If you book here I don't think you will be disappointed.

Its a lovely hotel in a great, convenient location. Some parts of salou are horrible, we had friends who stayed in the bad part (right in the heart) and they spent most of their time in our hotel.

Port Aventura, which is excellent, is only about 10-15 min walk away.

We were in a 1 bedroomed apartment, which you could actually say was a 2 bedroomed apartment as there was a sofabed in the hallway so it would be great if you had a couple of older children who needed a bit more privacy.

Our room did face out over a main road, which was very noisy, I think it might be on the way to a hospital as there seemed to be ambulances wailing up the road quite often, but you do get immune to it after a while.

Room was cleaned regularly. clean towels were provided every day.

Some nights the entertainment is great -Beatles and Bee Gees were brilliant. Some nights it is dire -karaoke night consists of child after child singing show me the way to amarillo. Get your table early as they go pretty quickly. Beware the barmen are so slow, not just spanish slow either we waited half an hour just to be served one night.

Because we were there at low season, the 3-5 and 6-9 kids clubs were put together. I checked in on my 5 year old once, they were having a quiz with questions like who is Britney spears married to? and what is the name of jlo's latest single?, he and his cousin of the same age were staring blankly at each other looking bored out of their minds. I only used the kids club 3 times, but my 5 year old and his cousin were always asking to go. I do think that the staff running the kids clubs try and sell the outings to the kids though. They went on one of the trips to an american diner and they had a great time at that.

The main pool area is lovely, it is also beside the main road but as I mentioned before you do become immune. You need to get down at 9am to get your place otherwise they will all be gone especially at the weekend. If you have small kids it is a good idea to set up camp around the kiddies pool as the playground is right beside it and you can keep an eye on them better as they come and go.

Roof top pool is sooooo peacefull, although it can sometimes get a bit crowded, especially when the kids clubs are on. Spent a half an hour up there (heaven)but had to leave as 3 year old was very upset in club. By the way you cannot not hear the PA system up on the roof, take this into account if you think there is any possibility that you may be called to get your child.

The other pool at the side of the hotel is the only one that allows inflatables. I didn't spend any time here but you walk past it to get to kids club. It seemed much more peacefull here as you couldn't hear the road.

The food is your typical hotel buffet. We had breakfast once, there seems to be loads to suit all tastes. We ate dinner here twice. It was all hot and well stocked, but not my thing. Lunch time menu (at bar) is a bit limited. Hubby got a bacon sandwich every day we were at the pool he said they were the best ever.

If you love your food, get the bus into the port of Cambrills, there are much better quality restaurants here than in Salou. We ate at the very fancy Miramar restaurant right overlooking the harbour at the back. It was excellent, and they also welcommed children. Cost about E100 for a 3 course meal for two adults and two kids with wine and loads of soft drinks- it was worth every penny. If you are looking towards the sea on the main salou beach the furthest restaraunt on your left which I think is called Barca is also excellent. If you are walking from the beach towards the hotel up the street which has the wooden archways over it, on your left at the very top of this street there is an italian restaurant I think called cucina italiana -not sure of the name, but this is also very good. At the corner of burger king on the sea front, up the side street there is a chinese restaurant here which is very good. (china house maybe is the name) However, if you are ordering lots of dishes they dont all come out together, you can be left waiting for somethings, but the food is good. I am including this info about restaurants as it is so hard to find a good one in salou. There are hundreds of the 'pie mash and bisto gravy' type so if you like these you'll be sorted.

I come back to salou every second year as outside of florida it is the best place to bring the kids. I will definately return to this hotel the next time, mainly due to the location. Early check in time is a pain but I packed the swim things where they could be got easy as we had a two hour wait. One thing I will say is that I was wondering what they expect their guests to be like as they are very strict, you get a 'rules of the hotel' sheet when you check in. When checking out of the hotel it is the only one I have ever been in that you have to wait while someone goes up and physically checks the room.

We have just had the best holiday with the kids ever. If you are looking for a relaxing time while kids are entertained this is the place to go.

The hotel is immaculate you can't fault it, rooms are as said before on the small side but who goes on holiday to be in the room! The food we all thought was great always something different. I can't believe some people have moaned about it. Our kids are 4 & 5 and the 4 year old is the worst eater ever & he even enjoyed it, there was always something there he'd have & believe me that was our worst worry.

The hotel does have a 'little hill to get to it but I mean little, who doesn't enjoy a little walk on holiday (if you anwsered no, well don't leave the hotel because you don't really need to).

We found all the staff very very friendly but towards the 2nd week they were getting a little slower with the service. Entertainment wise - the kids (And Adults) had fun & lots of it, the hotel staff entertainment people were great & adults & kids all got up to dance to the 'chocolatta' most nights.

Overall this hotel & resort was great we are already looking into booking next year more so for the kids as they were just never bored.

Club Dorada we'll see you soon.

Upon arrival we were allocated our rooms very quickly, which was good with have a 5 year old and a 2 year old.

On entering the room, first opinions very clean, when we booked we did request a cot in the room, which there was, but since booking our youngest daughter had progressed to a bed so we requested the cot removed and it was, within 15mins of asking.

The food was typical of buffet style abroad, slightly disappointed with the selection of sweets, but all the courses were replenished all the time.

Location was good about a 20 minute work to Port Aventura in one direction and 20 minute work in the other direction to the beach, bit disappointed about the building work opposite the entrance, but our rooms were on the opposite side so didn't bother us at all.

The First Choice Childrens Club were good my eldest went 5 times and the T-shirts etc were free after each visit, The resident entertainment staff worked extremely hard, from early morning till very late.

We would go back to this hotel if I got a late named deal, as we do like to go to different places each time.

Stayed at Club Dorada Palace Aparthotel, Salou and had a superb time. The food choice was excellent, all the usual Hotel Fayre plus the guy on the side cooking range frying breakfast eggs and omelettes as required. The first place I have found where I can guarantee a fried egg with a runny yolk. All the food was steaming hot with plenty of variety and options. I particularly like to see the special low level childrens buffet range where the kids could make their own choice without having to be dabbling in the grown ups food!
The rooms were extremely pleasant, with air conditioning and mini bar as well as safety deposit boxes available (with air con included in charges) Rooms were cleaned on a daily basis with towels and bed linen changes when requested. These are not automatically changed daily on environmental grounds unless you request them to be changed simply by hanging the appropriate request card on your door.The whole of the hotel complex was clean and tidy at all times. I even saw one guy buffing the tiled areas around the side pools. Plenty of room outside with plenty of pleasant areas to hide from the sun if you need to. Entertainment was great for kids but a bit short for adults although the quality was good. We will be returning in May 2005 with our grandchildren we hope.

This hotel was brilliant the staff spoke excellent english and were always friendly and helpful. There was plenty to do in the day for the kids as well as the kids club they had other activities going on such as water polo, pool, and archery were just a few.

We were always guaranteed a bed beside the pool as it was never full. We did find the room to be a bit cramped as there was 5 of us in one room. We stayed on a half board basis and found the food to be excellent there was a wide choice and we really loved the little kids food bar where they could serve themselves.

The staff in the restaurant were always friendly and made a fuss of the children. I liked the strict rules it had because thats what gives it the good name and standards it has. It also looks nice that everyone makes an effort at dinner time with men having to wear long trousers and no shorts or vest tops to be worn.

Overall we had a wonderful holiday would definitely go back to salou and especially this hotel we highly recommend it.the town is only a short walk from the hotel and port aventura the theme park is a 15 minute walk at the most we bought our tickets this end and didn't have to queue to buy them over there.

Because it was coming to the end of the season we didn't have to wait to get on the rides we were nearly always able to walk straight on i think the longest we waited was 10 minutes.

Excellent all-round very clean hotel.

The food was superb with enough variations to satisfy every taste.

Polite and helpful staff and the evening entertainment was very professional.

Yes there was, and is, building work going on over the road but with very little noise and disturbance.

I can't remember hearing any complaints while I was there!

If this hotel was located just a bit nearer the beach and the corridors had improved sound-proofing it would be unbeatable in its class.

Half Board well worth it food lovely.
Never stayed in a hotel as clean as this one very posh!
Location ideal longest walk 10 min to beach.
Hotel staff very friendly speak good english.
Entertainment not up to much but a good laugh if in good company!
Will visit this hotel again but in a large party we got a bit lonely on our own.
Cant check in untill 2pm so have some cool clothing and sun cream ready or swim wear for the kids! Can leave bags until check in time on lower ground for 1euro.

As we were travelling at the very end of September, we got a very cheap deal last minute over the internet and were prepared for the worst when we arrived. There was no need to worry however. The hotel is fantastic. I have never stayed in such a clean or well looked-after hotel abroad. We were self catering, which meant the room was a very good size with a good kitchen (fridge, grill and microwave included at no extra charge or deposit). There was a large balcony overlooking the coach park and the small, quiet building site (which did not disturb us or anyone else I spoke to over the course of our 1 week stay). We were warned of this before we booked. You could also see the theme park, Port Aventura, which is about 10 minutes walk away and well worth a visit. We found a 3 day ticket to be sufficient to see everything.

Getting and preparing food was no problem at all with several supermarkets very close to the hotel. On several occasions we chose to have a meal in the hotel's restaurant. The food is excellent, there is a wide choice and you eat as much as you like. I did not find it bland at all (see other comments).

All staff we encountered were very helpful and all spoke English which was a good thing.

The pools are very nice and are clean. Not busy at all during our stay which was strange because it was sunny every day we were there (30 degrees approx). Roof top pool and jacuzzi are great with no kids but the pool is a little cold!

Lifts in the hotel are fast and reliable.

Entertainment was very good, something for everyone.

When arriving at this hotel it's worth noting a few things, some of which have been mentioned by others. You cannot check in until 2. There are baggage rooms and toilets you can use. If you are self catering you will need to pay a cash deposit of 60 Euros at check-in. Safes are available but you have to pay a few Euros for the lock (or take your own Euro cylinder if you have one). The slope up to the hotel is a very gentle incline over a distance of no more than about 40 metres and proved no obstacle at all. Worth noting the hotel is not situated on or by the beach, it's a few minutes away but a pleasant walk.

A trip to Barcelona is available but we decided to go on the train from the nearby station and saved a lot of money. Well worth a visit.

We would definately return to this hotel in future and highly recommend it to others who are thinking of going.

This hotel was great! This is the best family holiday I have ever been too!!!!!!!! There is lots to do and I didnt see my children for 2 whole weeks!!!! Which was great they were having lots of fun in the kids club!!

And they made loads of new great friends! The location is great! And the entertainmeant! Well that was fab too! To all of you that are reading this you have to go and check it out because this hotel is exellent!!!

As our holiday was allocation on arrival we new that the minimum star rating would be 3 and were expecting the worst, to be fair we werent to concerned and it is a gamble you take.We couldnt believe our luck when the coach pulled up outside the Dorada Palace, apart from bieng upgraded to 4 star the first imppresion you get is that this was a clean well run hotel and we werent dissapointed. The staff were very proffesional and courtiuos at all times even though they must have worked long hours.The food and restaraunt was fantastic with plenty of choice and although this was probably the busiest time of the year we didnt have to wait for a table or waiter service all the duration of our stay.The rooms at the Dorada sleep 4 people although i would say this could be a bit cramped 3 is ideal, they were cleaned every day and linen and towel changes upon request.The entertainment left a little bit to be desired but they try to vary it every night, the 4 Tops were brilliant.There are 4 pools, but to be fair if you dont want to break your neck or get involved in sunbed rage the main pool at this time of year wasnt for us, instead we opted for the roof pool which as a jacuzi and gym area and is a well chilled out area,only problem is no kids allowed or maybe not such a problem.There are a few rules to follow at the Dorada but this is to benifit everyone, ie dresscode towels over balcony and noise.All in all a fantastic hotel and service.P.S there is another hotel being built next door but the 2 weeks we were there no one was working on it.