Blue Sea Los Fiscos

The hotel is fairly basic, but it was absolutely fine for our stay and gave us a great base for the week. We were all-inclusive, which was fantastic value and really suited us. The cocktail of the day was displayed at the bar, which was a nice touch. You do have to pay €1 for your cup, but you can buy additional cups if needed. The bar staff were friendly and welcoming, and the pool was lovely. Just be aware that during the summer holidays there are naturally a lot more children and families, so the pool area can get quite busy. The cleaning staff were always polite and friendly, and the site staff always greeted us with a hello, which made the atmosphere feel welcoming. The food was varied, with plenty of chicken and pork, and some veal. It would have been nice to have some beef as another option, but everything we had was cooked well and there was plenty of choice, even when the buffet was busy. Our only real quibble was the location. It is a bit of a walk to the beach and quite hilly, so it may not suit everyone. However, taxis are only around €4, so it’s easy enough to get around if you don't fancy the walk. The reception area was extremely quiet and, unfortunately, there wasn't any entertainment, which was a shame. There was music playing at the bar, though, which helped create a bit of atmosphere. Sunbeds can be a bit of a stretch, with the 10am release making them quite competitive!

Overall, we had a really nice week away. It’s not a luxury hotel, but if you’re looking for somewhere basic, friendly and good value to use as a base, we were more than happy with our stay.

Location: Being at the top of the hill afforded lovely views. A couple of shops nearby for odds and bods, snacks and pizza! 10 minute walk downhill to the harbour which has a lovely boardwalk, taking you to the restaurants, and another 10 minutes to your first beach which is a smaller cove but lovely for snorkelling, swim or relax with a little take away for ice creams etc and toilets at top of beach. Taxis are cheap for getting back and can be found near the harbour.

Food: we found there was a large variety of food. I am vegetarian and was pleasantly surprised with plenty to choose from- creamy spinach dish, lentil dish, lovely bean salads, veg soup, cheesy pasta. My husband is a meat eater and equally enjoyed a variety of food and pleasant surprises daily. The canteen was clean, staff efficient.

Atmosphere- mixed in the hotel, with a variety of families, couples and unfortunately a few hardened drinkers. However the staff were all friendly, helpful and enjoyed building a rapport!

Rooms: check your room before you go. Most appeared ok, but we were initially put in a room at the bottom west side of the hotel under the games room. My heart sank as I walked in, it was dark, hot, the view was a wall and out outside seating was in a corridor. The tap tapping from pool cues in the floor was noisy . Luckily we were able to change rooms and staff were helpful, but if the hotel is full you may not be so lucky. Also noted was some rooms near this area looked out on dangling damaged netting over a high wire fence to cover a dumping area- I would not have liked this either! Our second room was much better- we were only given this because it was vacant due to a broken boiler, luckily I was with a plumber and we managed this fine. The room itself was lovely, cool and had another smaller pool outside. The areas outside were cleaned daily and our room was cleaned once during a week stay.

Value: average value for money

Cleanliness: all public areas were thoroughly swept and mopped daily- I watched the cleaning as I am an early riser. I would say the pool toilet could be cleaned more often, although not bad it certainly could be a little better especially tea time before evening drinks. A couple of cockroaches around but you can’t predict where they will pop up and it looked like they had been treated.

Noise: general noise levels were great. A few drinkers were noisy and we had a very unfortunate experience with a drinker next door. Police were involved and the person evicted. Staff were excellent dealing with this.

Service: Staff were friendly, happy to help, build a rapport. I noted they all worked hard, efficiently and couldn’t fault them. We enjoyed our interactions with staff, even one putting away the loungers jumped in to take our photo.

Amenities: pool was lovely. Some people have said pool is deep- but I noted a couple of pregnant people using the shallower pool for standing and cooling down. Everyone enjoyed the pool and it was a favourite with lovely views over the hills and a higher balcony if you want peace and a a bit more air! There were two live music performances a week, but plenty of things to do in the town if you want more. Also a fair by the docks, live music and restaurants if they take your fancy.

Date of travel: 29 July to 2 August This was honestly one of the worst hotel experiences we've ever had. From the moment we arrived, the reception staff were rude and unhelpful. When we got to our room, it was clearly not clean. The bathroom smelled strongly of urine, and to make matters worse, we found a cockroach in the room. The hotel advertised air conditioning, but there was none. When we asked at reception about getting a fan because the room was unbearably hot, we were told we would have to pay €50 to hire one. The attitude of the staff throughout was dismissive and unprofessional. We had only one evening meal at the hotel on the day we arrived. The food was absolutely disgusting, stodgy, cold, and inedible. The only thing we felt comfortable eating was the fruit. Despite paying for an all-inclusive holiday, we didn't eat or drink there again. The room was supplied with just one toilet roll for a family of three. When we asked for more, we were told we would need to buy our own because housekeeping only comes every four days. We spoke to other guests who had already been staying for six days and told us their bed sheets and linen still hadn't been changed. The overall cleanliness, poor customer service, lack of basic facilities, and terrible food meant we couldn't stay. We checked out and paid for another hotel on the very same day we arrived, despite having already paid for this all-inclusive stay. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and feel it completely failed to provide the standard of accommodation and service that was advertised.