a corner room overlookin the pool and the balcony was triangular with privacy screens on each side and about a 2 foot "slit" to overlook and pool and generally look at the "view". There was also a table and two chairs and a clothes airer - if you put up the airer to dry towels etc you couldn't get out of the room onto the balcony.
We arrived on a Tuesday and found it to be the Rep's day off. I complained at reception about the room and they were very helpful but said that we wouldn't be able to move until the next day - which we did. This room was much better - the third bed was a fixed single cabin style bed that doubled up as a sofa with back cushions and there was also a sofa chair bed. The downside was that it overlooked the building works at the front of the hotel but upside was that you could watch the port aventura fireworks every night!
The pool was far too small for the size of the hotel. All the beds were gone by 9am and we didn't even bother trying to get one. There was also another smaller pool to the side of the hotel but that was in shade for much of the day. The adult pool on the roof was a lifesaver when our son was in the kid's club.
The Restaurant was chaotic. The tables in the morning were difficult to find as they were always littered with previous occupants crockery etc that the few table staff hadn't managed to clear. Breakfasts were fine and there was a good selection. Dinner was awful. The food was really bland. There was always a reasonable selection of salad but hot food was terrible. There were virtually no vegetables to speak of and the few that there were were overcooked and just not nice. The meet selection was really poor as well - usually turkey and maybe some beef and just one fish dish. The desserts were the same every single night.
The bar of the hotel was laughable - we own a pub and if we provided the same kind of service, we would be out of business! In the evening there was an outside pool bar and the inside lounge bar which also served the people outside via a large hatch. In all I think there were about 4 staff - all of whom were very slow and often got the orders wrong. At 12pm the outside bar closed. They then served all drinks in plastic until close at the inside bar.
The First Choice kids club and kid's reps were first class. Absolutely brilliant. Our son (10 years) had a really great time. They actually took them out on proper trips (extra charge involved but well worth it) instead of getting them to do cutting and sticking as most do. In the week that we were there our son went to Aquapolis water park, mini golf and the rep's cabaret.
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Jeffers from Goole travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This Hotel was very clean and tidy, maids came in every day to clean and tidy room. Towels were changed twice a week.
We stayed on a half board basis basically because we have fussy children. The food was nice but very repetative. The children's food could have been better, our children like basic food like fish fingers, sausages, chicken nuggets etc but they didn't get that, it always seemed to be pasta, curried chicken, normal chicken, squid rings!!!!! They did enjoy the chips every night and the curley chips followed by chocolate ice-cream and cakes!!!!!
The location of the Hotel was fine, a nice walk to the beach and only a 10 minute walk to the Theme Park and Costa Caribe Water Park. The Hotel is situatedon top of a slight hill which is a real killer but good exercise!!
The staff were friendly but the bar staff were very slow and don't seem to understand what you are asking for, a lot of patience needed!!!
The entertainment at the Hotel during the day and night was rubbish, kids disco lasted about 20 minutes or so and there seemed to be no enthusiasm. Our children seemed to enjoy themselves which is the main thing but we just thought it could have been much better.
We probably would visit this Hotel again but probably on a self-catering basis, the pool was lovely and our children had a whale of a time in there.
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Williams from Birmingham travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very posh in a good way! Maids were very clean and very friendly.
Food was good something for everyone. My children are very fussy and they enjoyed it.
Port Aventura is about a ten minute walk. Very good but height restrictions do apply for even the kids rides.
Bar staff at hotel a bit slow so get a drink when your half way down your other one.
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Maxine L from Ilford travelled to Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel with
Eclipse
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | |
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