Globales Gardenia Park

Just back of a lovely holiday. We stayed at this hotel in Fuengirola for 10 days. The hotel Globales Gardenia. Just a couple of negs! We arrived at around 8.30pm. The guy on the desk told us to leave our cases there because the dining room shut soon so to hurry down and get something to eat. Which I thought was brilliant after a long day of travelling. The hotel was nice. The room was comfy but a little cramped. We booked for 2 then added our granddaughter on. So a fold up bed was also put in the room. There were no extras, I.e hairdryer, kettle, fridge, iron. Although I was told we could hire them! But we didn't bother. I'd already read about this so came with my hairdryer and they let us borrow the iron for a hour at a time free of charge. The safe was a lot to hire €62. As the holiday went on we realised it wasn't for the younger ones. Our granddaughter is 18. Its more for the older people, like us. There wasn't much for her to do and not many English people there. The entertainment people were brilliant. I joined in some games. Now the bad bits! The food was diabolical! We upgraded to all-inclusive but we wish we hadn't! Half way through the week we started eating out more. The food was almost always cold! Even the snack bar was never hot! It was almost always the same, pasta, rice, salad. I'm a picy eater but usually find something. But this was bad! The deserts looked the part but weren't very nice! Some of the bar staff by the pool looked at you as if you were inconveniencing them when deciding what to drink! Although in the bar upstairs they were great. The night entertainment wasn't great and only on for a hour. The caberet was the best entertainment but only on twice a week. Others were mainly older music. No good for a 18 year old! I'd been told you could get a late check out but had to ask the day before. So because we wasn't getting our transfer until 5pm we went to ask for a late check out, or even to hire the room a extra day, which is didnt mind paying extra for. They guy on the desk said it's not possible because it's booked! I said can you at least check to see if the rooms available, which he didnt even check, he then said no because the cleaners need to go in! I was rather annoyed at this because he didn't, and wouldn't check. If it was booked out, I would have been fine! But the fact he wouldn't check was annoying! So I started to walk away when another member of the desk staff chased us and said he would check to see if it was available. We received a call within 5 minutes to say we could have a late checkout because the room was available. So I don't understand why the first staff member couldn't check! He just seemed like he didn't want to be bothered helping! The other one couldn't help enough and was lovely! So my round up is, don't go all inclusive, it's not worth it. Its good for older people, but not great for younger ones. Perfect for a relaxing week away in a great, quiet location. Take your hairdryer. Would i book here again? Probably not, but if I was looking in this area again and wanted a quiet stay I probably would, I just won't go all inclusive again. The food is a big part of your holiday! The food here was a massive let down!

Overall rating: 4/5

We stayed at this hotel for 6 nights on an all-inclusive basis and, overall, had an enjoyable stay. For what we paid and the time of year we visited, we felt the hotel offered good value for money and would rate it 4/5.

Room

Our room was clean and well presented, with what appeared to be a recently refitted bathroom. The shower was excellent, with great water pressure and an easy-to-use design.

The beds were comfortable and made up with clean, white layered sheets. We also found the rooms to be surprisingly quiet at night, with good sound insulation and no issues with noise disturbing our sleep.

We were initially given a ground-floor room, but after politely asking for a higher room, the hotel kindly moved us upstairs. This gave us a lovely sea view and distant views of the city lights in the evening. All rooms having a balcony and sea view is a real positive.

The main issue with the room was the air conditioning, which was not especially powerful or cold and struggled in hotter weather. It also repeatedly leaked water onto the floor.

Location

The location was excellent for us. There was supermarkets nearby, which was particularly useful for picking up bottled water and browsing Spanish snacks and treats. The hotel also has a back gate leading directly onto the beach promenade, with the beach just across the road.

The beach was very busy and packed during the day so we opted to stay in the hotel by the pool, although this is perhaps to be expected given the time of year we visited. There are shops, pharmacies and places to browse within a short walk, including Ale-Hop.

We used Uber and Bolt to get around further during our stay, but the hotel is also easily accessible on foot if you want to explore the surrounding area. Overall, we found it to be a very convenient location for both relaxing at the hotel and getting out to explore Fuengirola.

Food & Drinks

Food was probably the biggest weakness of the stay. The selection was hit and miss, and while we could usually find something to eat, the quality and choice varied depending on the time of day and day of the week.

There was a good selection of fresh fruit and salads, and the snacks available throughout the day were a nice touch, with pizza, burgers, chips, meats, cheese and salads helping between meals.

We did find hairs in the food on multiple occasions, which was unpleasant. Food was also not always replenished quickly, particularly with the more popular dishes. The desserts were also disappointing, with many seeming heavily reliant on gelatine and artificial flavours, while the labelling was not always clear.

The all-inclusive drinks selection was perfectly comfortable, with five mixed cocktails, spirits with mixers, soft drinks including Pepsi and a diet lemon Fanta-style drink, plus the usual options you would expect from an all-inclusive hotel.

Facilities

The hotel was clean and generally well presented, although the decor is starting to feel dated and would benefit from some redecoration.

The sun loungers were easy to get without having to wake up at the crack of dawn to reserve one, which was a pleasant surprise. The pool was clean and generally not too crowded, and warmed up quickly in the sun during the day.

There could perhaps have been a little more supervision around the pool, as some guests played ball games around other swimmers and the pool could occasionally become a little lively.

The lifts were temperamental and could take a while, although we had specifically requested a higher-floor room, so this was partly our own choice.

Wi-Fi was not the most reliable around the hotel, although we had excellent mobile phone reception throughout our stay.

The evening entertainment was as expected for this type of hotel and was generally enjoyable. There was a mixture of in-house entertainment, including singers, quizzes and bingo, while some evenings featured external entertainment such as magicians.

Service

Check-in and check-out were both simple and smooth.

The staff throughout the hotel were consistently friendly and helpful. The animation team were also fantastic, with daily games and activities around the pool, and they were all very approachable.

Housekeeping was generally fine, although it was a little inconsistent. On two occasions, our used towels were taken away but not replaced with clean ones, meaning we had to contact reception.

The hotel had a nice mix of nationalities, as well as a good mix of families, couples, younger and older guests. We stayed as a gay couple and felt completely comfortable throughout our stay. We never felt out of place, and the hotel had a friendly, mixed atmosphere.

Overall

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and found the hotel clean, friendly and comfortable. The excellent sea views, convenient location, friendly staff, good animation team and relaxed mix of guests were the biggest positives for us. As a gay couple, we felt completely comfortable throughout our stay and never felt out of place.

There are certainly areas where the hotel could improve, particularly the consistency of the food, the dated decor and the air conditioning. We also experienced some smaller issues with housekeeping and found the Wi-Fi unreliable in parts of the hotel.

However, none of these issues stopped us from having an enjoyable holiday. For what we paid and the time of year we visited, we felt the hotel offered good value for money. We would recommend it to anyone looking for a friendly, comfortable all-inclusive hotel within a similar budget, while understanding that this is not a luxury or high-end resort.

We would consider staying again and would give the hotel 4/5.