H10 Conquistador

My wife and I have just come back from a 13 night stay. Overall it was a relaxing holiday but I do not think it is possible for me to recommend this hotel.

Food The food was probably the worst part of our stay. We have stayed in a lot of all inclusive hotels, from low-budget to high-end and this by far sits at the bottom. Food at the buffet often had vague labels that sometimes didn't adequately describe what the dish actually was. Staff did not always know what was in food when asked. The food itself was incredibly inconsistent in quality. A bolegnase from the live cooking station could be fine one day but then have raw mince in it the next, or be completely drenched in oil. Temperature of food was also an issue. A porridge at breakfast could be fine one morning and a watery mess the next.

The extra restaurants are not much better sadly. We went to the teppenyaki restaurant and it was obvious everything had been frozen. The fish was incredibly watery, and the prawns tasted like nothing other than fishy water. We also noticed the rice was sitting in a bowl uncovered on a trolley for a considerable amount of time before cooking. The veg for the next group was sitting out on a worktop uncovered and unchilled for at least a couple hours. The same utensils were used for medium rare steak and cooked chicken causing cross contamination. We also spotted the steak restaurant kitchen was very messy. As a result we cancelled the rest of our a la carte dinners in favour of eating out.

The pool bar was probably the best place we went for food but sadly they are only open at lunch time and, despite generally being very quiet, you have to book in advance and can't just turn up. While we never and an issue with this we did see a lot of people get turned away.

We ultimately ate out every evening and fortunately there are a number of good, well priced restaurants close by.

Room We stayed in a privilege double room which overall was a good room however again we ran into some unfortunate issues. On one occasion our bedsheets were replaced with bedding with a large, very noticeable, hard-feeling yellow stain. Another time on returning to our room we found it had only been half done with some of the cleaners equipment (cloths, binbags), left on our table. We were also left without towels on one occasion. Finally, while not necessarily something the hotel can be held responsible for, we had a number of occasions where we couldn't sit on our balcony due other guests smoking weed on their balcony. Sometimes even when our balcony door was closed the smell made its way into our room. This was also sometimes an issue by the pool even though we were not sat near the smoking area.

Staff I cannot really fault the staff in any way. They all came across as friendly and approachable, especially the one who worked in the coffee shop in the evenings. Reception were fantastic on our arrival despite the lateness of the hour. Other reviews have mentioned long waits at the reception desk however I dont think this is something you can fault the hotel for. Whenever we needed to go to reception and it was busy we just... waited until it was quieter. During busy moments I noticed they had an extra member of staff speaking to people in the queue to deal with any minor issues which shows that they do what they can.

Facilities Pool was absolutely fine although perhaps a bit dated with a number of missing tiles. The adults only infinity pool is fantastic although it is clearly a recent addition given the difference in quality between it and the main pool. Never used the spa so cannot comment on that. The privilege terrace was very nice and the self service drink area nearby was fantastic. Sadly you cannot take these drinks into your room even if your room is nearby which was a shame as it would have been nice to take a drink or two to the balcony (assuming the resident stoner wasn't lighting one up).

Overall The hotel served its purpose and we did have a relaxing stay, but the number of issues and shortcomings ultimately meant we came away feeling disappointed. While some of the issues we could easily forgive on their own, everything adds up and by the end we almost felt relieved to be leaving. The front of house staff were great and don't, I think, deserve any criticism. The issues sadly are outwith their control.

On the final day of a 10 day visit and safe to say I won’t be back!

We paid a lot for (standard) Half Board accommodation but felt that there were a few basics missing that you’d expect in a 4 star. First of all, €38 for a safe - is not like you are given a key that you could potentially lose, it’s digital entry. And no kettle/cups that usually come as standard (we’d brought our own thankfully). Room itself was ok, beds comfortable, decent sized balcony. However the cleaning of such was basic, beds made and bathroom cleaned/towels refreshed but glasses sometimes not washed/exchanged and floors not swept.

Food, standard 4* fare with themed nights. Restaurant busy and you only waited to be seated should you want an outside table. Usually a queue at the show cooking which you’d expect. Plenty of choice though. Breakfast again offered a great selection, queues again though for fresh eggs or pancakes. Didn’t hinder me as I’m a light morning eater. Scrambled eggs usually lukewarm. Restaurant staff generally excellent with one exception that I’ll detail below.

We’re walkers, not sunbathers, but there seemed to be plenty of beds available when we walked through the area around 10am as we exited the hotel. Can’t comment on entertainment or bar service as we sampled neither.

So there was one issue that really marred our stay. In the restaurant one evening we both encountered issues with a couple of the chefs. I had to repeatedly tell the somewhat stroppy chef to change the steak she’d selected to cook for me as it was too fatty. I also asked for it to be well done and you can see from the picture I posted it was far from that. My partner then had two of the chefs shouting at each other at the pasta counter, he didn’t get what he asked for, the chef merely shrugged and slapped it down on the plate.

We made our way to reception to complain, and to be frank they didn’t want to know. We were told to stop shouting (we weren’t), spoke to a supervisor and we were just shooed away and advised that guest relations would contact us. Still waiting for that btw.

So in a nutshell, room and food standard, basics missing, reception absolutely appalling. No doubt you get a better service if you upgrade to privilege or are a club member. Would be a 1 star review apart from the fact that the restaurant staff (with notable exceptions) were excellent.