Occidental Jandía Mar

Just back from a holiday with our 2 year old. I'll start with the good points...Hotel grounds are very clean (pool areas etc). We always got a sun lounger no problem, not sure if this would be the case in July/August. Our toddler just loved the splash park and it was never busy. He was too young for the barcy club so we can't comment on that. The 2 pools were a great size and we had a lovely time splashing about in them. We didn't experience any of the broken tiles in the pool which others have commented on. We were not all inclusive plus but didn't feel like we missed out on much in this respect. The buffet restaurant was good. Plenty of choice and a different theme each night. The desserts were lovely. I can't comment on the alcohol as i'm pregnant so couldn't take advantage of this! Yes, the beach is at the bottom of a very steep hill but it doesn't take long to get to and we walked up at our toddler's pace, which suited us fine! The beach is just stunning. Now for the bad points....The complex is absolutely huge! When we got checked in we had to get to our room, which was up and down many steps, with our 2 cases, hand luggage and toddler in pram, which is just no fun when your 5 months pregnant! There was 1 lift for 1 part of it and the rest you had to take the steps. The entertainment at night is all outdoors (even though there is plenty of room inside) and it is ridiculously loud! It was therefore impossible for us to get our child to sleep. Also, the walls are paper thin so you can hear absolutely everything from next door (beeps from the safe, snoring and light switches). We got moved room half way through the holiday with the promise it is a nice quiet area so we spent half the day packing our things, tackling the steps, waiting for new room, unpacking our things, and of course we could hear everything just as loud! So annoying. It is ridiculous that this huge complex could not find us a quieter room. The issue is really the loud entertainment, I think you would hear it from the coast of Africa. No need at all. Might be ok if you had no young children with you. The rooms were also very dated and run down. Although they were clean enough and comfortable beds. Jandia is a beautiful area and this hotel has so much potential but is greatly let down by its rooms and loud entertainment.

I went on a couple holiday with my girlfriend and it was lovely. Rooms were very nice and the food was also nice. Not always loads of choice but there was always plenty to eat if you didn't like that food. Chicken Nuggets e.t.c. I really enjoyed the stay here and the beach is very close except from the very step hill back up to the hotel. You can cut through the other hotel to go down to the beach but you cannot go back through the hotel to go back to the hotel as your card will not work on there gate which maybe needs to be changed. Expect from the kids jumping in and out of the pool constant which you would expect the pool was very nice and always clean. The only thing I would say is was to many flies, always around you while your eating which is very annoying. The reception staff are not very helpful. We had to pay to hire the golf course which I think is bad as you pay your deposit too. Entertainment was okay but not great!! Got a bit boring but again your abroad and I don't think any hotel is fantastic but overall I enjoyed our stay here. If the island was not so windy I would come here again but because of the wind I don't think I would. The town next to the hotel is great and only costs around 2-3 euros to get there by taxi which is good. We visited around 3-4 times while we stayed otherwise was out sun bathing. The flies has put me off and do not sit at the back of the restaurant as this is where all the flies are and it makes you feels like you cannot leave your food on the table to get drinks without the flies wanting to eat your food too. Other than this the stay was nice.

I really still cannot make my mind up about this hotel, some of it good and some bad. You just have to make your mind up what is important to you. Good points: Large rooms with lovely comfortable beds, great showers, rooms kept very clean, towels changed every day if you want. Most staff very friendly, if you are friendly and polite towards them. The animation team is very good and one of the best teams we have ever come across, very enthusiastic and friendly, not at all pushy. There are a nice range of smoothies and fruit juices on offer and the ice cream in the Mimosa Restaurant is yummy. Bad points: Food very boring, I am a vegetarian and struggled to get enough protein also some of the mixed salads were not labelled and contained meat which you couldn’t see, also same for the pasta it was hard to tell which ones were meat free. Generally I found the food to be quite flavourless certainly not as much choice as other hotels we visit. The two sitting system for Dinner is not working all that happens if you are not in before the end of 1st sitting a huge queue forms then when the doors open again the big influx of people causes queues to form everywhere causing bedlam. My top tip is to get in for 7.30pm when it is reasonably calm. Finally if like me you are concerned for the environment you will be horrified at the amount of unnecessary plastic waste this place generates. One trip plastic glasses are used at the poolside bars, most hotels at least use reusable type, add up the number of drinks consumed poolside per each person and the plastic waste mountain will be massive 😢 Same goes for the polystyrene cups used for coffee. I am definitely going to start taking my reusable eco mug on holiday for my drinks, which would also mean I could have a decent size cup of tea at breakfast (their breakfast cups are tiny!)

Me and my husband stayed at the Jandia Playa from 6th October for a week. We booked through First Choice. Inital reviews seemed to suggest the airport transfer would take around 90-120 minutes. However, we got to the hotel in just over an hour, which was great as we were in time to get to the restaurant. Positives: - great location overlooking a beautiful sandy beach (it is near a nudist beach in case this bothers you) - decent sized resort with 3 pools, large buffet restaurant, snack bar and a number of bars including a pool bar - more than enough sunloungers to go around, there was no need to get up at sunrise to reserve one and the hotel had signs discouraging people from doing so. Some did but this was never really a problem. - good selection of food in the buffet - I particularly liked the salad and fish items. There was plenty of different types of food to satisfy all appetites. Yes some items were occasionally cold i.e scrambled eggs but it’s difficult to keep these things warm so it wasn’t too much of an issue for me. - good selection of alcohol and cava available at all times of the day! - clean decent sized rooms - we were in block 6, room 6203. We couldn’t have asked for a better location as it was right next to the pools and minutes away from the bars and restaurants with a great sea view. - plenty of entertainment during the day for all with energetic happy staff who encouraged you to get involved but didn’t push you if you didn’t want to - there is a small shopping complex at the bottom of the hotel and a lot more shops within a 10 minute walk. Morro Jable was a pleasant 45 minute walk away. Negatives: - I like a hard bed, mine was quite soft with a lumpy pillow. I didn’t sleep as best as I would like but I guess this is down to your own preference with mattresses. - check in - we arrived just after 9pm. There was only one lady on reception checking a lot of people in so it did take longer than we would have liked. - slippery tiles around the resort. If you have wet feet and no shoes/flip flops on, you’ll find the tiles are quite slippery so be careful. I’m surprised we only saw one lady fall over whilst we were there. Overall we had a great time and really enjoyed our time at the Jandia Playa. I’m not one for returning to the same place year in, year out but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back next year as we enjoyed it so much. It scores 4 stars because of the bed and the long check in but if these were not an issue, it would have easily been a 5 from me. You won’t regret staying at this hotel. I hope you have as great a stay as we did here!

Me and my wife are going home today, I would like to say that this hotel is great apart from the hill down to shops , but a taxi to the old town is 5 euros, and the Chinese we went last night was spot on , lovely chicken curry and salt and pepper chicken 👍