Many years ago I paused to look with some admiration at the Cambrils Hotel. An elegant, architectually interesting semi-circle structure, a modest swimming pool, set in a large area of green grass, loungers scattered casually around the grounds. An aura of stylish, quiet restraint. I decided that very day I woud stay at this hotel, if I could afford it. I recently had my wish. Bad mistake. Not disasterous, but certainly disagreeable. Naturally major changes have taken place over the years ...... but not for the better. The orignal hotel has expanded, massively, with two major wings. It has, in fact, galloped down market and , in so doing, become a bit of a monster. But first the positives. Acceptable room, but only just. Comfortable beds, air conditioning worked. Otherwise room rather dismal, dated decor, needs at least a splash of paint. Bathroom a bit of a mess. Floor floods easily. Shower malfunctions, switching from taps to shower head is like trying to solve a rubik cube.Remarkly no toilet brush is provided. Staff are expected to clean up any “ mess”. Waste bin in bathroom, but none in bedroom. When asked at reception why no toilet brush.,, just a shrug of the shoulders. When directly asked to provide one, reception staff, said something along the lines of “ not hotel policy “. So there ! A small grumble yet indicative of the general staff attitude. The restaurant ? Hell on earth. Imagine, if you will, Tokyo Grand Central train station on a particularly busy day. Come early, come late, it's always the same. Early is best, but then avaiibility of food is limited..Come late and navigate the crowds moving to and from the feeding stations. The food is always cold or luke- warm, whatever the time. This was confirmed by some guests on all-inclusive. The sheer mass of people in movement is quite alarming, almost panic inducing. Staff are also clearly stressed..It was always with a sense of relief to exit the dining area. . The pool is essentially a no-go zone. Crowds of all inclusive guests drinking from the bar, queues as long as your arm, annoyingly loud jumgle-juice music, children, as they will, dominate the pool, making it impossible for any adult to swim a length in pleasure and relaxation.. Conjestion central it certainly is, everywhere . My wife and I timed ourselves. How long could we stick it poolside before the first signs of madness appeared, . We manged a half hour.. With this hotel the word “ best “ is a bit of a misnomer. Four stars ? - two at the most, and that is generous! Will we return ? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen ! . Victor and Heather Kuss

Overall, the hotel was pretty clean, but there were several issues that affected our stay and probably would sway us not to stay here again. Not on the hotel as you expect in a hot country, but a cockroach ran across the bar floor which a customer stood on and there happened to be one on our bathroom randomly! Who knew they were so big. The pool area had the same problem others have mentioned — the floor was covered in gritty sand, some of it sharp, and we even saw people using the pool to wash sand off. Lifeguards were present and did remove towels from unused sunbeds, which helped stop people reserving them, though this only seemed to happen in the mornings. We didn’t struggle to get a sunbed, but they were packed so tightly together that there was barely space to stand next to your own. In the restaurant, the plates and glasses often weren’t properly washed, with some with food on when put out as “clean.” The food itself was ok, mostly fish-based dishes, which I am not a fan, but I was put off when a server used his gloved hands to move raw chicken to the hot plate and then immediately used tongs to serve cooked chicken — no awareness of the raw chicken on his gloves now on the tong handles and no awareness of cross‑contamination if someone else touched the tongs. There is themed nights which were a nice change but the basics still remained which meant there was always something to eat. The restaurant also got very busy, with waits for tables and for food at the buffet. If you weren’t all‑inclusive, the only drink option was bottled drinks, which were noticeably more expensive than the draft drinks available at the bar. Our room was fine in layout, but we had ants, the fridge barely worked, and the air‑conditioning didn’t work at all. Housekeeping did clean and make the beds daily. At the bar, staff seemed a bit put out if you weren’t all‑inclusive, and service was slow — possibly to discourage over‑drinking at night. The AC was hit and miss, making it very stuffy and crowded during popular entertainment.