We were transferred to this hotel as the one we booked did not book 2 rooms for us. It was late when we arrived but the staff told us to leave our bags with them and tuck into some food and drink before it closed.

The rooms were very clean although a little dated, the pool area was fantastic for the kids they enjoyed the slide into the pool, there was also a playground table tennis and pool tables, kids club.

The food was we thought fantastic, something different for lunch and dinner everyday also the snack bar was great for sandwich's and toasties, fruit etc, My eyes nearly popped out when we realised it was a self service bar.

The hotel also offer a range of water sports we booked to go jet skiing and para gliding at a cost of 6 euros yes 6 euros it was fantastic.

It is located about 200m from the beach, 100m from shops

The hotel staff were great very friendly could just do with better entertainment at night. Although mainly the guests were French there was still plenty of English about and I am already on with booking direct with the hotel for next year.

The Hotel Ola Panama was great. The kids loved it.

The pool is great with large pool and baby pool available.

The children where entertained by the reps most of the day and evening.

One of the best things was the food. I've always found All inclusive hotels lacking in the food department but this one was great. The bar is self service, so no waiting to be served and always fully stocked. The rooms are spotless if a little dated but generous in size and cleaned daily.

The entertainment was a little corny but I've never been to an All inclusive where it wasn't! However the kids loved it!

Near the beach and shops it's an ideal location with no noise from clubs. We where impressed and have booked the same hotel again for this year!

Firstly, we only went for 24 hours, so my opinions are only based on that period, so I can't give a full picture of what a week or more would be like.

The hotel is obviously a popular location for the French. Of the people there, I'd say 90% were French. There were a couple of Germans there, and a handful of brits.

Location:

Situated in Palma Nova, about 200 meters from the beach and the shops. Not too far away from everything, but far enough that I don't think the noise from the bars etc would be a problem. Plenty of shops, bars, restaurants, cafe's etc, and the beaches look amazing.

The Hotel:

As you enter the hotel, it does look very nice inside.

The ground floor is largely open plan, with the reception area, a television corner (with sky sports etc) and the bar and stage area at the other end.

Situated in a corner near the entrance is a small arcade that also has an internet terminal for us addicts.

The bar area is fairly small for the size of the hotel, but the bar itself is self service. On offer are a large selection of cheaper brand spirits, red & white wine, one lager (not great, but after 3 pints it tastes OK) and soft drinks - Coca Cola, Fanta etc (not cheaper brands), and juice drinks.

There are also some snacks available all day in the bar area - peanuts, crisps, croissants, ham, cheese, salami etc.

All cups are <1/2 pint plastic cups, so you will be visiting the bar regularly.

Food:

The restaurant looks small for the size of the hotel, but there is another small one that was closed, so there should be room for everyone.

Nicely decored, and not too cramped.

Again, it's self service, with wine, soft drink machines, and tea & coffee (coffee might actually be stretching the description a touch) machine.

The buffet lunch offers a reasonable selection, with various salad components, cooked meats and cheese, then the hot meals, with the obligatory French fries, a couple of fish dishes, a couple of meat dishes, a couple of vegetable dishes, bread rolls & a reasonable sweat section.

Breakfast contains cereal, yoghurt, meat & cheese selection and hot breakfasts with bacon, mini-hotdog style sausages, eggs, tomatoes, beans, potato cakes etc.

The food was pretty tasty, but generally only lukewarm, which lowers the food rating considerably. All it needed was the water temperature in the units increasing, and it would have improved greatly.

Rooms:

The room we had was very basic, and really needed renovation.

We got a double bed and a single bed (with another pullout bed underneath) and dressing table. A portable TV is fixed rather high up on the wall, with a large selection of German, Italian, French, Spanish & English channels.

The hotel has obviously been a Self Catering hotel recently, as the room had a 2 ring cooker, sink & fridge in it (all non-functional) which were in a rather shappy state.

The bathroom was small but adequate.

A very loose door opens (usually by itself) onto a decent sized balcony, and we had quite a nice view.

Air Conditioning was available, but to be honest we didn't need it, and I don't think I'd trust it anyway - like the rest of the room, it was pretty knocked about.

A safe was available, and stuck in the middle of the wall, about as inconspicuous as Blackpool Tower

Pool:

The pool area was quite a nice surprise.

The pool is a good size, with a separate children's pool.
The main pool has a reasonable sized snaking slide which most kids will love.

The ground is nicely paved with several levels, and palm trees all around.

There were plenty of loungers about, and there seemed quite a lot of space - in fact I've been to a larger hotel that had a smaller pool and terrace area.

Entertainment:

They seem to have entertainment every night, even at this early in the year.

The entertainment team are competent and lively, but they are French, and tended to cater mainly for the French guests. They start with a "mini-disco" for the young children, with the usual party songs and games.
Bingo followed, which gets quite confusing as the numbers are called in English and French, with the order of language changing randomly

Lastly, there's an act. Unfortunately, the night we were there, it was decidedly mediocre, but you can't condemn an entire season