Hotel El Paso

BAD I was disappointed over and over again. I choose to come to Port Aventura for the amusement park and to make the most of our time in the park I chose to stay at one of the hotels. I chose the hotel roulette option to save on the cost. The bathroom grout was cracked in well over 10 places. The toilet seat was stained blue and red and the safe was broken and the bathtub was rusted in several places. After four phone calls and two workers over the course of two days, they replaced the safe, but it was only held on with one bolt and felt like it could be ripped out. They offered to move me into a new room after complaining but wanted to check it before to make sure it was better. They did check it, but it was only slightly better. The room they check had mold and the safe was also broken. After another call, they were able to fix this safe the first time. With all of these troubles, I gave up on complaining (knowing I would write this review) as it was not worth moving again to find more problems. Our room was facing the inside of the resort near the stage where they had a very loud kid show that started at 21:15 to went to 23 every night. GOOD So not everything was horrible. Most of the staff were very friendly and kind and helpful. The pool was great, it was large and beautiful with lots of chairs around. The water was a great temperature, I just wish it was open a little later, but still very nice.

This is a long review, but I hope you will find the information useful.  Having read some of the previous reviews, we were nervous about booking this hotel.  But we wanted unlimited access to Portaventura, so we took the gamble!  And we're glad we did! This is a busy hotel with people coming and going daily, so check in did take a while.  If you are wanting peace and quiet this is not the hotel for you!  Our room was ready within about an hour of our arrival (they send you a text), we were in our room by 2pm.  The room itself was clean and adequate, and the appearance (Mexican style) was as demonstrated in the holiday brochures.  Yes we too had a kettle and no cups lol, but maybe the kettle is for parents to warm up baby food or milk?  No bed bugs as previous guests have mentioned.  The hotel is located about a 5 minutes walk from the theme parks, a 20 minutes walk from a supermarket and a 25 minutes walk from the beach. Hotel Food ... the food was okay, but nothing special considering the hotel is supposed to be a 4 star.  Personally, I'd say the food was more between a 3 and a 4 star.  There was a lot of choice for breakfast, which would cater for everyone ... cooked breakfast, cereals, continental and fruit etc.  Lunch from the poolside is open until 6.30pm and offers burgers, hotdogs, chips, salad and sandwiches etc.  Dinner was typical of All Inclusive.  As a family of 4 we were able to find something to eat most nights.  Pizza and grilled fish and meat were available every night throughout our stay. The quality was good, but I felt there should have been more choice.  Wednesday was Chinese night and Friday was seafood night. Soft drinks such as Fanta and Coke were genuine and not cheap alternatives.  The Malibu was a local cheaper brand, but tasted just as good. Theme Park Food ... if you stay at El Paso hotel as All Inclusive they give you vouchers to buy lunch that are valid in selected restaurants in their theme parks.  This allows each guest a starter, a main, a dessert and a drink.  If you were buying this food yourself it would cost you over 70 Euros for a family of four per lunch!!!  So it is a brilliant deal. "The Steak House" in Portaventura is fast food of burgers, chicken and ribs, not steak!  Lol.  We used our vouchers in Portaventura, the Caribe Water park and Farreri Land and the food was good quality in all three parks. Swimming Pool ... wow!  It is huge!  We used the pool 3 times after lunch on 3 different days and it was plenty warm enough.  There are sections near the pool of "sandy areas" but it's more like tiny stones than sand!  This seems to get everywhere and can be a bit painful to walk on!  It's a crazy idea to be honest, but the pool itself and the setting are both very nice!  There are plenty of shaded areas and loungers around the pool. As others have said, the Life Guards were very strict, but their presence must offer reassurance for parents of young children? Entertainment ... I cannot comment on this because we did not use any of it.  We spent most of our evenings in Portaventura, which stays open until 12am at this time of year (July, high season). Portadventura ... we went to Florida two years ago and Portadventura is very much designed to give you the same "feel" as the American theme parks.  Obviously not in the same league, but in its own right it is an excellent theme park, aimed mostly at thrill seekers!  If you stay at El Paso hotel you can buy a weekly Fast Pass for 75 Euros per person (valid only in Portaventura).  This covers about ten of the main rides, not all rides.  It is very much worth the money!!  TAKE NOTE ... with a Fast Pass you have to also show your entry card (which is also your room key) on every ride!!  We were not aware of this on the first day and it is a nuisance if you have no secure pockets for the entry card!!  But in their shops you can buy a clear waterproof lanyard (hangs around your neck) to put the card in, which costs just under 5 Euros each.  But you can probably get these cheaper in the UK if you have time!  Every night at 11.30pm (high season) there is a water display with fireworks around the large lake, restaurants and shops area as you initially enter the park. Caribe Water park ... this water park is okay, not bad.  But it is quite small.  People have previously mentioned a weight limit of 90kg (14 stones) for the rides?  But we didn't witness anyone being turned away from the main rides, or see any scales, and there were plenty of larger people getting off the main rides!  Perhaps if you do weigh over 90kg (14 stones) it would be worth checking how many rides are weight restricted before you pay to enter?  If you stay at the El Paso hotel you can buy tickets to the Caribe Water park at a discount. Farreri Land ... we had free entry for one day as part of our package, but the Farreri Land park is very small.  Really, it should just be incorporated into the main Portaventura park (it is next door).  There are a couple of thrill seeker rides, but the majority of the rides are more suitable for young children, rather than adults or teenagers.  They do have displayed a few of the Farreri cars though, which some people might find interesting. Beach ... the beach is about a 25 minutes walk away.  It's a lovely beach as you would expect in Spain, with sun loungers for hire etc.  There are also pedal boats you can hire which has a slide incorporated.  Plus there is an inflatable obstacle course.  We didn't use those facilities so don't know how much they cost to hire.  You will find public toilets on the pavement area, between the beach and Burger King and MacDonald's (thereabouts).  TAKE NOTE ... we happened to notice that most of the shops were charging a minimum of 13 Euros for Nivea Factor 30 suncream lotion, which would cost you less than £5 in the UK!!  So take plenty of suncream lotion with you so you don't get ripped off! School Kids ... you might have read previous reviews mentioning lots of school parties staying at the hotel.  TAKE NOTE ... the Spanish children break up from school for the summer mid-June.  It would appear lots of Spanish schools bring their students to this hotel as an end of year holiday.  During our stay (5th to 13th July), all fellow guests were either families or couples.  So it would appear the school parties are more likely to be an issue in the last few weeks before the Spanish kids break up for the summer. Overall ... yeah, there were a few minor grumbles as there are with most holidays!  But overall we had a great time!  Would we return?  Yes!  This resort is all about fun in the theme parks!  In high season, it is a noisy resort until gone midnight.  As I mentioned previously, if you are wanting peace and quiet, this is not the hotel for you.