Grande Real Santa Eulalia Hotel and Spa

Sorry to say, but the staff is really distanced and unfriendly and culinary quality quite poor. Seems the aim of the hotel just is to be okay, nothing more. Which does not match the price or 5 star rating at all – really poor when compared to the (great) Grecotels for example.

We stayed at Grande Real Santa Eulália for a week in August, having previously stayed here in May last year. Unfortunately, after giving the hotel a second chance, we left extremely disappointed and will not be returning.

Firstly, the positives. The hotel is in a prime location on a beautiful beach, and our sea-view room had a gorgeous view. The bedrooms themselves are modern and nicely decorated, although the bathrooms are very dated and definitely not what I would expect from a 5-star hotel. Breakfast was lovely, while the dinner buffet was very hit and miss.

Cleanliness in the common areas also needs attention. The carpet in our corridor was visibly dirty throughout the week and did not appear to have been hoovered, and there was an unpleasant smell in the corridors.

Our biggest disappointment before the room issues was the service. When we stayed last May, we assumed the poor service may have been because it was off-season and the hotel was short-staffed. However, returning in August, we found the service just as bad, if not worse. There were some notable exceptions — particularly the lovely lady cooking eggs at breakfast, and the staff at Le Club and Atlântico, who were very pleasant.

Unfortunately, elsewhere the level of service simply did not match a 5-star hotel. At the Real Bar beside reception, we sometimes waited around 30 minutes just for someone to take our order, even when the bar wasn’t particularly busy. At the pool bar and breakfast/dinner buffet, we found some staff extremely unfriendly and unwelcoming. Very little smiling, conversation or basic customer service — at times you genuinely felt as though you should simply be grateful to be served. For a hotel charging 5-star prices, this isn’t acceptable.

Then came the worst part of our stay.

Halfway through our holiday, we found an enormous cockroach crawling across our bedroom floor — genuinely about the size of a chicken nugget. It disappeared underneath the bed/headboard, so naturally we contacted reception. We were given a different room for that night, with a resort view, and were told we would be moved to another sea-view room the following day.

The next morning we packed everything again, went to spend the day by the pool and, as promised, were moved into another sea-view room. We thought that was the end of it.

Unfortunately, the following day another huge cockroach appeared in the bathroom of our new room.

We managed to trap it in the bathroom and contacted reception again. A member of staff arrived with insect spray and dealt with it. By this stage we were nearing the end of our holiday and couldn’t face packing everything and moving rooms yet again, so we kept all the bathroom drains closed and the bathroom door shut for the remainder of our stay.

What should have been a relaxing holiday became the complete opposite. I barely slept properly afterwards because I was constantly worried about finding another one. I have honestly never seen cockroaches this size.

What disappointed us almost as much as the cockroaches was the hotel’s response. The manager did not seem particularly concerned and refused to offer any meaningful gesture or compensation — whether that was a complimentary meal, a night’s stay refunded or anything else — despite us finding large cockroaches in two separate rooms and already having to pack up and move once.

This hotel is not cheap. We paid for what is advertised as a 5-star experience and expected a relaxing holiday with an appropriate standard of cleanliness, service and customer care. Unfortunately, that is not what we received.

The location and beach are beautiful and there are some lovely members of staff, but overall, in our experience, the hotel is currently far from the 5-star standard it advertises.

We gave it a second chance after our experience last year, but sadly we won’t be giving it a third. We will not be returning.

Not a 5 star resort. I’m low maintenance and I had the hardest time using the gym. Either it was not open or when it was, it was crowded. Do not plan to do early morning workouts. Also, their spa pool is not very inviting and the cardio machines are staring at you while bathing. There is no adult only section which is a shame when I didn’t bring the kids.

The beach situation is very confusing. Get there very early and only if you have towels can you get chairs to purchase.

The salmon poke bowl gave it an extra star. I would d finitely try that.