We (a party of 5) stayed at the CaboGata Garden Hotel for 3 nights - 7-10 July 2005. This hotel had only been open a month or so and was at full capacity. We had a warm and friendly greeting on arrival. (There are forms that all members of the party need to fill in.) We had requested two sea view rooms which were close/next to each other. We were given two non-sea view rooms opposite ends of the hotel which was a bit of a pain. To be fair reception asked us to check the next day to see if anything closer would be available. We did - there wasn't! We decided to leave it be. Our room was on the ground floor looking out on to tennis courts. You could see the sea if you went out far enough! There was a table and two chairs on the patio and also a compact clothes line. The grass was in desperate need of water and there was a lot of litter around. The grass was obviously laid quickly.

The Room
In the room there were two single beds, a small sofa bed and a pull out bed. The sofa bed was just about big enough for a small adult. These beds are really designed for children. There is plenty of wardrobe space although one of the shelves were a bit rickety. The bathroom was spacious. The bath was quite small though. The air con worked well. There was a mini fridge which was locked. I complained 3 times to get the fridge open but it was ignored. Then I caught the eye of a maintenance man who was very helpful and came to have a look. He promptly opened the lock and disappeared. We then found that the fridge didn't work which is why it was locked! We gave up....

Also note that there aren't any evacuation/fire instructions in the room. There aren't any guides/booklets/directories. We didn't even know what number to ring reception on! We wasn't even given a programme of events.

The Pool.
The pool was amazing - the best pool ever. There were plenty of sunbeds although they were quickly snapped up so get out there early.

There was an indoor pool but although it was used it didn't look finished. This spa area will be lovely when they get to finish it.

There was a lovely pool bar serving all drinks and coffees. Beware when asking for tea - you'll get camomile and peppermint before you get English so please state English Tea when you order.

This is a very Spanish family hotel. They hardly speak any English and it's really hard to try and explain anything. In fact you are easily ignored/passed over in a queue for a spaniard because of the language barrier.

The Entertainment
This is run by a group of multi-lingual staff called the Entertainment Experience. They were very friendly but my two English girls didn't get a look in among the Spanish children who dominated the ping pong and snooker tables. I was annoyed to find that we had to pay to hire the tennis court for an hour especially as we were on all inclusive! The evening entertainment consisted of a mini disco which went on until 10:15 and then a show run by the staff.

The Food.
I have had better! But then I had been to the Hesperia Sabinal Hotel in April and the food was amazing there! The worst thing was the queuing for food. The actual food area was too small for the amount of people in the hotel. Most food items were cold by the time you got to the end of the queue. All meal times were like this but Dinner time was by far the worst. Beware that no food items are labelled - it's pot luck I'm afraid.

The area
There is nothing around there. The El Toyo complex is currently being constructed. There are no little shops to visit. You have to get in a cab and go into Almeria Town is you want to shop and we didn't really have the time to do that.

This hotel is about a 10 minute taxi ride from Almeria airport. Cabs are very easy to get hold of. The hotel called our cab for our return to the airport.

I would like to return to this hotel in a year's time to see if they have got over their teething problems and the landscape is more established. I hope so...