Labranda Playa Bonita Hotel

We stayed here as a family of four with children aged 11 and 8.

The biggest positive is definitely the location. It’s within easy walking distance of the beach, shops and bars, so it’s a great base if you like to get out and explore.

The hotel and grounds were generally clean, and the rooms were cleaned every day. However, housekeeping was a little inconsistent. We arrived around 1am after flight delays and motorway traffic, only to have the cleaner knocking at 8:30am the next morning, so definitely use the Do Not Disturb sign if you want a lie-in! The room seemed to be cleaned more thoroughly during the first half of the week than the second. We found someone else’s flip-flops under the bed when looking for the kids ball, suggesting it hadn’t been cleaned underneath. On our final morning, the smell from the bathroom drains was awful - so bad we shut the bathroom door and avoided going back in.

Our room itself was spacious enough for the four of us, with a good-sized balcony overlooking the pool, and the air conditioning was excellent and very much needed. There aren’t many plug sockets, so take adapters, and the sockets in our room were quite stiff. We also had the electrics trip twice during our stay, although reception arranged for this to be fixed quickly.

Check-in was straightforward despite arriving around midnight. As we’d missed dinner, we were told there was a cold meal available in the restaurant, which was a nice gesture. Unfortunately, the food had clearly been sitting out for hours, the restaurant was very warm, and there were flies all over the salad bar, so we decided not to eat it and went to a nearby restaurant instead for chips.

The food throughout the week was what you’d expect from a standard all-inclusive. The fresh pizzas were lovely, and my partner and the kids really enjoyed the burgers and toasties from the snack bar. The waiting staff worked hard and were always quick to clear plates. Sadly, the biggest issue was the flies. There were so many of them, especially around the fresh bread and salad bar. We’ve stayed in several all-inclusive hotels and have never experienced anything like it. The lack of air conditioning in the restaurant didn’t help either.

The pool was a good size and was cleaned every evening, but the shallow area was small, meaning our 8 and 11-year-olds could only stand in a limited section. The biggest negative of the whole holiday was the sunbed situation. On our first morning we went down around 8am and there wasn’t a single sunbed available. The following day my partner went down just after 7am and managed to get beds but no parasol. After that we had no choice but to set alarms and take turns going down between 5:30am and 6am every morning. Even then, all the beds around the pool had already gone, leaving us further back, which wasn’t ideal with two children. We really hated having to do this, but otherwise we’d have had nowhere to sit.

We didn’t really get to experience the evening entertainment because by the time we’d finished dinner there were never any seats left in the entertainment area. We weren’t eating particularly late either. Lots of people ended up sitting on sunbeds further away because there simply wasn’t enough seating.

Overall, we had a lovely family holiday. We made the most of it. We got a good price so perhaps got what we paid for (£2800 all inclusive for 7 nights). In our opinion this hotel doesn’t feel like a 4-star property and is closer to a 2/3-star experience. While we’d definitely return to the area, we probably wouldn’t choose this hotel again because of the issues mentioned above.

Location is good - plenty of bars, shops, restaurants and the beach within walking distances. Rooms are clean and a decent size, kettle in room but no tea or coffee etc, although we just used the canteen. The hotel is very clean, cleaners constantly cleaning and maintaining the grounds. Food was average, typical all inclusive really. We’ve had better but had worse. The only downside is the sunbed issue. We went down one morning at 7am and all beds were taken around the pool, the next morning I went down at 630am and the same. You have subbed away from the pool but you can’t see children in the pool if you have any. Staff always friendly and helpful. Chilled atmosphere around the hotel and not too noisy.

I had high hopes for this holiday, especially considering how much I paid, but unfortunately it was a huge disappointment. The location is good, and the cleaning staff deserve special recognition. The rooms are very dated, but they are kept exceptionally clean, and the housekeeping team work incredibly hard. They were by far the best thing about this hotel.

Unfortunately, everything else fell well below expectations. I would not say this hotel offers value for money.

The restaurant was one of the biggest issues. There were flies everywhere, constantly landing on the food. I've travelled abroad for many years and have never experienced anything like it. It made meal times very unpleasant.

The pool area is far too small for the number of guests, especially during the school holidays. It's absolutely packed, and people are getting up from 1am onwards just to queue for a sunbed. Even then, you're not guaranteed to get one.

The lifeguard was also very disappointing. A child had an accident in the pool, and instead of dealing with it immediately, he simply stood watching it from a distance until another guest reported it to reception. Only then was the pool closed. On another occasion, a child nearly drowned while the lifeguard appeared to be more interested in his phone than supervising the pool.

We also experienced repeated power cuts throughout our stay. The bar lost power, our room lost power several times, and there were occasions when there was no water either. It's simply unacceptable for a hotel charging these prices.

I also witnessed British guests being treated unfairly over sunbed disputes, while Spanish guests appeared to be allowed to behave the same way without consequence. That left a very poor impression.

The entertainment is very basic and not particularly memorable.

Overall, I paid a small fortune for this holiday, and neither the hotel nor Jet2 seemed interested in addressing any of the problems. From the day we arrived, things just seemed to get worse.

It's a real shame because the hardworking cleaning staff deserve much better than the overall experience this hotel provides.

I will be making an official complaint to Jet2. This has been one of the most disappointing holidays I've ever had, and I certainly wouldn't return or recommend this hotel to others.