Barcelo La Nucia Palms

Absolutely wonderful hotel...we stayed here for 5 nights with our 4 month old and everything was perfect. The hotel is beautiful, modern and clean... you can really tell it's looked after. Staff were very accommodating organising the cot for us, supplying a kettle to warm formula bottles, and providing a plate to use as a lid for the sterilising bucket. A little out of the way and you need a taxi or to rent a car if you want to explore, but this was perfect for us as we wanted a peaceful place to stay. Pool area is immaculate with plenty of sunbeds, the lifeguards were hot on removing towels on the odd occasion people left the pool and left them there. No one was reserving sunbeds which meant we could eat breakfast at a leisurely pace and wander down at anytime and still get beds. A good mix of sunny and shaded areas. We were a bit nervous going with a 4month old in case we would be seen as disruptive but there were a fair few other families there too, all with incredibly well behaved children (no screaming and shouting) which really put us at ease. Staff were polite and friendly, nothing was too much for them (had seen reviews about rude staff but this was definitely not our experience). Breakfast was delicious with a wide range of foods to choose from and fried eggs/omlettes/pancakes being made fresh. We didn't eat dinner as prefer to eat out - there are some lovely little restaurants a 10 minutes walk from the hotel. Rooms very clean with powerful aircon and a lovely rain shower. They are very environmentally conscious, only changing sheets and towels if you request. Rooms are very spacious with a lovely little patio area (we had the "cheapest" room type and it was plenty big enough). Bed is the comfiest hotel bed I've slept in. This was the perfect first holiday as a family and I wouldn't hesitate to come back for longer.

Fantastic views from the roof top bar, nice pool area. There is expensive parking at the hotel, 2 levels underground and a small one at the entrance or one can park across the road, large, free carpark. There are no attractions nearby, you need a car, taxi or the bus to get anywhere. We did not pay the additional fee to use the indoor pool. There is no coffee making facility in the room. 5 TV channels in English, all news. The TVs do not have YouTube or Netflix and you can't connect your devices to it. Overall not a 5 star hotel in my opinion.

The hotel itself is very beautiful, and the rooms are also in great condition. HOWEVER, the service is at times completely unacceptable for a 5-star hotel. Breakfast and dinner were more or less fine in terms of food, but the service was terrible. It was obvious that there were far too few staff members on duty at any given time—clearly, the hotel is cutting costs here, and as a result, they cannot maintain the expected standard. There were lines at breakfast because no one was clearing the tables fast enough. At dinner, no one had time to even ask for our drink orders (one evening was okay, but the other was simply unacceptable). By the pool, there’s a QR code for service, which never worked despite multiple attempts. Service at the bar was also extremely slow, likely due to staff shortages as well.