A quick warning - this report intends to be both useful and honest, and with this in mind, I will break the holiday down into several parts to give full justice to the whole of the holiday.

The flight - the flight from Birmingham is a little under two hours.

On arriving at Reus, the MyTravel transfer coach seems to work counter-intuitive to how I would operate - passing Caribe' Resort to drop off other passengers to the various Aparthotels in Salou and then doubling back to drop you at the hotel! With this manner, the transfer to the hotel took longer than the flight!

On arriving at lunchtime at the hotel, we tried to check in, only to be told that the rooms would not be ready until 3pm (we arrived a shade after 12.30pm) and that we would have to wait until then to be able to get into our room. This wouldn't have been so bad apart from as other guests arrived from 2pm onwards they were being given rooms without delay. If you kick up enough fuss you will be given a room early - it's what I had to do! There is one certain member of the check in staff that was very unhelpful stating 'that rules are rules' until I pointed out the little fact of other guests....

HOWEVER...., This is the ONLY down side to the resort!

The rooms are in three storied blocks of 30 rooms apiece - named after islands in the Carribean - (we were in Isla Margherita) surrounding the two large pools and the ornamental lake. The rooms are large, airy and equipped with air conditioning, mini fridge, hairdrier and tv -but the only english speaking channel is CNN. They are cleaned every day unless you request otherwise.

Pools; There are two large pools, situated at either end of the large ornamental lake - one is a white sand bottomed pool, in a beach style, with the Salsa Cafe at the side, which serves hot snacks between 11am and 6pm, and a free form pool at the other end, with the Mango Bongo cafe situated on a island in the middle of the pool, serving drinks and cold sandwiches between 10am and 6pm. The top pool is the quieter of the two, with no music playing, unlike the bottom pool which played music from midday til 6pm-ish, and various water games for the kids during the day. There is a policy of not allowing reservation of sunbeds, and on one occasion I noticed the pool lifeguards removing towels - this happened after several hours of nobody going to the towels however. But there are plenty of sunbeds even with people saving beds, and we never had a problem getting beds.

Food / Restaurants. We visited as half board, and as such took our breakfast and evening meal in the Bohio' buffet restaurant. A lot has been said in a negative manner about the food - I didn't have a problem with it. The breakfast caters for both engligh cooked breakfasts and continental breakfasts, with plenty of food on offer.

While it is correct that the food tends to be warm rather than hot, it is cooked thoroughly, and there is a turbochef oven if you wish to have your meal piping hot (I used it every day). The dinners catered for all tastes, there were chips, hot dogs and burgers for the children, with (on various nights) pork steaks, tuna steaks, spring chicken, and all manner of pasta dishes along with a wide selection of salads, vegetarian dishes, cheeses and fish dishes which should cater for all. I did not have a problem finding something nice to eat on any of the 7 nights we were there - and I am a fussy eater.

If you tire of the buffet in the hotel, you can swap to one of the other hotels buffets which tend to have different menus by contacting the guest services at reception. You can also upgrade your meal to one of 4 or 5 of the al a carte restaurants within the 3 hotels - but not the PortAventura park itself. If you do not find something to eat then you are not looking hard enough!

Entertainment -
As mentioned, there are pool games and activities for children organised every day. There is a mini disco every evening - but no other 'proper' entertainment within the hotel - this is not a negative however, as PortAventura is open until midnight every day and the best time to catch the various shows is at night when it is cooler!

The Park 'PortAventura'; Having visited Orlando, My expectations for the park were high - and it met them head on. Included in the price of the hotel, and accessed through your room key card is unlimited access to the park. The park is laid out into various styles - mediterrania - at the front of the park, where the entrance is and leads to the other sites - far west (great country and western bands), Polynesia (the Seaquest ride is a must), China (the largest rollercoaster I have seen), and Mexico (Temple Del Feugo is great) The attention to detail within the various styles is spot on - no expense has been spared to make this an experience, with my personal favourite being the Far West area.

The park offers a lot to do - and in the week we were there we only just managed to cover it all.

The water park - again, included in the cost - is a one day pass for Costa Caribe' - the water park attached to PortAventura. This park is large, with a main pool with a wave machine, two smaller pools for small children to either side of it, 5 water slides of varieing size and a lagoon wich you can float around on a inflatable ring. The yellow rings are free of charge, but cannot be taken from either the lagoon or slides to the main pool - but there are rings available for hire with a refundable deposit.

The water park is a good day out - and you will be tired by the end of it!

All in all, PortAventura is a great experience, worth every penny!

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the MyTravel rep at all - that is because we never met her! The board in reception said there were two welcome meetings, both of which we did not attend, and at no point did he/she/ try to contact us or make him/herself known to us - this was fine by us as we liked the fact we went unmolested for the week - but could casue issues if you wish to take out one of the hideously over priced excursions to Barcelona - it's quicker and cheaper to take the train from the station 500 yards from the hotel and pay a tenth of the price.

Overall - Hotel - GREAT. Food - GOOD, Service - GOOD, but COULD DO BETTER, Location - GREAT.

We will keep this short, because people get bored reading these reviews... and after reading some of them we was nothing short of dreading coming. However there is nothing to worry about.

The Hotel was great, best of the 3. Fantastic location. The rooms were not 100% clean and could do with a good sweep but other than that excellent.

The staff were polite even to us English.

The pools were great, the food was good and we have been to some right dodgy Spanish buffets over the years, for sure this was the best one. OK the food is not piping hot, but you can dine around with the vouchers they give you, well worth doing this.

The First Choice Rep was nothing but helpful, friendly and worth every penny he gets paid.

Please just enjoy your hoilday, as they are what YOU make them and these reviews are only peoples opinions and in mine the hotel was great and for sure we will return, once our daughter has grown a bit and can go on more rides in the parks.

Happy Holidays.

This was the second year we visited the complex and resort...and trust me, if it had failed in our expectations first time round then we would certainly not have gone for a second year, nor taken the in-laws and the eldest girl and her mate (as a pre-Uni 'treat').

We are not people who are easily impressed I can assure you but I have nothing but good things to say about this complex.

It is open and expansive but within its own grounds and children can run freely around (within limitations to age)whilst parents can relax in the sun. There are several bars on site, the restaurants host a wide selection of foods to suit all tastes (use the micro-oven if you feel the need for 'hotter' food) and the staff, in general, are quite welcoming and helpful.

I have scored the on site entertainment as '1' but only because we never bothered with it preferring to go the the theme park each evening or walk into Salou before returning to the hotel for a well deserved nightcap or several!

Are we going for a third year? Well, probably not but only because we are struggling to afford it this time round. We are, however, intending to return to Salou but will probably have to settle for a cheaper option -more's the pity!

If you can afford, you won't be disappointed!

We have just visited this hotel recently for a week. The hotel itself was excellent.

Room was cleaned daily, floors could have been swept clean a little more though.

Food was varied but hot food tended to be either luke warm or cold. If you catch the chef coming out to fill up the buffet trays then you will get hot piping food. Due to us having a very fussy 13 yr old he ate virtually nothing all week. Therefore on a couple of nights we did tend to eat out in Salou which is about 10-15mins walk from the hotel.

We didn't stay in the hotel for the entertainment, but after speaking with a few of the other guests they didn't seem too impressed.

Hotel staff seemed pleasant enough and were only happy to help if you had a problem. Recepttion staff also very friendly.

Theme park and water park are excellent, while staying at this hotel you have unlimited access and the free train is well worth using as both parks are side by side up a steep hill, which you won't fancy walking up to if it's a hot day,. They run every 15 mins

This was our 2nd visit to the Caribe Resort. We last visited in October 2004 when it was still an independent hotel. It has since been taken over by Universal.
The problem is that the price has virtually doubled but the only extra facility are the Universal characters wondering round the hotel most of the time. The children loved it but is that really worth the extra money ?

The hotel is lovely and our ground floor room was clean and maid service every day was excellent. Maids start quite early but it is no problem to them to come back later if you are still in your room.

The restaurant food is still very good. Perhaps even more typical Spanish food than last time which was great. Buffet style so there is something for everyone. Breakfasts were particularly good. New rules though since last time though and you cannot even take a bread roll out of the restaurant to give to your child to eat later if they are not hungry at breakfast time.

Low season meant there was very little evening entertainment. Kids disco for 30mins every night but only a show at the weekends. In October there had been a show every night.

The kids club was still very good and our children loved it but unfortunately it was not open at the weekends. They liked to go there after breakfast for an hour before we went out for the day. This does not seem to be the fault of the kids club staff, who were surprised it was not open, but a Universal management problem. They seem to use the same staff to cover the 3 hotels and move them around depending on what hotels are busiest. There was a sign to say you could book your children into the clubs at El Paso or Port Aventura Hotel but it is not the same as walking to your own hotel club.

Reception staff are friendly and helpful but never in a rush. Don't be surprised if a 2 second question takes them 10 minutes to answer. It might just be because they were new as the hotel had only opened for the season 2 weeks before we arrived.

Port Aventura was great fun as usual. You get free entry included in the hotel price but you got that when it was an independent hotel so does not justify the price rise.
Overall the Caribe Resort is a lovely hotel in a lovely setting and good location. However, it was much better value for money before it was bought over by Universal.

Cannot knock this hotel anything bad I have read about this hotel isn't true.

Immaculately clean, staff friendly, no discrimination against the English at all. Ok food served plenty of choice and if you like your meals hotter microwave in dining room. No problems getting a drink with your evening meal at all.

Entertainment on daytime if you want to stay in hotel all day but expect to be on your own I had the pool and bar to myself everybody else at the park all day pure bliss!!

One thing take mosquito repellent if you go to the park in the evening.

Well worth a visit kids loved the park I enjoyed the rest.

Just got back from a fantastic time at the Caribe Resort.

First of all our room was cleaned every day and new towels were provided when needed. There were three of us and we did occasionally recieve only two towels (but a quick word with the maid soon sorted this). Towels for the pool were provided and again these could be changed whenever you needed clean ones.

Bed linen was changed twice a week and the floors were swept on most days. Hotel and pool areas were kept clean and the public toilets around the complex were all kept clean throughout the day.

The swimming pool (particularly the beach area) were excellent and perfect for our 2 year old to stroll in an out of as he pleased. Two lifeguards (at least) were on duty at each pool throughout opening times.

The food in the restaraunt was of a good standard (but could ideally have benefitted from being labelled - somedays were a bit pot luck). However it was 'international buffet' - most gusets at the hotel werent English - a bit repetitive some nights but everyone in our party found something they liked evry night (paella , a roast , fish , salads etc). As its buffet it wasnt the hottest but from my experience this is how most of the food is served in Spain anyway. Didnt have any problem queing either.

The only disappointing thing was the entertainment. Kids disco for half an hour everynight @ 8.30 (great for under 5's) then nothing until 10.00 then people 'miming' to a backing track - we ended up going to ther hotels in the are as soon as the mini disco had finished.

Transportation to and from the theme park was excellent - and the beach was only a 15 minute walk away. Would recommmend going back to this hotel - but would like to see an improvement in the entertainment.

I visited this hotel for two weeks in July 2005 I was very much looking forward to going there having taken quite some time to choose and after seeing it on a previous visit the year before and thinking how nice it looked.

But I must admit to being disappointed with the overall cleanliness of the hotel and the quality of the food. This is a great shame because otherwise this was a lovely hotel, the grounds overall where very pretty and the pools outstanding.

But in terms of room cleanliness the floors were not swept from the day we arrived, in the brochure it had said twice weekly linen change but it took eleven days before our beds were changed and three separate visits to reception.

In addition the toilets in the public areas i.e. the restaurant and bar were always in a poor state, two out of the three cubicle doors did not lock and in general they suffered from lack of regular attention with paper etc all over the floors.

Furthermore the food, although in plentiful supply was of very poor quality, hot food was at best luke warm. It made eating there particularly in the evening a chore rather than a pleasure.

The staff although very pleasant had very little knowledge of English and it was surprisingly difficult to order a drink with your meal, which is very odd for a hotel with international guests. Often we went without a drink as no-one every approached the table. In the end despite being half board we ate out in the evening at least six of our fourteen nights.

Finally, the sprinklers were a nightmare at night if you returned to your room around midnight or after it was almost impossible to get back to it without dodging a set of powerful sprinklers which targeted more than one path at a time. If nothing else it was dangerous as it was very slippy.

I did enjoy this hotel but these points mentioned above spoilt the overall impression it gave and bring into question it's four star status.

The hotel was lovely and our room quite good.The maid must have never swept the floor though,as we even found sweet papers under the bed which were not belonging to us.

Our room was on the first floor with no lift so we had to lift a buggy up and down the stairs a couple of times a day.

The maids never left enough towels in the bath room so most evenings we either had to share bath towels or else make a trip up to reception to complain.

The staff on reception were excellent at their job and were very friendly. However the waiting staff in the dining room were useless. You could be left waiting for half an hour for your drink and then they might bring the wrong one.

The food was good with plenty of choice,however the queing was chaotic - mostly caused by people allowing their 3 and 4 year olds to go up and select their own food.

It is no joke being stuck behind a tiny child and he picking out his chips one by one!!

The pools were great.The beach pool was fantastic.It was so safe for kids.However inflatable toys - even swimming rings are not allowed in the pool.

The sprinklers were a pain to dodge when coming back to your room after 12 midnight. It was impossible to avoid getting a soaking - no fun with a baby asleep in a buggy.

The hotel provides lovely soft towels for use by the pool. You can change them as often as you wish. It was lovely to have fresh towels by the pool every day.

The toilets in the public areas of the hotel were dreadful - broken locks on the doors and extremely smelly!

On numerous occasions I took my daughter all the way back to our room to use the toilet rather than use the ones outside the dining room.

The dining room did not open until 7.30pm for evening meals which was late enough for small kids.Any other hotel we have stayed in served evening meals from 6.30pm onwards.

Besides all the above grieviances I would return to this hotel as the grounds and pool area were lovely.

We came here as a family, but also on our honeymoon.

When we arrived it was about 3.30am, there are no luggage trolleys and we had to transfer all our luggage half way across the complex along with a very tired 8yr old and a 22mth old in a pushchair, needless to say the newly weds were not amused!!!

For a family oriantated place the restaurant was appalling, there are roughly 6 highchairs for both restaurants, the rest are booster seats.( i say rest i mean perhaps about another 6!) The food was certainaly not 4 star if anything I would say 2 star, the waiter service was virtually non existant while we were there, we would be very lucky to have a drink with our food.

The entertainment - what entertainment??? absoulutley appalling.

The grounds are lovely a beautiful lake across the middle of the complex, just right for some little busy toddler to fall into - no saftey barriers or anything.

A nice baby pool next to the playground - that looked like toilet water.

I could go on about this hotel all night, but all I can say is save your money and go somewhere else in Salou.

Exeptional Poor Value For Money and equally exeptionally dissapointed. Never Again.