Hollywood Mirage

1/5 – Too many problems to ignore. We would not return.

Unfortunately, our stay at Hollywood Mirage was extremely disappointing. This was not because of one isolated problem, but because of the sheer number of issues we experienced throughout the stay. By the end, it felt like a general lack of attention to detail, maintenance, organisation and quality control.

We had to wait around an hour while our room was being prepared. Once inside, we immediately found maintenance issues. The shower holder was broken, meaning the shower head simply hung down, and one of the legs of the bed was actually missing, leaving the bed noticeably uneven.

The soundproofing was practically non-existent. You could hear every little noise, conversation and movement outside the room. We also had extremely noisy neighbours in the middle of the night. We reported this to the hotel, yet there was no effective intervention and the disturbance continued.

Communication was another problem. Reception staff could communicate in English, but outside reception the level of English was often extremely limited or non-existent. The attitude of some staff was also unpleasant, particularly at the grill, where we were made to feel almost as though we should apologise for not speaking Spanish. This is a resort catering heavily to international tourists, so this attitude was particularly disappointing.

The restaurant caused several further problems. A cat repeatedly wandered around the dining area and nobody appeared to do anything about it. This was especially unpleasant for me because I have a cat allergy.

We had dinner included in our stay. At dinner, staff would ask what we wanted to drink and serve it, but it was only afterwards that it became clear that the drinks had to be paid for separately. We have no issue with drinks being chargeable, but that should be made clear before they are ordered and served.

Food quality and temperature were also inconsistent. We were served cold pizza, and on multiple occasions food that should have been hot was only lukewarm or cold in the buffet. Desserts often appeared to be pre-made products and were sometimes served before they had even fully defrosted. We genuinely had cheesecake that was still frozen.

To see whether basic maintenance was being monitored, we deliberately sat at the same unstable, rocking restaurant table over a period of six days. Six days later, it was still exactly the same and had not been repaired.

Our apartment contained only a very limited amount of crockery and cutlery, yet there was no sponge, washing-up liquid or other basic equipment provided to wash what was there.

The hotel's free shuttle to the beach was also poorly organised on one occasion: it arrived late and was unable to take all of the guests who were waiting.

Even table tennis beside the pool costs an additional €10 per game, which we found excessive for such a basic hotel leisure facility.

Punctuality was another recurring frustration. Breakfast and dinner did not always start at the advertised time. The worst example was on our departure day, when breakfast was advertised to begin at 7:30 but the restaurant did not open until approximately 7:45. We were travelling to the airport immediately afterwards, so those 15 minutes genuinely mattered. If a hotel publishes an opening time of 7:30, guests should be able to rely on 7:30 meaning 7:30.

Any hotel can have an occasional mistake or maintenance problem. What made this stay so disappointing was that problems appeared in almost every area: room maintenance, noise, staff communication, restaurant service, food temperature, organisation, punctuality and additional charges.

Some of these issues individually might seem minor. Together, over the course of the stay, they created a consistently poor experience.

Based on our experience, we cannot recommend Hollywood Mirage and would definitely not stay here again.

Had a pleasant stay overall. Yes it’s at the top of a very steep hill, but they provide a shuttle service! We also hired a car and were able to park around the hotel area, even though it can get difficult to find spaces. Taxi costs 5€ from beachfront to the hotel.

Breakfast is busy, we tried to go before 9am every morning and never had any problems getting a table. I was ill one morning and my partner wrapped two bread rolls to bring to me in the room, and got given out to by a manger for this, even though people were filling plates with fruit and pastries and bringing them to their rooms with nothing said to them.

Staff are fabulous, very friendly and made a fabulous impression on our 5 year old daughter! She loved Noa the cat also!

We had a problem with ants in the room ( Grace Kelly block. 5223) on the surfaces, housekeeping came twice but eventually we just sprayed the surfaces ourselves with bug spray.

Pools are lovely and all have lifeguards. Sun loungers being saved every morning by other guests but we always managed to get one or two together after lunchtime .

We had a lovely stay overall and you are provided with everything you need.

We left a small backpack in the room which I emailed the hotel about but yet to hear back from them yet.

Hotel is a little out of the way. We walked one day to town but walking home was very difficult due to steep hills so Ubers or taxi were necessary. The staff were helpful but other than check in and check out we did not have much interaction with anyone. The apartments were a good size, very comfortable and clean. There was more than enough space for all of us and the balcony was huge! The onsite shop was very useful and handy. Overall, nice stay and would recommend.