H10 Playa Esmeralda

We enjoyed this hotel. The staff are friendly and work hard. The rooms are clean and well presented. We enjoyed the food with a good variety each day. The only area that let it down a little was the pool area. People do reserve sun loungers, they shouldn't but actually the hotel is short of sun loungers, there are gaps round the pool area and also some of the loungers there are looking quite shabby, with the odd broken or dirty lounger etc. If the hotel added about 20 loungers to the pool area they wouldn't have the issues they have at the moment. Most hotels have spare loungers that can be lifted out, not this hotel. You see people walking round at about 11am without a hope of finding an empty lounger. If you have a rule enforce it. Don't just slip a little wooden block onto an empty lounger! All in all a lovely holiday and the hotel was good. Happy to go again.

The hotel was lovely. It was peaceful and relaxing. We found everything to be clean and well maintained. The food was very good, varied and tasty. We found the staff to be helpful and friendly. Our main criticism would be the location. You are completely isolated. There are no amenities or shops nearby. There is nowhere of any interest within walking distance at all. We felt that had we known about the location we would not have booked a holiday here.

I stayed as a party of six for 7 nights, booking two superior rooms and one twin room.

Overall, we had a good holiday and there were plenty of positives. The hotel is clean, well maintained, and in a great location.

The issues we experienced didn't spoil our holiday, but I would think twice about returning.

The main disappointment was the all-inclusive experience, which I found underwhelming for a 4 star hotel.

The all inclusive felt very restricted and largely centred around the opening hours of the main buffet restaurant.

Outside of the restaurant, there were no self service food or drink facilities apart from water stations.

The pool bar food service was particularly disappointing. Rather than being able to help yourself, everything had to be ordered, often resulting in long waits. The food quality was inconsistent and generally below expectations. Unfortunately, on one occasion I had to return a dish due to it being seriously undercooked. We eventually stopped using the pool bar for food midway through the holiday. The drinks service was however good.

The main restaurant was also somewhat of a let down and did not provide a particularly relaxed dining experience. All the food is cleared promptly at 2130 hours.

The atmosphere often felt more like a canteen opposed to a 4 star hotel restaurant. Food trays frequently took too long to be replenished, and there were often lengthy waits for freshly cooked dishes.

All inclusive snack options outside the restaurant were limited. The only included snack outside the restaurants, on the all inclusive option was the "cake of the day" from Mike's Coffee Bar, which unfortunately appeared to be the same baked tart throughout the week. Aside from that, the only other all inclusive option available was a small selection of cookies.

I also found some of the additional charges surprising. Random scanning of the all inclusive wristbands felt unnecessary and inconsistent, and I cannot remember the last time I stayed in a 4 star hotel and had to pay extra for use of the room safe.

Pool towel exchanges are limited to one complimentary change, with additional exchanges charged at €2 each.

Another issue was the shortage of sun beds. There are clearly not enough for the number of persons staying at the hotel, which inevitably leads to people reserving beds early morning and not using them until much later in the day. This became a daily frustration.

The rooms, cleanliness, location and general upkeep were all very good.

The all inclusive felt restrictive, particularly when it came to food availability outside restaurant hours. Combined with the additional charges and ongoing sun bed issues, I’m not sure I would return.

Good points • Clean rooms and well maintained public areas with attractive décor. • Clean indoor and outdoor pools. • Comfortable beds. • Stromboli restaurant was excellent. (one complimentary visit included) • Great location close to a lovely beach. • Good drinks service.

Negatives • Underwhelming all inclusive. • Inconsistent food quality and slow service. • Poor pool bar food experience. • No self-service food or drinks outside the main restaurant (apart from water). • Very limited snacks and refreshments available during the day. • Additional charges for amenities that arguably should be included for a 4 star hotel. • Restaurant atmosphere lacked ambience. • Not enough sun beds.

We all genuinely had a good holiday, and I accept a lot is based on personal choice / expectations