Arena Beach Hotel

Stayed here for a week with my husband, 23 month old and 4 month old. The staff are lovely and very helpful. Check-in was quite slow but the woman on reception was nice enough. The apartment was quite small. We had a one bedroom but really should have paid for two. Our eldest daughter got the biggest bedroom to herself and my husband and I planned to sleep on the sofa bed with the baby in the cot. This did not work out as the sofa bed was not big enough for two people and was very uncomfortable. We ended up taking turns sleeping in there and in the bedroom. The kitchen area had a microwave and kettle so was good for making bottles for the baby. We also requested a ground floor room which is what we were given. The pool areas are clean and there are enough sun beds. The heated pool is not very heated so we didn't spend much time in the pools. The food was average. There was not much choice for vegetarians or for small children...except chips. Maid service is very good and is cleaned daily. There are two days where it is not but I can't remember what they are. All inclusive drink options were good and you can just help yourself at the pool bar. Location wise it is a bit out of the way. The nearest strip of bars, shops and the beach are about a 20/25 minute walk away. We were pushing a double buggy so you may get there in a quicker time. It's left out the hotel and then left again. The beach is lovely and the marina is also down there. It's a 3 star hotel and you get what you pay for.

Stayed first 2 weeks April. This was not the complex of our choice.. but after Oasis papagayo refused to honour our booking when we turned up...our holiday company had to find us somewhere quickly. Nice complex. Fairly quiet & relaxing most of the time. All the staff are hard working & pleasant. There's always plenty of food. Its not always piping hot & not what you would get in a restaurant... but you wont starve. The accommodation is ok and they are all kept clean by the friendly maids. Both pools are very refreshing should you feel the need to cool off. Too cold for some though. Few negative points :- Theres never any cider on the All inclusive... why..? The quality of the drinks on the all inclusive are.... terrible. Maybe thats just my taste but i gave up on them after a few days & bought some in. We stayed in a lower apt and we could quite clearly hear when the upper apt were using the bathroom. Not what i wanted to hear when having my toast & coffee in the morning. Some insulation would be helpful. All in all it was ok considering we had limited choices at the time due to the Oasis group fiasco.

The hotel is spotless with really friendly and helpful staff. Rooms are a good size and are well equipped. Dining room is a good size with lots of choices for lunch breakfast and dinner. I especially enjoyed the seafood which was available every day. It was nice that there was food being freshly cooked in the dining room every mealtime. The only minor issues we had were that the bar, which doubled as the entertainment area, was very small for the size of hotel. It would have been nice to have been able to use the bath or sinks but none of them had plugs. Overall the hotel was very good and we would be happy to go back.