Globales Playa Estepona

I want to give a really honest review as we booked the hotel and then read some dreadful reviews which made us extremely worried about our stay. I have to start by saying there is nothing to be worried about. We have had the most phenomenal holiday. If you have children that you want to keep busy all day, then this hotel is great. The variety of slides, splash pads, water play areas is amazing. Our children didn’t stop for a moment.

Food If you and the kids are hungry, there is always a restaurant for them to go to and they always find food that they like. Whether it’s fruit, chips, sausages, burgers, nuggets, pasta. There is also the chance to try different things e.g. paella, pork, beef, chicken, and lots of different types of fish, salads and seafood. You get all of your basic drinks included e.g. fizzy drinks, fruit juices and some basic alcohol/ cocktails. You also get basic ice creams in pots that you can access at either of the restaurants. For higher tier alcohol or proper ice cream eg. Cornettos, magnum style ice creams etc, you have to pay. The Main buffet restaurant is open for the majority of the day. There is a snack restaurant at the very bottom of the site near the beach which offers hot food, drinks, ice cream and fruit throughout the day. This then turns into a themed bookable restaurant in the evening. You book via reception the day before and it has a themed buffet, e.g. Spanish, Tex mex, Italian. This is a smaller selection of food but the restaurant is a little nicer with outdoor seating alongside the beach. There is an ice cream parlour next door to this that also serves things like waffles, iced coffees etc. All at an extra cost. There are also several pool bars dotted around the site. There is also a supermarket which is a 5 to 10 minute walk up the road if you wanted to buy additional snacks drinks et cetera.

Cleanliness Wherever you go in the hotel, there is always someone sweeping the pathways, washing down the sunbeds, planting flowers, mowing the grass… The hotel and the grounds are very well looked after and tidy. Housekeeping come and give the room a light clean every day e.g. making the beds and making sure the room looks fresh, which is much appreciated. The restaurant staff worked tirelessly to try and clear the plates and reset tables during the day but this is a very difficult task due to the huge volume of people coming in out of the restaurant… you can see they try their absolute best and don’t stop for a second.

Entertainment In the evenings there is a mini disco for the kids which is followed by bingo and then the main entertainment (dancing, singers, shows, DJ). These are all fairly simple, but our children enjoyed them. There are also trampolines and an arcade with bumper cars that you can pay for if you’d like. There is a kids club and also entertainment during the day such as aqua aerobics, pool games, archery etc.

Pools There are slight sunbed wars in the morning, but on our first day we were still able to find a spot by the pool at 10:30 / 11. There are multiple pools with sunbeds and a grassy area near the beach with beds so always somewhere to find a spot. The pool opens at 10 am which seemed late at first but this is to ensure that every pool is manned by a lifeguard. We found that this did work for us as once we had breakfast we returned to our room to change, pack up bag and apply suncream. By the time we’ve done this and walk down to the pool, it was beginning to open. Pools included large main pool, a kids water slide park, larger slides (rubber rings etc), racer slides, shallow toddler pool,a wave pool, two small pools and a splash park - this was right at the top of the site which we nearly missed but our children loved it! This is a large hotel so the pools do get busy, we found they are quieter when they open for a little while but as we didn’t hang about in one pool too long and flitted between slides and splash parks we weren’t bothered

Location There isn’t anything much to do in walking distance from the hotel. We ventured onto the beach for a swim once or twice (the sand was very hot and some rocks into the sea initially so beach shoes helped). We also walked up to the local Aldi to get snacks. You can walk to a bus stop about 5 mins away to catch a 20 minute bus into Estepona town which looks very pretty but didn’t do this.

Rooms We had a twin room for a family of four - one double bed, one sofa bed and a cot. It was a squeeze but we managed. We also had a balcony with a pool view, a fridge to store our snacks, good sized bathroom, air con and a safe. Lots of wardrobe space too.

Other There is a shop on sight you can get most things at eg. Snacks, water, toiletries, pool accessories, souvenirs etc. There is a games room/ arcade, trampolines, ride on toys and bumper cars (all extra cost). There is also a small market stool that sets up a few times a week with clothing and bits and bobs the kids will like eg. Squishies, bracelets, toys.

Pros

• loads for the kids to do!
• Always something you eat even for the pickiest eater
• Staff who work hard to keep the hotel and its grounds looking clean and presentable

Cons

• Not everything is included which surprised me for an all inclusive hotel. The hotel is cashless so if you want higher tier alcohol, fancier ice creams and to access the kids arcades/ trampolines etc, you’ll need cash

Tips

• if you have toddlers, grabbing seats by the toddler pool just by the main pool is a life saver! We would lay towels out before breakfast at 8:30 and these were always free!
• Go to the main restaurant for lunch as there is much more choice
• The Italian night in the themed restaurant was lovely! That was Monday night and well worth booking!

Hi we've booked the 2 bedroom family room with balcony is it all in one big room or does the room have another bedroom ? We have 2 babies and a 11yr old which will be a nightmare as our girl doesnt sleep. Thanks