puerto del carmen, cinco plazas apartments review

Picture courtesy of Sean Duffy.

Average Ratings

Accommodation	8.2/10
Customer Service	8/10
Resort	9.3/10
Food	5.6/10
Location	8.4/10
Value for Money	8.2/10
Reviewer Rating	8.6/10
Overall Rating	8/10

88% Recommended15 out of 17 Reviews

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By Sean01 on 26th Aug 2004

Sean01's Ratings

Date of stay	08/2004
Board Basis	Self catering
Tour Operator	Thomson
Accommodation	0/10
Customer Service	0/10
Food	0/10
Resort	10/10
Location	0/10
Value for money	0/10
Overall value	0/10
Sean01's recommendation

Good Points

The resort!

Bad Points

The apartment!

General Comments

*** PHOTO'S AVAILABLE ON MY WEBSITE ***

http://www.whitehaven.ukf.net/cinco_plazas/
i. Booking
Unfortunately, following high expectations, our stay at Cinco Plazas wasn't enjoyable. We booked our holiday 14 months in advance, having experienced an enjoyable stay in Costa Teguise three years previous. On booking we were assured that Cinco Plazas was a wonderful place to stay, was quiet and ideal for families. We opted for a two bedroom apartment.

i. The journey
On beginning our journey we should have realised that our holiday was to become a nightmare. Early into our journey to Manchester Airport, a rabbit ran straight towards the headlights of our car - the rabbit had no chance... this upset the children.

i. No in-flight food
Then when the Britannia flight was underway, we were informed by the cabin crew that our in-flight meal hadn't been booked - yet it was stated on our tickets that it had. After a little gentle persuasion we obtained the meals that we were entitled to.

i. Alarm bells
The transfer to Cinco Plazas took around 15 minutes. On arrival at Cinco Plazas we were allocated our accommodation. Alarm bells should have begun to ring as soon as the key for A13 (unlucky for some) was handed over. Cinco Plazas comprises of three Plazas: Plaza Amarillo, Plaza del Sol and Plaza Montana - we were staying in Plaza Amarillo.

i. Apartment faults
On entering the apartment we found many lights didn't work, some bulbs were even missing from their housings. A couple of electric sockets were broken - a hazard for children. Mould was present around the bath/shower. The toilet seat was broken. Wicker seating was damaged. Window pane (sharp) edges were exposed. Tiles around the bathroom sink were cracked and some were missing. The floor was stained from previous guests at the apartment.

i. The pool
The pool area was dangerous for children, depths were marked but a fancy surround at the pools edge created an overhang which made it almost impossible to exit the pool in an emergency. Tiling around the pool also left a lot to desire. Some were cracked and many had grout missing. Because of the cracked tiles, my children sustained cuts to their feet - it was felt necessary to ban them from the pool area because of this.

i. Rowdy revellers
When night-time arrived, our problems continued with noisy neighbours. To the right (A12) were a noisy English family - generally following a night of heavy drinking. At around 3am, they would arrive home shouting and diving into the pool to everyone's annoyance. A quick trip to the Thomson Rep. quietened them down a little. To the left (A14) a Spanish family lived in private accommodation. Every night at around 11pm the washing machine began, then at 12pm-1am they would have a bout of arguments. On top of all this, music could be heard from the local entertainment. When the music subsided, rowdy revellers could be heard on the road to the rear of our apartment. At around 5am every morning refuse was collected... the beep-beep of a refuse wagon can be VERY annoying!

i. Sunbed vultures
In the mornings, if you wished to sunbathe, you had to compete with the sunbed vultures that swarmed to ensure that they obtained 5-6 beds... even when they only used two.

i. Cleaning
Linen was changed once a week and cleaning was carried out 5 times a week. Cleaning consisted of bin emptying and a quick mop of the floor with some disinfectant. Scrubbing would have got the floor clean as we discovered after our youngest son had a bout of sickness! Simply giving the floor a quick mop wasn't sufficient. When the floor dried you could still feel dirt under foot.

i. The hill
According to 'Thomson Summer Sun', which we booked our holiday through, Cinco Plazas was set on a "small incline, approximately 450 metres away from the beach". Because a small incline was quoted and that the complex was close to the beach, our minds were swayed. I suffer from a medical condition so a steep hill would not be ideal. On arriving, I was stunned to find that the "small incline" had grew to a steep 1-in-4 hill. The hill had to be negotiated two-three times daily. It was also noted that the beach was not 450 metres away. It was more like 1,000 metres.

i. Gold award
On checking out of Cinco Plazas it was noted that a gold award had been given to the complex - we were very surprised... until we looked closer to find that it was awarded in 1994. The combined Plazas may have been outstanding then, but have obviously been neglected since.

i. Flat battery
On arriving back at Manchester we proceeded to the BCP Carminder car park... only to discover that our car battery was completely dead - a final reminder that this had been our holiday from hell.

i. Puerto del Carmen
Having written about Cinco Plazas, I must finish with a comment about the resort of Puerto del Carmen - it is a lovely place that would be enjoyed by all. If you can obtain decent accommodation, combined with an amazing resort - you would have the makings of a brilliant holiday.

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