Seaside Los Jameos Playa

Overall, we enjoyed our 10-day stay at Los Jameos, but our experience wasn’t without its issues.

We booked through Jet2, where the hotel is advertised as 5-star and apart of their ‘Luxe Collection’ some tour operators rate it as 4-star plus and part of their premium collection. Based on our stay, we felt it was closer to an established 4-star hotel. It’s a nice hotel and clearly has ambitions to be a 5-star standard following its recent renovations, but we felt there is still some way to go.

It’s also worth bearing in mind when reading the many very positive reviews that guests stay on different board options and in different room categories. We also noticed the hotel appears to host social media influencers and PR trips, with these guests staying in superior rooms and on the premium all-inclusive package. Obviously, their experience may differ from guests staying in standard rooms or on other board options, so we think this is worth considering when comparing reviews.

The positives

Food: Excellent throughout our stay, particularly the evening meals. Fresh meat, fish, burgers and pasta were available, with many items cooked to order. The main restaurant also had plenty of gluten-free options with bread, pastas and pizza available on request.

Service: Generally excellent. Most staff were friendly, helpful and efficient, particularly the serving staff in the restaurant, the Belingo and Piano Bars.

Rooms: Spacious, well equipped and cleaned daily, with fresh towels provided.

Facilities: Two good-sized main pools, plus a family/children’s area with two pools and slides. There was also a good range of daytime activities and evening entertainment.

Areas for improvement

Gluten-free options: These were very limited outside the main restaurant. For example, Milk Lab only had one food item available, a chia seed pudding. When we asked about gluten-free sandwiches or cakes, we were told there were none. Having stayed at other 4 and 5-star hotels where this is catered for across the resorts, this was disappointing as it meant we had to visit the main restaurant every meal time.

Pool bar service: This could be slow. This appeared more related to the ordering/payment system and staffing levels than the staff themselves. The requirement to scan room cards when ordering and process different board arrangements added to the delays. A quick fix for this would to have different coloured cards for the different types of board so its more easily identifiable to the staff.

Air conditioning: The air conditioning worked but struggled to cool the room to the temperature set on the thermostat. Despite being left on throughout the day, our room rarely dropped below 23°C.

Belingo Bar: We found the service here disappointing on occasions, with the bartenders more often than not were reluctant to acknowledge guests waiting at the bar or wanting to order directly from it. They rarely lifted the heads from the orders being passed from the servers. There could be at least one bartender who prioritises people wanting to be served at the bar.

Cockroaches: One of our biggest concerns was finding a cockroach in our room. Another guest staying in the same building as us experienced the same issue. We reported this to reception and our room was sprayed with repellant. However, the other guest was moved and upgraded. We felt our complaint was somewhat brushed aside, possibly because we were nearing the end of our stay whereas the other guest had recently arrived.

We know pest issues can occur in warmer climates but at night on regular occasions we sighted Cockroaches on the terrace and in public areas of the hotel buildings where rooms are located.

Pepe’s Shack: The bar by the family pool was closed for the entire duration of our stay. We were told at check-in that it was temporarily closed for refurbishment and would reopen within a few days, but unfortunately it never did. This meant long walks to the main pool bar and additional waiting for drinks, making the all-inclusive package less convenient when spending time around the children’s pool. The pool bar also wouldn’t allow drinks to be taken back on trays.

The time of year we visited there were still plenty of families with children who’d of benefitted from this facility. It would of made a lot more sense to carryout the planned work at a less busy time of the year.

Overall

We did enjoy our holiday and there is a lot to like about Los Jameos. The food, rooms, pools and majority of the service were very good.

However, based on our experience and the price we paid, we felt the hotel was closer to 4-star than 5-star. The hotel has clearly invested in its recent refurbishment and has potential for a 5 star experience with some improvements.

Would we return? We wouldn’t rule it out, perhaps for a week-long winter or out-of-season break. Although Los Jameos is a very nice hotel with plenty to offer, the disparity between the all-inclusive and all-inclusive premium packages, combined with the current room rates, means it falls slightly short of the luxury five-star all-inclusive experience we expected.

The restaurant lacked plain vegetables during the evening. Bar service was very poor at times, more staff have been appearing but their lack of drinks knowledge or till usage meant queues at times.

This is an absolutely wonderful hotel. Fancied a short 6 day break and this was booked fairly last minute. I dropped the hotel a note before I travelled and they were quick to answer my query. On arrival, checking in was smooth and simple. The room was excellent as so were the facilities and food. It took a little time to order drinks in the bar but staff were extremely busy, friendly and polite.
Grounds are beautiful, everywhere was sparkling clean and I was sad to leave. The hotel is rated as 4* but I have stayed at a sister 5* hotel and the service here was just as good. Hotel is highly recommended. I only revisit hotels where I've had a wonderful time - and will definitely be revisiting Seaside Los Jameos. Thanks to all staff for a super holiday.