Occidental Jandia Playa

This is a hotel that simply cannot follow their own rules and regulations! It clearly states on boards that you are not allowed to reserve sunbeds! No one followed this and the staff didn’t do anything about it! There was a lot of people reserving them and then not turning up until 3pm in the afternoon, which is not fair on those who do want to spend the day round the pool! It also states no accessories (inflatables, balls) are allowed in the pool, but everyone did this anyway!! I’m not bothered about this, but it goes to show that the hotel simply cannot follow their own rules. Their bridge towards the bar in the middle of the pool is looking at its last few days as the wooden planks are bent downwards. Won’t be too long until someone falls through this! There are loads of potholes and loads of tiles that are broken. Some days they had workers drilling while people are tying to have a relaxing holiday! Secondly, the food was shocking! There were very little option, and for a hotel this big, I would have expected more! The meat looked gone off before it was even cooked as they were a white/brown colour, not a usual pink colour. It was mostly the same every night too. One night it will be plane chicken and then the next day would be plain pork, which is repeated! I expected a range of different meats, not the same every night, it got very boring! Thirdly, there was very little drink options too! I have never known a hotel only have two cocktails served for all inclusive. These cocktails were Tequila Sunrise and Pina Colada, everything else you had to pay €6 for, which was not worth it as the cocktails are just out of a machine and are not freshly made. For a hotel that is supposedly rated a 4 star, and with everyone hyping this hotel up, I was certainly expecting more! I didn’t see the lifeguard once until the very last day, where he was hanging around the pool bar rather than doing his job. This is very concerning!!! Our room also had a small ant colony in the bathroom, which had disappeared the morning after so I didn’t bother reporting it! The fan on the ceiling was noisy. And the cleaner left our room door open one of the days after cleaning, anyone could have walked in and stolen our stuff! The WiFi was shocking, you were not able to get wifi at all when in your rooms! Lastly, it’s definitely not an English friendly hotel! The entertainment was all in Spanish and Spanish music, along with activities and songs around the pool in Spanish too! I know we are in a Spanish country, but you would expect some things to be English with it being advertised as an English friendly hotel. This hotel is more of a 2/3 star than a 4 star. We was expecting so much better with all the reviews saying how amazing it is, but it really is nothing like it. On a good note, the pool itself was very clean and big, and it’s about a 10min walk to the beach. The location itself isn’t bad, but there is an abandoned mall at the bottom of the hotel, which you go through to get to the beach!

We absolutely loved the hotel. But what stood out the most was the outstanding service we received from Seda, who was always smiling and made sure everything was perfect throughout our stay.

We felt right at home and will definitely be coming back.

We have had a wonderful stay at the Occidental Jandía Playa and would highly recommend it.

We stayed in a Deluxe Room, which was spacious, clean and very comfortable. The room included a stocked mini bar on arrival, tea and coffee making facilities (which were replenished daily), a corkscrew and bottle opener.

Housekeeping visited every day, and if you wanted your bedding changed you simply placed the sign on the bed. A litre of bottled water was also replaced daily if you had used the previous day's bottle. The housekeeping team were fantastic – always smiling, saying hello and doing an amazing job. They are often the unsung heroes of a hotel.

Food There was plenty of food available throughout the resort. Main meals were served in the buffet restaurant, with a snack bar in the centre of the complex. As Deluxe guests we also had access to the Sea View Terrace, which had an additional snack area open from around midday until 6pm.

Some dishes were repeated during the week, but there was always plenty of choice and lots of different foods to try. One small suggestion would be to reduce the size of some of the pre-portioned dishes, such as the spring rolls. They were served as two large rolls, and if you didn't enjoy them it created unnecessary food waste. We mentioned this to the hotel and received a response within two hours, which shows they genuinely listen to guest feedback.

Pools & Spa The Deluxe package included one complimentary visit to the spa, which was excellent. There is a lovely outdoor pool, jacuzzi, two saunas, a steam room and an ice room. Additional access costs €11 for four hours or €25 for a full day.

There are two outdoor pools with a pool bar between them. Our only negative was finding sunbeds around the main pools. As with many hotels, people reserve beds early and then disappear for hours. It would be great if this could be monitored a little more closely so that guests who actually want to use the pool area can do so.

The Deluxe Sea View Terrace was one of our favourite places. Although there are fewer sunbeds, we never struggled to find one. The small infinity-style pool with built-in loungers was perfect for relaxing while enjoying the incredible sea views.

Staff Every member of staff we encountered was friendly, helpful and welcoming. The cleaners deserve special recognition for the fantastic job they do every day.

The bar staff were also brilliant. One barman chatted with us about England playing and even said, "Come on England!", which made us smile. When Spain were playing, some of the staff had Spanish flags painted on their faces, creating a lovely atmosphere.

The whole hotel was spotless. There always seemed to be someone cleaning or maintaining the facilities.

There is a photography team on site. We had a photo shoot with Diana. She is truly amazing and her work is so good. If we could, we would have bought them all. I'd highly recommend Diana for her anazing photos but also how friendly and approachable she is. She likes to get to know people a little and made us feel like she was genuinely interested.

Entertainment There were activities throughout the day organised by the entertainment team, children's entertainment until around 8:30pm, and evening entertainment from 9:30pm lasting around an hour. We enjoyed a mixture of singers, dancing and a magic show.

The daytime bars closed around 6–6:30pm, while drinks were available until 11:30pm.

A lovely surprise We don't know whether this was because we were staying in a Deluxe room, but on my husband's birthday we returned from a day out to find a birthday message, two chocolates and a bottle of cava waiting in our room. It was a lovely touch that made his birthday even more special.

Location There are plenty of shops, restaurants and excursions nearby. We visited Oasis Wildlife Park and went on a dolphin-watching boat trip, both of which were excellent. There are also ladies offering hair braiding nearby, which we both had done, and my husband even went back on our final night for another braid!

The beach is within walking distance, although be prepared for quite a few steps and a steep walk back up to the hotel afterwards. By the end of the holiday, you certainly feel it! Sunbeds on the beach cost €18.

Overall This has been one of our favourite holidays. The hotel is clean, welcoming and family-friendly, with excellent staff and plenty to do. We made some wonderful memories here and will definitely recommend the Occidental Jandía Playa to our family and friends. We hope one day to return. 🌴☀️🌊