Pine Walk Playa Mar

Bad points:

Two main ones really.

Far, far too noisy - even for a family hotel. This hotel has a dedicated stage and sound system by the pool, right in the middle of the accommodation blocks. Music starts from around 11.00am in the morning and that's pretty much it until 11.30pm. The sound is set way too high (most people sit no further than 10 metres from the stage yet the sound can be heard upto a quarter of mile away on the Pine Walk).

If you don't want your child to be awake until midnight every night (ours is 5 years old and normally a very good sleeper) it is virtually impossible for them to get to sleep until the entertainment stops - and bear in mind our room faced away from the pool, and was as far away as you could get from the sound system. Each accommodation block has an 'open' roof, the windows are normally open, as are the fire doors - so the sound carries everywhere. Add to this the noise of older kids playing in the accommodation blocks, which are tiled so their screams echo throughout, and you get the picture.

I cannot stress too highly just how noisy this place is. Some people like it - but if you are looking at this website you want an honest opinion.

Secondly, sunbeds! The age old thing. As usual there are not enough sunbeds when the resort is full so the towel game begins. Actually, I didn't mind this as getting up early and sitting by the pool provided the only peace and quiet of the whole day to read (bear in mind that the hotel very kindly turn off the balcony lights late at night, I couldn't find a way to override it, and this was the only other quiet time to read without disturbing wife or child in the apartment). More disturbing though is the lack of umbrellas for shade. This is a family hotel and kids need protecting from the sun - Thomson should be ashamed of themselves for this. When my wife questioned this situation she was advised, "oh, they keep breaking". To top it off obviously the people that didn't want to get up early complained so one morning we were treated to an absolutely pathetic outburst from one of the reps (you know who you are) advising us that "the reps and management were sick of it, that they would throw any towels placed before 8.00am in a skip or chain the sunbeds up until 10.00am". Well, all I can do is repeat my earlier comment - you should be ashamed of yourselves for not providing enough sunbeds and critically shade for kids. And the rep in particular should be taking his comments to his management, not directing them at the people he should be helping on their holiday. Pitiful.