Evenia Zoraida Resort

3rd visit, we are English but live in Spain, we paid for gold all inc so got the orange wrist bands. If you pay for standard all inclusive you get a blue band which means you don’t get named alcohol and a meal in the ala carte (which isn’t worth trying anyway) we learnt this on our previous stays. We normally visit in September came in May, it was just as busy we were a group of 9 with 2 children, the food in the day was ok lots of choice and tapas from the bar too. But the breakfast and evening meals were terrible. 1 fish option and pizza plus lots of veg, chips and rice, no meat at all on one night other than kids hot dogs. Previous visits they had grilled meat of different kinds each night, and lots of cakes etc. Lots missing, and the quality was terrible. We learnt to fill up during the day at the snack bars. No issues getting sunbeds, room clean, no air con, well it went on for a couple of hours in the afternoon from a unit which looked older then me. Turns out they turned it on only when the kids club was on. Check in took an hour. 2 bus full of elderly Spanish people got dropped off at the same time. Entertainment terrible. Previous years they had bands on. Sadly our 3rd a finally visit, we have booked elsewhere for our group trip next year.

Well, where to start?! We had an amazing holiday here late June for 10 nights. There was 8 of us in our party including 4 teenagers. It is a beautiful hotel and is the only resort in Almeria. Staff are so friendly, despite there being a language barrier. Just go with an open mind and give Spanish a go when you order a drink at the bar or say hello to the housekeepers. (These are super friendly too, always ready with a Hola and smile in the morning) Our room was cleaned every day and the public areas were always clean and polished. Hats off to all the staff. It didn’t bother us being the minority (British) in the hotel. In fact, we loved the fact it isn’t touristy and hope it stays that way for when we return. The promenade is lovely for a stroll in the evenings. Then you can come back to the entertainment at 10pm which consists of live music or entertainment. The bands were very good. We had blue bands which means you don’t get priority to book the restaurants in the evening but from 1st July you can eat during the day at any of the restaurants. Definitely try the Mediterranean buffet in the day - this place was lovely to eat in. It had air con inside so was a cool break from the sun. They had paella, grilled meats, seafood and all the trimmings available each day. Food - the buffet always had plenty of choice from grilled meats, to salads and fish. We really enjoyed meal times - we found going earlier in the evening it was less busy. So go between 8-9. We were amazed at the amount of sunbeds available each day…we never struggled for a bed but we were happy to sit further away from the pools. If you have younger children you may have to go save beds nearer the pool. There’s Aquagym or Zumba most days which was fun. There’s a foam party too which looked awesome for younger children. The choice of spirits and drinks at the bar was enough for us…we didn’t pay to upgrade our bands so we had the unnamed alcohol beverages but that really didn’t bother us. Plenty of choice and the staff were very generous with their portions! This was our first All Inclusive holiday and we didn’t know what to expect but wow, we will definitely do this again and would love to come back here next year. Thank you so much for a lovely stay.

I was very skeptical of visiting after I had seen the reviews… but our holiday was booked so I decided to give it a go anyway. when we got there, the receptionist gave us our room number a long with some information about where we could go. We found it very useful. I’d also like to say that when we went to reception to ask questions, they were extremely helpful and happy to help. Now about the food, I personally liked it. There was a grill, some variety of food like chicken, pizza, chips, and some food I had never heard of. I gave it a try and loved some of it! The pool was big, it was never crowded. There is also plenty of sun beds, so no need to worry waking up at 3AM to make sure you get one! But if you want one right next to the pool, you may have to wake up at 8am (that’s when breakfeast starts anyway!) -entertainment is mainly Spanish, and most people who go are Spanish. So if you have kids, or are looking to make friends and be expecting a British style holiday- you’re wrong ! It’s not the hotels fault, because Almería isn’t a very touristic place in general. But do not complain when it’s mainly Spanish my only negative -some staff looked at you funny, made you feel uncomfortable. it’s mainly the restaurant staff.. they were super disrespectful and laughed AT US IN OUR FACES?!? I was super upset. But we didn’t let that ruin our holiday!

The worst and I mean worst holiday ever . Do not come here . Unless you want insulting and laughed at because your Spanish isn’t quite up to the standard they expect . This hotel can honestly bring the worst out of people due to their rudeness and ignorance. Bar staff laugh if you’re trying to speak Spanish and joke about you , we’re helping keep their jobs going . The manager had been made aware and told us that this isn’t the first complaint they have had about the bar staff . When we arrived here, the reception said that there are no availabilities in the extra restaurants and we would have to pay anyway, which works out £990 for seven of us. Otherwise you can pay per time you use them but all the Spanish has taken them because they get the orange wristbands. We were happy to pay per time that we went because it wasn’t that expensive expensive as you can pay for adults and children so once every other night would’ve been fine, it would’ve been a lot less than what we have been paying out every night. They also get better alcohol which we’re not bothered about to be honest, but when the Hotel states that there are other areas to eat, they should not advertise this, or at least ask people to book 3 months in advance online to eat at their extra restaurants.( Sarcastic comment.) we have five children which consists of the age of 3, 13, 14, 15 and a young adult who is 20 they have put us all in separate rooms so the 13 and 14-year-old are on their own rooms down the hallway. We had no choice because the room they gave us next to them didn’t have enough room for our child who is three luckily we can trust them, but we’re very unhappy as we assumed we would be together, and then the young adult and 15-year-old would have their own room next door. I lost my wristband and to get proof of being at this hotel I had to name everyone and my son who is 15 has a different surname. He has been made to be the lead traveller on the booking system which I thought was very strange. Luckily I managed to get my wristband but I felt very uneasy trying to explain to them as it looked like I was trying to pull a fast one as I clearly stated that I’m the adult and have been the lead passenger throughout this booking. My children are all of mixed raced ethnicity and the older ones have been made to feel like aliens, ignored at the bars and also in the local area . No one speaks a word of English in the restaurants around which consist of maybe 2 or 3 . No local restaurants open until 8pm, when we tried to book they told us 45 minutes to eat which we thought was very strange as their were tables free so we said we will wait , all the Spanish we’re looking at us like we had just landed from space , we sat down after 20 minutes which we thought was strange as we called they’re bluff accepting the wait , which they clearly didn’t look impressed about . 7 of us to one menu , they had no time for us . We had to use google translate all of the time . We have

It’s a long one, but should be helpful for British families: Starting from the beginning… Reception staff didn’t give us enough info. Like the fact 2 kids under 2 didn’t get cot/bed to sleep in. They advised the kids should sleep in the two double beds with the adults or together. €50 for the week for 2 cots. Crazy that TUI didn’t let us know of this either. Reception staff then gave us our room keys and said 4th floor etc. No helpful information. The rooms: 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 double beds, 2 cots. This then gave us no room to move within the room. Positives were the rooms were super clean, tidied every day and changed our towels. Balcony small. All inclusive food and drinks: The food was what you expect for ‘all inclusive food’ basically, anyone complaining about this is silly when it’s probably above standard for what you pay for the all inclusive food and comparing to others we have been to. A fresh grill with a selection of steaks, burgers, sausages, omelettes or other choices, available at all meal times. Table service for drinks in these bars. Bottles of lager (Estrella) 7up, Pepsi, always available. The restaurants around the resort were great at lunch times. They did struggle when one of our kids have a few allergies, and advise that lunch and dinner that chips and sausage or burgers were available… but they didn’t help too much with this. Branded ice creams, magnums, mini milks, twisters and Cornettos were available all the time. Packets of crisps too. Never seen this on an all inclusive. Estrella beer on tap, several rums, a gin bar, vodkas you name it. Iced drinks, milkshakes, coffees, slush puppies. Great selection. Water machines dotted around everywhere you look, a great feature. The restaurants: Don’t even bother trying to get in here unless you’re Spanish. The restaurant managers were rude when asking to book a table giving us a fake time to go a try and book a table once too ha! Atmosphere: We went Sunday (evening) to Sunday evening, and from Monday to Thursday, the hotel was a perfect mix of nationalities, and ratio of room to people too. Friday to Sunday the locals flooded in and it was way too busy. Queuing for drinks, crowded kids pool, lack of decent seating on an evening at the entertainment. The bigger slides were fun for all ages 6+ maybe? Table service on an evening was great. The kids entertainment was cool and they enjoyed it. Pretty much the same songs every night. We then saw a few bands, a juggler and a Disney performance for the later night entertainment. Location: 20 mins in a private transfer from the airport was great. A town 10/15 mins walk away, but didn’t find too much to do there. The hotel good enough from start of the day to the finish, for a weeks trip. Big shout out to the staff (apart from the restaurants staff). Bar staff were great! Pleasant helpful and never stop working. Food hall staff also very helpful and hardworking. Cleaners everywhere you look too. Poolside bins emptied several times per day,

I'll cut to the chase and then give as much detail as I can... (I'd also say, there's some truth to all the reviews on here having just experienced the place) For me the two main things with any hotel are would you recommend this to your friends and / or family, and would you go back. The answer is no to both. It's such a mixed bag this hotel, but sadly the negatives outweigh the positives in our opinion Cleanliness: 4/5. Rooms are spotless and cleaners are lovely but when the hotel is busy you start to see rubbish lying around and even in the pool. I'll try and include some pics to prove I'm not just moody or whatever ha Food: 2/5, this is the biggest disappointment, very limited and pretty poor quality. Breakfast is the same every day and genuinely it's like frozen veg type stuff. Really wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it is. It's got a 2 because it's all inclusive so it's not like you'll starve! The Asia restaurant was closed, but we knew that. We ate out twice because we really wanted Paella and it was lovely, but wasn't the hotel food. Location: 2/5 it's a lovely place but it's a good half an hour walk to anything that resembles a town (or in this case the port). Just one to think about if you have little kids etc. it doesn't have a buzzing nightlife or anything like that if that's what you're hoping for. Beach: 1/5, I know it's mad to give it 1, but it's pebbles so you literally can't make sandcastles (not the hotels fault obviously, but if you're reading "right next to the beach" and thinking of a beach day you should probably prepare for stones!). Welcome: 1/5, again I know this is mad, but if you want to feel welcome in a hotel this isn't for you. And if you like getting to know the waiters (I actually hate that) and whatever, again, not for you! The staff aren't rude, they're just completely indifferent. It's hard to explain but you'll instantly get it when you're here. Also, as stated in other reviews, this is a predominantly Spanish resort, 95% Spanish I'd say. Not a bad thing, and didn't stop us coming, but if you're expecting to walk up to the bar and order a beer, you might want to learn the Spanish words because you'll struggle. Drinks: 5/5 this I must say was brilliant, all proper makes, beer is Estrella on tap and bottled. Even as part of TUI all inclusive. Only pain is when the hotel is busy, because it's not self service, you can be waiting 15/20 mins for drinks. Entertainment: 2/5 usual all inclusive type stuff but worse ha! The mini disco is just a backing track that lasts for 15 mins with a guy dressed as Spiderman dancing around. The evening entertainment was like something out of Phoenix Nights, but if you're on holiday with a few drinks and it's nice out I guess who cares! Don't expect anything too fancy though! Pools: 2/5 the main reason for such a low score is something we've not experienced in a family hotel before, no inflatables at all, no balls, no lilos, no beach balls, dingies nothing allowe

Where to begin? Booked through Jet2 holidays and on arrival the hotel seemed nice but when we got to the room it was facing the road and the balcony was low enough that our 9 year old could have easily fallen over so we asked for a different room which the staff did accommodate. We made our way to the restaurant for the first of our all inclusive meals whilst there was a fair bit of selection it was all aimed at the Spanish visitors with just hotdogs pizzas and chips for the Brits this themed continued throughout the holiday at every meal time, the Asia and grill restaurants were both closed all holiday which seems a little unfair on people booking for the last knockings of the summer season

To us a lovely hotel. Most of the reviews have a truth to them All the Spanish had orange bands , we could have one for €140 each (for premier drinks , restaurant and room safe.). Great cleaners and clean room with fridge . Food was varied but steaks and anything from the hot grill was spot on Entertainment was mainly Spanish but some songs were in English Caught the bus twice for the Grand plaza and market As we aren't walkers the hotel was not close to anything The TV was mostly Spanish BUT asked at reception and they put 2 English news channels on for us.. Pools where good with the slides(noisy) and calm by the stage And lastly was told could only order 3 drinks at a time otherwise get reduced to half board..The bar staff cannot know this as trays of drinks was commonplace

Having been to this hotel 5 years ago and had a great time, thought we would go back. VERY BAD idea!! The hot food was COLD and extremely repetitive. The Spanish people were rude and unfriendly. They were served the best steaks whilst we were given the grislily steaks, etc. The two children with us were hungry causing us to eat out.(Not good on an all inclusive holiday.) The entertainment was mostly in Spanish so hard to keep kids entertained. The kids club was manned by non English speaking, so English children had no chance to understand or be understood. The only good thing was that it was very clean. Would not return or recommend this hotel.