Occidental Jandia Playa

We are lucky enough to go on holiday 4/5 times a year, often on an all inclusive basis, so have lots to compare. We have been to Jandia a number of times & usually stay at Club Magic Life which we rate highly. We wanted to try something different & booked this hotel as we got such a great bargain with Thomas Cook & had previously stayed at the Occidental Jandia Mar. We opted for the basic ‘blue band’ level (not Royal or Premium) and were a bit apprehensive after reading some of the negative reviews on this site but we went with an open mind and here is our view which is based on the price we paid: Great bits! • It’s a very relaxed & friendly hotel & we met some lovely people. • Staff are really efficient and some are really friendly. • Great location - a 10 minute stroll to a beautiful sandy beach and a 25 min walk to Morro Jable past some lovely high end shops, bars and restaurants. • Drink quality for a Spanish all inclusive was very good. Gordon’s and Beefeater gin, Smirnoff vodka & not watered down. Tropical beer was great. • We met people who had upgraded to premium (cream band) for €5 each per day and that gave access to a separate pool area, more branded spirits, premium drinks & mixers & a separate dining area. That seemed to be good value. • Some of the entertainment was really good - ABBA, Beatles & Jersey Boys tribute bands were great. • Lovely white, soft towels - which is important to me! • Pool areas - always lots of sunbeds no matter what time of day - no towel reserving which was a big bonus & made for a relaxing holiday! • Hotel gardens - tropical & really well kept. Things we thought could be better (but wouldn’t stop us going again): • The room - clean, sheets changed every few days, comfy bed but typical Spanish style with dark wood headboard, wardrobes so a bit dated as was the bathroom although the rainhead shower over the bath was great. • The food - although I always found something to eat, in my view it isn’t high quality and there is limited variety compared to other all inclusives we have been to. The fresh fish was good & some other things were really tasty but lots of pork or chicken so got a bit boring for me after about 5 days. My husband however thought the choices were really good. • Some maintenance needed - cracked tiles around the pool area for example. • The photographers were a bit of a pain. We were approached a few times & although we politely declined they were persistent! Some other tips: • The safe is €3 a day & the pool towels were €10 euros each refundable deposit. • Spar supermarket underneath the hotel is well stocked & reasonably priced. Overall we thought if the food was improved and the bedrooms / bathrooms were updated this would have been a 4.5 star review. For what we paid we felt it was fantastic value for money & we would definitely return if price was right!

We have just returned from 7 Day Holiday at this hotel. Not very happy with the location and the general maintenance. The tiles around the steps had parts missing and their was a lot of loose tiles around the complex. Our room was at the bottom of the complex and at night the path ways lights was not working in places. We booked a sea view but when going onto the seating area looking out towards the sea their was a large sign obstructing the view. The restaurant let the hotel down a lot of the hot food was cold, the Toasters for breakfast toast you had to put the bread through 4 times to get it to brown. The bacon was swimming in its on oil after being cooked in the same tray. The main and evening meals seemed to be the poor quality meats. Their was only one place to get a hot/cold drink through the day has the pool bar was not open and their was no facilities in the main hotel. All in all I don't think we will be going back to this hotel again.