Hotel Coronas Playa

This is our third holiday at Hotel Coronas Playa from 15/12/19 to 05/01/20 and it won't be our last. The review below is almost a copy of previous years as very little has changed.

We flew from Exeter with TUI with no problems on the outbound or inbound flight just over 3.5 hours each way. The airport transfer was very good approximately 25 minute ride with the Coronas being the second drop off, check in was very quick and we were soon banded up and given a small passport folder which contained your room keys (2) and maps and various details of the hotel facilities + your wifi login password details you take this passport with you at meal times and leave on your table to show it has been allocated. At check in your can put a deposit (€10.00) on two pool towels which is refunded on check out and rent a safe deposit box situated in your room for €3.00 per day. Once you are checked in your cases are labelled with your room number and delivered for you by the bell boy.
You can upgrade at reception at any time if you are not all inclusive the are three options which are per day Red band - Includes all branded drinks & meals/snacks :- 26.00€ Blue band - Drinks only package includes all drinks with or without alcohol including branded names.:- 20.00€
 Yellow band - Non alcoholic drink and food package included all non alcoholic drinks snacks & meals :- 15.00€
 You can also opt to upgrade to a select room for €9.00 per person per night.
 We had a standard room (329) which looked out onto the lower activity pool, the room was very large and spacious with plenty of wardrobe space and a big shelf to put your cases on there is a kettle supplied with tea and coffee and milk sachets supplied which are replaced as used, under the dressing/table ledge there is a mini fridge which contains a large bottle of water. You can access the hotel wifi from your room the signal is not ultra fast but adequate for browsing, if you require a faster signal you can upgrade at reception by the day or week at additional cost. The bathroom has an over bath shower with a plastic curtain which is the only criticism about the room, it could be replaced with a hinged splash screen. There is a dispenser in the shower area for hair and body wash and another by the sink for hand washing, there is a fitted hairdryer also which I was informed was ok but not very efficient.

There is one restaurant at the hotel "The Crown" where you eat all your meals buffet style apart from lunch time, at breakfast and dinner you wait at the restaurant entrance and are escorted to your table with usually lots of kisses and hugs. Breakfast consists of all the usual favourites from the full english fry up to all the cereals fresh fruits you could want, after your allocated your table you help yourself to tea/coffee and juices from machines all around the restaurant, there is three toasters which are some of the best I've used at hotels which actual toast your bread with only one pass + there is a dedicated toaster for gluten free patrons.
The lunch time is slightly different you can choose to eat inside or outside from either a fixed menu or from a specials board which is changed daily, you pick where you want to sit and your food and drink order is taken you will then have your orders delivered directly to your table.
Evening dinner resorts to be taken to a table and choosing for yourself from the buffet counters. We found the food at all the meal times to be very good quality with a great range to choose from, the evening dinners usually had a theme menu which changed daily from Carribean to Spanish or Mexican etc all very good. There has to be something for everybody even the so called fussy eaters and you can always find something new to try!

Restaurant Times:-

 Winter
 Breakfast 07:30 - 10:00 Lunch 12:00 - 15:00 Dinner 18:30 - 21:30 Summer Breakfast 07:30 - 10:00 Lunch 12:30 - 15:30 Dinner 19:00 - 22:00

 There are two pools at the hotel a lower activity pool where there are daily quizzes etc and the daily activities are organised from or the upper pool which is the quiet pool for relaxing around, both pools are very clean and the water temperature is fresh but it did not stop us from having a daily swim including Christmas and New Years Day, great not to have balls and lilo's floating about. Both pools are sited close to there own pool bar where your can get your drinks and snacks from including pizzas, toasties, crisps and ice creams.

Pool Bar Times:-

10:00 - 18:00

The hotel is sited on the seafront with a long promenade outside running along to Costa Tiquise town which will take approximately a 20 minute walk to reach, there are all the usual shops bars and restaurants here if you fancy a change from the hotel. To the front of the hotel there are several shops where you can purchase daily english papers or other bits and pieces, alternately cross the road and got right and you will come to a few more shops and a Dino Supermarket where you can buy almost everything you require. I you carry on walking for a couple of minutes past the supermarket you will come to the local bus stop where you can get the No3 bus to Arrecife for €1.20 single which takes about 25 minutes or stay on to Porta del Carmen for approx another 25 minutes €2.95 single ticket.

The only downside to this years holiday was the evening entertainment, a large majority of guests we talked to agreed that the standard and variety of acts was very poor and not up to 4* Gold standard expectations. Our main disappointment and many others also agreed was the resident duo Mangata, to put it bluntly they were awful with no stage presence the guitarist just stood on the stage like a stage prop and the female singer had an awful voice which put us of going into the Pavillion. 
You do not have to queue at the bar for your drinks in the Pavillion you are served at your table by a dedicated serving team who take your order on a pad system and deliver to your table, you usually find after a couple of drinks they remember your order and with a quick nod your order is automatically taken. 

Pavillion Times:-
20:00 - 00:00

 Alternatively you can spend your evenings in the "Monkey Bar" which is situated just outside the main restaurant, there is the same drinks ordering system here as in the Pavillion just find a seat and your order is taken and delivered back to your table, in all the bars there is a great choice of local and branded drinks including Captain Morgan Spiced rum, Jameson Whiskey, Famous Grouse Whisky, Tanqueray Gin and Baileys to name a few and the measures are not skimped on. There is a very popular coffee menu in here with all the favourite liquor coffees topped with cream and chocolate flakes if thats what you like.
They have entertainment in here approximately three times a week which is not to loud so you can still talk or even have a dance if you wish, we found the standard of acts in here to be better than in the Pavillion. The Monkey bar could do with a bit of updating, the bench type sofas are getting uncomfortable and were difficult for some guests to get up from. 

Monkey Bar Times:-
16:00 - 01:00

 Our stay here included Christmas day and New Years Day, on Christmas day in the evening there was a gala dinner which was absolutely fantastic with so much choice of food it was hard to try and restrict what you put on your plate. In the evening there was a Mowtown/soul show in the Pavillion flown in from the UK 

New years day gala dinner was very much the same with again so much food to choose from, in the evening the main entertainment was another act flew in from the UK Ben Moss a singer who put a great professional show on and afterwards up to midnight and beyond Mangata returned to provide music!! to dance to. It was a nice touch that Mario the general manager and the management team and the staff all got on the stage and joined in with the evening celebrations, Mario the general manager is a lovely man who is very approachable and is always keen to listen to any comments or suggestions.

We found all the hotel areas including the gardens to be kept very clean and tidy at all times and some of the cleanest and fresh smelling toilets all over the site, this is a big thumbs up to all the cleaners and gardeners who mainly go unnoticed.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Coronas Playa making some new friends thank you Dawn & Colin for your company (thank you for the parting gifts, yes they did fit and I wiped my hands clean after). We will be definitely returning next year for Christmas and New year, this hotel will also be highly recommended to all our friends and family for a warm friendly and relaxing stay.

Just back from Coronas Playa. Spent 2 weeks there from 26th December. The first point to make is that the STAFF make this a hotel that guests return to year after year. The management and staff are second to none. The rooms are huge, some maybe dated but I believe that they are in the process of getting a refurbishment. The food is excellent, not a huge selection but what you get is hot and fresh. Entertainment is not perfect, should be more in the Monkey bar preferably starting at 9pm instead of 10pm as pavilion starts at 10pm. Plenty of sunbeds around the pools so no need to get up at daft o’clock to reserve one. One the whole a very relaxing hotel with a super location. Handy bus stop for travelling further afield.