Best Jacaranda

Steven Hughes

If you set your expectations accordingly then you will maybe not be disappointed. I would recommend setting them for a standard 3 star hotel, with relatively poor food (but passable!). We went half board, and ate lunch/dinner a few times, it wouldn't be my idea of a nice holiday to eat all meals there. The location is pretty spot on though - so loads of options for eating out in several different areas. The hotel is utterly gigantic so there's probably something there for you - we found the roof terrace pool much better than the main one, which had a lot of noise due to the aqua aerobics/kids clubs/sports. This pool however was freezing cold as only the main pool had heated water. The main issues I had were that they put my elderly mother and grandmother in law in a room that was extremely far away from the entrance and restaurant. We raised that it was too far away, and weren't exactly thrilled that they were ground floor rooms right next to the noisy pool, so no view etc and very very dark with insufficient lighting. The hotel staff weren't interested in helping us change rooms, so I would try and confirm your room location before arriving to make sure you will be happy with it - we weren't, but there was nothing they were willing to do for us on arrival. Also I requested some assistance with luggage for our departure, as we had 2 elderly people in a room far away from the lobby. Despite them saying that this would be sorted - nobody came to help, and nobody was available to call, meaning I had to do a few runs back and forth in the (absolutely massive!) hotel grabbing everyone's luggage at 6am in the morning, this wasn't a great way to end the week. Beer is served in paper cups as well from the pool bars - I don't approve of this at all, get some plastics! I probably would not return unless it was a very good deal, but the whole experience was just about ok for a week. I stayed in the hovima Santa Maria before which is a 3 star down the road and I'd say I probably preferred that overall.

Struan Havlin

We have just returned from a week’s stay at this hotel on an all-inclusive basis and overall had a wonderful holiday. The rooms were spotless, spacious, and very comfortable, and the hotel facilities were excellent. However, I feel it’s important to be honest about the food, which was unfortunately quite poor and did not meet the standard expected from an all-inclusive resort. While everything else about our stay was fantastic, the quality and variety of the food definitely need improvement. Despite this, we still enjoyed our time here and would recommend the hotel for its cleanliness, comfort, and friendly atmosphere — with the hope that the dining experience will be improved in the future.

Chris Rainey

Here is a hotel that is large but the rooms are airy and clean, I suspect it has been revamped in the past 10 years. Absolutely nothing wrong with this hotel for the money we paid. The food is typical buffet style, lots of choice and of pretty good quality. Value for money. Good.

rael york

well, to be honest, this hotel is not a 4 star. first of all, the staff is great. they are all very helpful and friendly, the room service is well, too. and the kitchen guys are also doing a good job. in my opinion the problem is the management of the hotels. they seem to be only interested in maximizing their profits. the building needs lots of tlc. an additional cleaning service, which cares about the pool area in the afternoon would be very helpful, because many guest act like pigs and just leave their rubbish all over the place. it would also be nice to clean the chairs at the pool from bird shit.

LE B

People this is not a 4* hotel but it is pretty good. We stayed for 6 nights mid-November and was in what I guess is a standard room. The hotel is very big, very dated and could do with some upgrading but that being said it we enjoyed our stay. We did not stay all inclusive. We were a group of 7 people across 3 separate rooms. Positives - location is about 8-10 min walk to the beach. Rooms are spacious. Plenty of entertainment available, large restaurant serving buffet food, 2 or 3 bars, 1 of them on the rooftop pool. Plenty of space overall including around both pools. Seems very family friendly. There is a number of small supermarkets opposite the hotel. We liked the piano bar and it was very good value for drinks, some of the cocktails we had were far better than in the places along the beach. Cleaning staff were punctual and did a good job overall. Negatives - you get the sad people putting towels on deckchairs at 6.30am although it states everywhere you cannot reserve, this is not enforced by hotel staff. Phone did not work in any of our rooms which was very annoying as the room was far from reception. The fridge in the room is tiny enough for a bottle of water and 4 small beers. There is no ironing boards or irons when I asked reception they said I can pay for laundry service (con) basically. 4* hotel and they cannot provide an iron. The hotel is very large and laid out quite weird and there are a limited amount of lifts. This means you need to walk a fair bit and at night many of the corridors do not have lighting. We only went once for breakfast and it was ok some hot items were cold and it gets very busy, nothing to get excited about there. There is only a few plug sockets in the room so as an example we had to boil the kettle on the floor under the desk. The large pool area turns into a bit of a disco and has many events going on from like 11-3 which means it gets very loud, although I do understand the need for this to accommodate families and children but still a bit annoying. I would also advise not using the tour operator located in the lobby of the hotel, a trip which cost us 40 euro per person was quoted as 87 euro, similar double price when I asked about another trip. The shower in our room was of low pressure and needs changing but it was usable. Overall I would recommend although there are many negatives none are major and all of us enjoyed our stay. The whole place just needs a little upgrading. Location is key here everything you need is close by.