I was very disappointed with my holiday here after reading the mainly good reports on TripAdvisor. I have marked it as average as the Staff were always friendly and helpful and the rooms clean and pleasant. What spoilt it for myself and my partner was the eating facilities. If you did not arrive at the dining room, which was always buffet service, within minutes of them opening most of the food would be gone with no more being available when requested. If you were fortunate to get food on your plate, you then had the problem of finding a free table as there was no reserved seating. On the third day my partner and I ended up eating at a table full of dirty dishes and trays which none of the staff seemed to have time to clear. We decided enough was enough and despite having paid for a half board package holiday, we chose to eat out in the little restaurants dotted around the hotel, till the end of our stay. If the dining room problems could be overcome it would be a wonderful Hotel to stay in as it is right opposite the beach, with lovely views and many good facilities and within walking distance of the town and all it had to offer.

Having tried Saga for the first time we selected a week at the Helios in Almunecar. As we arrived at the hotel one feels instinctively something is wrong. The building itself is very pleasant, in places, with hints of art deco and large airy bedrooms each with balconies and en suite bathrooms, albeit dated they were reasonably clean. The problem begins when one has contact with any of the staff. There is no rapport between staff and guests.

The way in which this hotel has been set up is to maximise profits. There is no access to drinking water unless one buys it from the bar, there are no tea/coffee making facilities in the bedrooms, one has to buy it at the bar. The food standard is very poor and has little variety; in fact unless there was a label one would have no idea from the flavours what was being eaten. Once each course is finished then plates are cleared by “waiters” prior to or as one goes for the next course. They are happy to nudge you out of the way as the plates are reached for, with no enquiry as to whether or not the plate is finished. We had elected for half board and were very pleased that we were not expected to suffer lunch also. Hard as it may seem the food standard seems to go down at week ends! Included with our dinner was a half bottle of wine. This was the worst bottle of wine available to anyone that had not turned to vinegar. Wine in a country like Spain should be a celebration of some excellent winemaking but not in this establishment, never mind the quality – count the cost.

Having used the dining room some 6/7 times it appears that a new control was introduced whereby room numbers were recorded as one entered the dining room and one was crossed off the sheet. As we entered with my wife and 2 other guests, we were shouted at to supply our room number. I shouted our room number back to a person I had not come across before and went to our table. I felt that I did not deserve to be treated in this way and went after our meal to speak to the person concerned, once the area had quietened somewhat. I asked initially who he was and what his name might be and was treated to an aggressive tirade of invective about how he was the manager who was in charge of everything and that he had been there for 25 years that he did not need us or Saga and we could go and find somewhere else to stay if we wished. We walked away not wanting to join with his outburst. I was none the wiser as to his name so enquired at reception who appeared scared and refused to supply any information.

If this is the General Manger who sets the ethos of the hotel then I am not surprised that the service standards are so poor. I find it hard to believe that he is in the position on merit and can only conclude that a degree of nepotism has given him the opportunity. If you should meet him he is a little red headed man with all that that implies.

My husband and I travelled with Saga for a weeks stay in Hotel Helios which turned out to be very disappointing. On arrival we were appointed a room with no sea-view which was not as specified by Saga. On asking for a change of room, it was stated by reception that Saga did not tell them this and that there were no other rooms available. We held our ground and a room was found for us which we thought acceptable with a sea-view. Unfortunately this turned out to be a room above the stage of the bar area where entertainment was held every night! At times we thought the mirror would fall off the wall with base applifiers going full tilt - absolutely horrendous.

We found reception staff mainly unfriendly and very unwilling to help in any way - everything was too much trouble for them. The hotel seems to mainly cater for Spanish residents and they seemed to be looked after very well - fair enough it's their country afterall. I would have thought though that with the state of their economy they would welcome the tourist trade. The food was adequate and edible but hardly inspiring and every meal was a `bun fight' at the buffet. We would form an orderly queue and be pushed and shoved out of the way - mealtimes was not an enjoyable experience. When you arrive for your first meal, you are given a table for 4 which you must remain at for the duration of your holiday, fortunately we struck lucky there, because the other couple were absolutely charming. They also thought the hotel to be extremely mediocre and thought Thompson Hotels/Holidays to be far better value.

Do go to Almunecar though, it's really a lovely resort with many interesting things to see and do. You can also go by bus to visit other areas and the basic fare seems to be 1 euro for everywhere.

The highlight of our holiday was discovering, by chance, a super cafe/bar on Plaza Consticion ( near town hall - listen to the bell and you'll find it) This is the Solimar Cafe Bar run by Juan and you'll get wonderful service with free Tapis for every drink you purchase - a magical experience to watch the Almunecans go about their daily lives. If you get stuck in HELLios Juan will turn your holiday around to make it a good experience.

Von

Didn't know what to expect when we booked but was pleasantly surprised by the hotels cleanliness and the friendliness of the reception staff and in fact all the staff. The location is great, a good safe area and very pretty, no beggers, don't expect golden sands though the sand is black. This was a budget holiday with Saga, we opted for full board the lunches were always better than the evening meal, the food is perhaps its let down, the food was cold and very repetitive some days it was good but mostly overcooked and cold, would come back but would opt for B and B if poss. Another niggle was the fact that although you can sit where you like for breakfast you have to conform and are given a table to sit at which you must adhere to for lunch and dinner, this means if there are two of you then you could be stuck with two other grumpy's for both lunch and dinner throughout the holiday.The hotel entertainment was very much like a bad holiday camp of days gone by luckily we met up with a good bunch of people and we decided to join in once the spanish knew we were game for a laugh we were accepted and it made a pleasant friendly holiday. The Flamenco night was good but went on for over two hours and we could not get up to buy a drink they certainly don't push you to buy drinks.
Word of warning if you go out on to the balcony of your room DO NOT CLOSE the patio door behind you as there is no handle on the outside and it is impossible to open, if I hadn't had my friend with me, I might still be there now. Saga did not live up to its reputation on this holiday as the trips all seemed to be on the same day, Thursday, so we were left with other days where we had to arrange our own trips we missed out on quite a bit..No hairdryer in the room and no toiletries, so remember your own when you go. I would recommend this hotel for its cleanliness and location but not for the food or entertainment.