First impressions of the hotel were excellent. When you first arive they stick to 2 o'clock check in.
We always found the hotel to be spotlessly clean and the maids did a good job.
Even though we went self catering we ate in the hotel a few times and they had a different theme for the food each night i.e spainish,italian, mexican e.t.c.
Hotels is about 10 minutes from the beach. You have to cross a main road but there are alot of crossings to cross the road.
All the staff at the hotel can speak english and the beach towel service at the hotel is well worth doing, for a small returnable deposit.
Overall an excellent hotel, well worth the 4 stars.

well where do i start,the hotel itself is ok just a big travel lodge really nothing outstanding rooms are smaller the a ibis at home,the food is plentyfull but not to our liking nor to the liking of a lot of brits i spoke to while we were there, the restaurant staff were strange and couldnt add up as with a lot of the staff i encountered when i had checked my change.If this was a 4 star hotel why is there not a free jug of water on your table when you dine?.
The hotel entertainment was very poor unless it was a paid act which was a welcome relief after watching Grease,lionking too many times performed by the hotel staff.The childrens entertainment was terrible with kids being asked to come a draw for an hour,brilliant from first choice to ask the kids to come to spain and draw.
The bar staff were rude and ignored children.
The only people in the hotel that deserve praise is the cleaners who do an outstanding job.If you choose this hotel from first choice or any other tour operator i would recommend you go self catering and then you can sample the hotel food first before deciding whether to upgrade to half board.This hotel is not 4 star by any means.

Hotel is close to Airport, around 20/25 mins. Around 15 min. walk/ 5 min taxi (7 euro) to Port adventura theme park. Around 15 min walk to main beach. 10 min walk to all shops. It is just off main streets so very peaceful.

We went half board and you could eat til you burst in the restuarant. Food was excellent, plent of choice with very helpful staff and chefs to assist. All juices/tea/coffee etc unlimited with breakfast. Evening dinners had different themes each night so varied types of food to choose from. Wine by the bottle at around 7 euro was good value.

Entertainment ranged from chinese trapeze artists to African fire eaters to mock movie awards ( v.funny) and the kids got discos before this so plenty of range for the whole family.

Rooms were a little small for our half board, ample rooms for the self catering though. Some rooms had good vies out over all the main pools although ours looked out the front of hotel so it was quieter. All music stopped around midnight so you got a good nights sleep with the air con. on if required.

I would visit this hotel again as it was located well and we thought it was reasonably priced for what you got.

On arrival was very impressed with the hotel's appearance. The reception area is beautifully presented. We stayed half board so had a room which was adequate for our stay. When pull out bed is used for 4th person it was a little cramped but we didn't spend much time in there anyway.
The hotel was cleaned to a very high standard.
The restaurant staff were lovely and the food was of a good standard.
The hotel is about 20 min walk from the beach and very close to the main street of shops.You need to be careful on the roads and ensure you use the crossings. You need to have your wits about you in most shops where they don't price their stock. They make up their prices as they go along!

During our stay we had 2 days of torrential rain-this was unfortunately where the hotel let itself down. The staff just couldn't cope with the amount of people in the hotel during the day. No extra entertainment was put on for the children and the waiters couldn't cope. One waitress was extremely rude during this time as she obviously couldn't cope with the pressure. There was also towels placed on the floor as the hotel walls and ceilings leaked during the rain-not a good look for a 4* hotel! I understand this weather is not a normal thing for them but feel they should have something in place to look after their guests better.
The entertainment was good and my children (4&7) thoroughly enjoyed the kids show every night. The Grease show was fantastic, put together with the entertainment team and a few guests in 1 day! Drink was a reasonable price 8 euros for a bottle of house wine.
The hotel is very close to Portaventura and aquapolis which we would have loved to have visited but due to the poor weather were unable to.

Had it not been for the bad weather I would rate this hotel as superb but unfortunately they let themselves down during this time.

ON arrival the hotel looked very impressive. the staff are quite miserable and arnt much of a help but not to blame them as we seemed that some of the people staying in the hotel did make work hard for them. while we were there some people seemed to be there just to make trouble so i thought why are you even here. the location of the hotel is ok quite near the shops with a local supermarket across the road. the food in the hotel is very repetitive so we ate out a few times. not bad overall but wouldn't go again.

Stayed in 1 bed apartment on s/c basis. Weather lovely and can't fault this hotel - it is a 4 star.

Room - apartment fantastic and lovely and clean. Everything for s/c, although kettle boils on et hob so takes ages. Very spacious - 1 seperate bedroom as well as bed in living area and in hall area. Super

Food - Although was s/c, chose to eat in hotel as very good value. 7.50euros for buffet breakfast - no charge for my 2 year old and 15.50euros for dinner again foc for my daughter. Excellent food complimented by show cooking - good 4 star

Entertainment - not very good - shows were late to start. Although very nice lounge cabaret roon with waiter service and tv screens. Drinks a bit pricey - same as home really, but then I thought that generally. 12euros for a bottle of white wine

Pool - 2 pools - quite cold this time of year though - although childrens pool adequte and usual bar

Hotel Location - at the far end of salou at the back. Probably near port aventura than salou town. 500m to main strip down through the shops and to the beach. On a very busy island so use the pedestrian crossing to get to the main promenade.

Only down sides - this hotel demands 100 euros or

Well what can i say this hotel was brilliant the staff couldnt do enough for you cleaners were fantastic.

we went on the 5th october came back the 12th.

wish i was back there, the bar staff were brilliant miss their jokes already.

food never seen so much choice lovely breakfast was good too always fresh replaced and always hot.

entertainment good really good for kids, they get everyone involved in the music.

cant wait till next october it was BRILLIANT!!!!

Arrived at this hotel at 10.00 am could not check in until 2.00 pm which was ridiculous we had to store our luggage in the basement which they charge you for. Hotel staff not very friendly except in the dining room. Food was OK had a different theme every night, didn't find the childrens selection very good. Desserts were very good though. Did request a pool view with holiday company and the hotel direct but did not get one! Entertainment OK if you have very young children the animation team tried there best but got fed up of listening to everything in Spanish. Sunbeds are crammed around the pool and unless you get up very early you will struggle to get one even in the afternoon. Hotel I would rate more as a 3 star.

We were halfboard and I would say that the breakfasts were better than the evening meal as there was more choice. You could not fault the cleanliness of the hotel as it was absloutely spotless you seen maids 24/7. The location of the hotel wasnt that bad but would have been better had it been nearer the beach.

The hotel staff were helpful and courteous at all times, now for the best the entertainment team was fantastic the shows they put on were very entertaining and the effort they put in was 150% they made our holiday the best ever.

I would defintely visit this hotel again it was the best ever.

The hotel is located in a fairly decent location. It's about a 10 min walk to the main beach area with bars and resturants and a supermarket about 5 mins away.

There is a fairly steep incline - approx 150m long - not a real problem for anybody, unless you have mobility issues.

The hotel was spotless. You couldn't fault the public areas or the rooms. The maids worked very hard and did a very good job.

The rooms were a decent size, we had 3 beds (one was a converted sofa-bed) and still had space to move about. However if you're fitting in 4 beds the room could be a bit cramped.

One wardrobe and 3 small draws were provided for your cloths.

Food? Was pretty standard spanish buffet food. Nice touches at breakfast were the freshly cooked fried eggs, pancakes and omelettes. For the evening, there was often freshly cooked steak, chops available. The main areas of the resturant was the standard warmed up offerings. A fairly varied choice, kids menu mostly chips and pasta plus a meat dish. Many adults were eating from the childrens menu so often had to wait for the dishes to be re-filled.

I've never experienced HOT food from one of these buffets and the Dorada Palace didn't break this rule. I suppose it would be near impossible to seat that many guests and serve hot food!

Resturant staff were fairly friendly, BUT were slow at clearing tables. A particular problem in the morning. Bit annoying to see empty dirty tables while you wait for the staff to slowly clear them.

We found the day time entertainment poor. The night time stuff was better, but started quite late 2100 for the kids disco.

Bar prices for soft drinks are quite expensive. 1.50 Euro's for a small glass of Coke/ Tango etc was expensive compared to surrounding bars.

TRAVELLING WITH FIRST CHOICE:

Most UK visitors will visit this hotel by First Choice. Just to echo what has been said previously. You will not be able to check in until after 1400. So use the hotel luggage room for just 1 Euro and hit the town. The rooms are already pre-allocated, so no need to get back until too quickly. If you go self-catering you WILL be charged a 100 Euro deposit. I over-heard an argument between the reception staff and an appallingly rude woman over this charge. From the reaction of the reception staff it is an argument they've had a million times before.
We found the Kids Club range from good to very poor. The brochure hinted that the this hotel had an extended kids club, but in reality only about 2-4 hours per day (rather than the 13 hours quoted). I agree we went "out of season" but bewarned, especially if you also travel "out of season" (the brochure makes no reference to travelling out of season!). The kids club staff were OK, but we felt they could've done a bit more to get a good atmosphere going.