HL Club Playa Blanca

My wife and I brought 2 of our autistic children here this week just gone and both boys have had an amazing time all staff are very friendly and accommodation has been grate the food throughout has been brilliant and caters too all types and need the entertainment team have been grate at getting as many people involved and kids involved in all activities and have already booked back for next year

We travelled from London as a family of five – that worked very hard all year to finally relax in this holiday… three adults and two children – during the school summer holidays in August. We paid over £7,000 for this holiday, so naturally we expected a reasonable standard of accommodation, cleanliness and customer service. Unfortunately, our experience was extremely disappointing.

Before travelling, we contacted the hotel specifically to explain that our son has autism (ASD), learning disabilities and significant sensitivity to unexpected loud noises. We made his needs clear in advance because preparation and a calm environment are extremely important for him , and my son is nocturnal sometimes.

Despite this, at approximately 8:30 one morning, maintenance work involving extremely loud power tools/jigsaw cutting was carried out on top of the bungalow’s roof to our room without any prior warning. The sudden noise caused our son and all the family considerable distress and panic. We immediately raised the issue, yet approximately an hour later at 9:30 am the work started again. Similar noisy work appeared to continue in the surrounding area on subsequent mornings.I managed to record in a video as I was awake when they came back, again without knocking, and I can not upload here the video for you to hear the noise level as is not permitted .We were in shock by their incompetence. Management seen the video and ignored us.

For a family who had specifically informed the hotel about a child’s disability and sensory needs before arrival, this was particularly upsetting. The problem wasn’t simply that maintenance had to be carried out; it was the complete lack of communication, warning and consideration.

Unfortunately, we also found the general standard of our accommodation very poor. The room did not feel properly clean on arrival, the bedding and general condition of the room were disappointing, and we experienced unpleasant damp/drain smells. We also encountered cockroaches during our stay. The beds and pillows were extremely uncomfortable and parts of the accommodation looked tired and in need of significant investment.

Housekeeping was another ongoing problem. Cleaning was not consistently provided as we had expected and we repeatedly had to chase staff for basic things. Towels were difficult to obtain and some were an unpleasant brownish colour, which certainly did not give us confidence in their cleanliness. On holiday, guests should not have to continually chase reception or housekeeping for clean towels and basic room servicing and pick up your rubbish. Not to mention NO CLEANING ON SUNDAY AND NO ENTERTAINMENT.

There were also additional costs and restrictions that we did not expect from this type of family holiday. Internet/Wi-Fi was not free @ 70£ a week and not working. We also had to buy bottled water from the shop because we were not permitted to refill our own water bottles as we had expected. Minibar contra cost. Empty at check in.These additional purchases added considerably to our spending over an 11-day stay.

Another important point for families to be aware of is that the resort effectively closes down at around 11pm. There was no 24-hour option for food, drinks or basic services. If you needed something such as a clean towel, food or other assistance later in the evening, options were extremely limited or unavailable. We quickly learned that we had to make sure we had everything we needed before 11pm.

The food was another major disappointment, particularly over an 11-day holiday. We found it extremely repetitive, with very little variation. The same or very similar cakes and desserts appeared repeatedly, and the fruit was often of very poor quality. Overall, the food felt basic and repetitive rather than what we expected for the amount we had paid no pride in the food.

Our children particularly struggled with the food after several days because there was so little variety. We ended up eating outside the resort on several occasions and buying additional food and water. This meant spending significantly more than the budget we had planned for what was supposed to be a family holiday where meals were already provided.

We were also disappointed with the drinks. In our experience, the quality of the alcoholic drinks was poor and many did not taste pleasant.

Entertainment was similarly repetitive. The entertainment staff appeared to be trying their best, and I do not want to criticise individual staff members who were clearly working with what they had available. However, over an 11-day stay, the programme became repetitive and boring. A resort catering for so many families could offer considerably more variety.

Communication between reception, housekeeping and maintenance also seemed extremely poor. We would report something at reception, but there appeared to be little coordination afterwards. Maintenance staff sometimes seemed unaware of what had been discussed with reception, and overall there appeared to be a serious communication problem between departments.

One of my biggest concerns, however, was the apparent lack of understanding around non-visible disabilities and learning disabilities. During our holiday we saw several families travelling with children who appeared to have additional needs. A large family resort should ensure that staff across reception, housekeeping, maintenance and guest services receive appropriate disability-awareness training.

Families like ours are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for reasonable understanding, communication and consideration. Something as simple as informing us beforehand that extremely loud maintenance work was going to take place would have allowed us to take our son away from the room and prepare him.

What made the experience even more disappointing was how our concerns were handled. We made a formal complaint during our stay, yet no senior manager personally engaged with our family to properly discuss what had happened or try to find a meaningful resolution. Reception staff tried to assist, and an assistant manager did speak with us and appeared to understand some of our concerns, which we appreciated. However, considering the seriousness and number of issues we raised, we expected much greater involvement from hotel management.

After repeatedly explaining our concerns, we reached a point where we felt that nobody was really listening or taking responsibility. Particularly following the maintenance incident involving our son, we felt extremely unsupported. At one stage, the lack of communication and apparent lack of concern left us feeling uncomfortable and not completely secure in the environment.

Our experience on the final day was another example of the lack of flexibility and understanding around our son’s additional needs. When we first arrived, we had discussed/requested a late checkout because our return transfer was not until the evening 11:00 pm .We explained why this was particularly important for our family.

Our son does not understand the concept of checking out of a room and then waiting several hours for transport. Once he sees the luggage packed, he understands that we are leaving and expects to leave immediately. Trying to explain to a non-verbal child with autism-with learning disabilities that we have left our room but still need to remain at the resort for several more hours can be extremely difficult and distressing for him.

We therefore asked Samuel receptionist to keep the room until approximately 5–7pm, when we needed to leave for our transfer, and we were completely willing to pay an additional charge for this.Samuel said management said no. However, after the problems and complaints we had experienced during our stay, we were told that we could only keep the room until 3pm.

We were leaving at the beginning of September and, from what we could observe, the hotel did not appear to be at full capacity. We also noticed that many guests arrived later in the evening. For that reason, it was particularly disappointing that no suitable arrangement could be found, even when we offered to pay.

We eventually had to leave our room at 3pm and spend the remaining hours waiting around the swimming-pool area until approximately 6pm for our transfer. For most families this may simply be inconvenient, but for our son it created an additional and avoidable difficulty on an already stressful travel day.

There are positives. Playa Blanca itself is beautiful and the resort has the potential to be a lovely place. Some individual staff members were clearly trying their best. However, the resort felt severely understaffed and, in our experience, in need of substantial investment in housekeeping, maintenance, food quality, entertainment, communication and staff training.

Most importantly, I strongly believe there needs to be better training and awareness regarding autism, learning disabilities and other non-visible disabilities. Staff need to understand that an unexpected event such as drilling or cutting directly above the accommodation at 8:30 in the morning can have a completely different impact on a child with significant sensory needs.

We spent over £7,000 on this family holiday, travelled from London during one of the most expensive periods of the year and stayed for 11 days. On top of that, we incurred additional costs for things we had not expected to need, including water and eating outside the resort.

A family holiday should leave you with happy memories. Unfortunately, ours was overshadowed by repeatedly having to complain, chase basic services and manage situations that could have been avoided with better communication and consideration.

Based on our experience, particularly the way our son’s disability-related needs were handled despite notifying the hotel in advance, we would not return.

It is disappointing because the location itself is beautiful and the resort has real potential. I sincerely hope management takes reviews like this seriously rather than dismissing them. Investment is needed not only in the physical condition of the resort, but also in staff numbers, training, cleanliness, food quality, communication and, especially, disability awareness.

For the amount families are paying to stay here, they deserve much better.

If you like an alcoholic cocktail then stay away as they don't do them . Had them last year in Tenerife on ai but not here. Beds and pillows aren't good. This hotel is at best a 2 star . I wouldn't return