Playazimbali

We are there at the moment , this is our 8 th year but I would never come again. I admit it’s the Spanish children’s holidays but they are out shouting and playing until 1am , the adults are so loud it’s not acceptable . When we have been before the terrace lights went out at 11/12 not now. The restaurant is so full you have to eat at 8pm or 10pm or forget it, The gourmet restaurant has just opened but when we went to book it was all inclusive only, although we’ve been in before ! There is no working safe in the room all we get is excuse after excuse ! After 8 years of happy holidays it is gutting , I will never come again ! It’s the equivalent of Benidorm and I would never go there ! Just to mention a local Spanish guy asked me why I was here n to go back home ! Just for the record this cost over £2300 for 12 nights ! So think twice

I booked my holiday with Jet2 and was delivered safely to the hotel on Thursday 5 September late in the evening. The check in process was completed quickly and efficiently and I was given clear concise directions to my room - 417. There was a bit of noise in the hotel lobby from the theatre bar in the hotel but this did not make its way to my room. The following and subsequent mornings breakfast was a good quality buffet with lots of choice and cooking stations. The food was a good standard and everything was spotlessly clean. Having devoured breakfast I then wandered along the street to Consum supermarket to stock up on water and some beer. There is a fridge in the room which held four bottles of water and four cans of beer. For those interested the naturist area of town starts just beyond Consum and runs all the way to hotel street. Back at the hotel the room was great - two large beds, a bathroom with shower, a bath, washbasin, bidet and of course a toilet. These were kept spotless by the hotel cleaner on a daily basis as well as the bed being relaid each day. The room opened out onto a balcony with two seats and a drying rack overlooking the hotel grounds. The hotel grounds are really well maintained. Everything was cleaned daily and there more than enough sun loungers for everyone as well as parasols if you needed them. There is a gate just beyond the pool which you operate with your key card to gain access to the promenade. Turn left and you are heading towards the naturist end of the beach, turn right and you could walk to Garrucha which was a very pleasant walk. The naturist area of Vera Playa was great. Having been to another well known naturist town in France, this was very different - there is no sleaze here, everyone is here to get that all over tan. It was not uncommon to see naturists on the beach near the hotel as they walked along - this is perfectly legal in Spain. My advice - get naked, enjoy, and before long you forget all about it. Back to the hotel for dinner - I was on a half board basis - I have no idea what previous reviewers have been complaining of as the food at night was hot, it was of a great quality and the seafood salads were a particular favourite. If you do not bring water to the table you will be badgered to buy drinks. Personally, I just took my water with me each night. The dinners varied night by night and the dessert choice was excellent. I could not fault the food. This is a hotel aimed at everyone to enjoy and being easy to reach from the likes of Madrid there are a lot of Spaniards which is great as they help make a great atmosphere. Yes it would be nice to have an English speaking TV channel or two but I was on holiday and got everything I needed using the excellent free WiFi. Had a great time, thank you to all of the staff.

Avoid awful stay...food is terrible everything is cold and horrible..It's not Hour 20 from airport..was Hour 45..we paid for All inclusive..However hotel have 2 Different all inclusive..ours didn't include drinks..so we ended up payy for drinks .. ice-cream.. crisps... despite having all inclusive...your ignored at the bar until the Spanish are served...Our door key didn't work Everyday..we couldn't get access to seafront because locked gate.. every time we ended back at reception complaining. We was locked out 4 times and we just sat there waiting for someone to let us in..the beach is shocking..the stones and pebbles hurt your feet..the shower was either boiling or freezing beware... Noise was awful well into the night keeping you awake..no British TV channels... being honest couldn't wait to go home..

I stayed at the Zimbali Playa Spa hotel with my wife from 9-19 September 2023. We both had an excellent holiday here and enjoyed our entire stay. The hotel and grounds are beautiful, we loved the African traditional style of the architecture and the well-maintained gardens, plants and trees. The staff provided excellent service, they were friendly and always willing to help. They spoke excellent English too, so we never had any problem with communication and being understood. No surprise that most of the guests were Spanish, there were a few Brits too and we had no issue with the entertainment being in Spanish mainly, we didn’t stay up late anyway! Although it was busier with locals at the weekend, the weekdays were relatively quiet. The room was spacious and comfortable with a big balcony, huge bathroom and quiet air conditioning. The food was fabulous and varied, on many occasions I had to try several different dishes in one night so I didn’t miss out! As others have said, the pool area is really first class and it’s the best pool I’ve encountered at any hotel, I absolutely loved it. Loads of sunbeds, water slides and a short walk (30 seconds) to the huge beach across the road! If you walk along the beach towards Garrucha there are lots of beach bars and most have sunbeds too. One of the other big factors for our enjoyment on this holiday was that we were lucky enough to have a hire car, Ford EcoSport which was ideal for us. We flew from Bristol into Murcia and drove for about 80 mins to the hotel using the toll road (which was really easy, so few cars and great to see the evolving landscape en route!). During our stay we were able to drive to nearby towns (Garrucha seaside town nearby, Villaricos which was very smart and immaculate, Vera a few miles inland with several attractions, a bullring even and Mojacar which was amazing to walk around on the hillside – here we found an old house which had been turned into a museum, the hosts spoke excellent English too). We visited historic buildings, castles and used the quiet bays further along the coast (near to Villaricos) for swimming. In the quiet bays near the rocks, it was fabulous for snorkelling and I’ve never seen so many Med fish in one area, many varieties and very pretty to look at. I’m struggling to think of any negatives, just little things like a temporary issue with my room key – reception were very helpful and resolved this. We’d have liked to have water available with evening meal without having to order via waiter perhaps. Minor niggles really, on balance this was a great holiday and I’d like to thank all the staff for making it so!

Be warned...This hotel caters for Spanish people from about 21st of June, St Juan`s holiday. We had 2 days of peaceful holiday, then the Spanish arrived, the hotel was full them, noise from 11am till well past midnight , so English got served last at the bar . All entertainment for them. The dining room was a nightmare at all times same for wi fi and tv, no English channels. Food was usually cold and not very appetising . Door key frequently failed to work , had to keep returning to reception for them to deal with it. Sheets weren`t changed till day 7 of our 9 night stay . I was told by Jet2 rep that all the surrounding hotels, Mojacar etc were equally full of Spanish families for the next few months , school holidays , so there was no point in changing accommodation ! In my opinion this hotel should not be offered by English companies . There were about 97% Spanish people there. The few English people we spoke to ,except one couple and a family all couldn`t wait to go home. Taxis are very hard to get also , no surrounding restaurants to visit or small shops . Read the terrible reviews section, they are true, sadly I didn`t do enough homework for this trip . Only bonus was the sun, but very few balconies get the sun .

The hotel and grounds are beautiful and the staff exceptional just minor things such as the key card access to the room very hit and miss. The food there was always something to find but nothing exceptional, but will I go back , yes booking for next year