Zimbali Playa Spa

Lovely hotel around 90 km’s from Almeria airport – took around 50 mins in private taxi. The hotel is situated on the beach with a secure door leading from the sunbathing terrace to the prom and pebbly beach beyond. The sea was a little choppy during our stay and it would probably have been more comfortable to wear beach shoes as it is quite stony at the waters edge. We had pre warned the children about nudists but didn’t see any so they must be further along. Several shops in the locale sell beach chairs and umbrellas as there aren’t any provided directly in front of the hotel but could see some in the distance in both directions. The hotel is very clean and the facilities are excellent. Travelled with 11 and 9 year olds who had fun using the slides and the pool which are conveniently located together with life guards to watch over. The pool temp was just about perfect in terms of being able to cool off from the heat but also for the children to spend hours playing in it as it wasn’t too cold either. We stayed All Inclusive and found the food at all sittings to be fresh and plentiful. Sometimes not piping hot but always replenished relatively quickly. Sometimes it took a bit longer to be served at the bars but the staff were nearly always aware of who was waiting and were pretty fair in their order of service. The all inclusive system requires you to hand over a card for every transaction at the bars or when you enter the restaurants which does make it slightly longer but does mean there's no wristband to wear! Our room, 163, was a superior room on the ground floor with a small garden and sunbeds. We had 2 double beds, separate shower, bath with another shower over and plenty of storage space. One of the bedside lights didn’t work and was repaired within the hour. There was also a flat screen tv (don’t know how many English channels there are as we didn’t switch it on!), small minibar type fridge, kettle with teas/coffees, and full size hair dryer (in the bathroom). We rented the safe at around 4-5 euros per day and we also had beach towels – I believe you have to pay a deposit for these in lower room categories. I had wondered why I hadn't seen more reviews (in English) on Tripadvisor and I’m guessing it’s because around 95% of the guests are Spanish. We only met 3 other English families during our stay. It really wasn’t a problem but did limit who the children played with and, of course, most of the entertainment was conducted in Spanish. The staff are all excellent - helpful, polite, friendly. We had an initial hiccup in being allocated the category of room we were expecting, and Felix on reception finally sorted this for us. He is definitely the man to speak to if you have a problem. Sunbeds were plentiful and relatively spread out around the grounds. There is a system in place whereby you cannot reserve sunbeds before 10 am which is when the pool is officially open each day. Although you can pitch up at 9.30 ish as long as you stay until around 10 am. If not, the pool attendant will remove your towels! We didn’t venture much outside of the hotel but did go to Aquavera Water Park which was about a 10-15 min walk away. It was quite expensive but around 40% cheaper if you go after 4 pm (they close at 7.30 pm in July/August). Also, and if you have smaller children, the resort train stops directly at the doors of the hotel. Reception keep a timetable and it mostly runs in the evening from around 5.30 pm onwards. Given our experience of this hotel, we would definitely return and be happy to try other hotels in the same group.

We visited in June 2019 when it was quiet. The rooms were spacious and the large bathroom had both a bath with shower and a separate shower cabin. We did not eat at the hotel so can't comment on the food. The installations would be good for families (pools, water slides, etc). The location of the hotel is excellent, just walk through the garden and pool area, out of the back gate and straight on to the beach. Visitors should be aware that the beach is relatively nearby to the nudist area in case this is an issue for some people. Only issue is that the safe inside the room is not free to use. This is unfortunate as I have travelled extensively throughout Spain and most hotels do not charge these days to use the safe.