Hotel El Duque

We, a family of 3, stayed at Hotel El Duque for 7 nights all inclusive in a superior one bedroom apartment. We arrived at 1ish and were able to check in from 3pm. We were given our AI wristbands so were able to get lunch and drinks while we waited for our room to be ready. We were in A004, which was a ground floor apartment in block A which overlooked the smaller pool. The apartment was a really good size, with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and separate bedroom. The bedroom had a L-shaped sofa bed which is okay for kids, but I’m not sure how comfy an adult would find it. The apartment also had a massive balcony which you could access from the bedroom and living room. Balcony had two sunbeds, a parasol, a table and 4 chairs. The hotel itself was always really clean, two decent sized pools. We only used the smaller pool which was heated. There are also cabana beds available round the small pool which were really great. The pools opened at 10am (closed at 6pm), with people putting towels out from about 8am. We never did and were always able to get three sunbeds or a cabana bed. AI includes standard drinks, beer, wine, local spirits and some cocktails. If you are ordering off the non-AI menu make sure they are not charged for all items. A couple of times we were almost charged for our drinks when buying a €2 ice cream. Even though we were AI we only ate in the hotel on a couple of evenings. Food is standard AI but always something to eat. Breakfast was really good and lots of choice. Although when I had toast I could never find any jam. If we returned we would only go B&B. Hotel is set behind a shopping centre but wasn’t noisy. You need a keycard to access the hotel so very safe. It’s about 10mins to the beach and a wide range of restaurants and bars. Bit of and incline on the way back up but not too bad. There are taxis near the beach if needed and also a taxi rank and bus stop outside the hotel if needed. Overall we all had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend Hotel El Duque

After reading the reviews I was nervous about coming here but will honestly say it’s hasn’t disappointed at all. The apartment was very clean, had anything you could need and is a very good size. Plenty of spare in the bedroom to put your clothes away. The apartment ground of very clean, there clean round pool area every day. There are 2 pool the small pool is heated at night there put a safety rail round the pool which was a good thing for us as we have a 2 year old. Staff are all very friendly. Prices for drinks round the pool are very reasonable, I can’t comment on the food as we was self catering. The location of these apartments are brilliant your a 2 minute walk to the supermarket and 10 minutes walk if that to sea front. I would definitely recommend coming here and would return here.

What a wonderful hotel. I wasn’t expecting it to be so nice as only rated 3 stars, it was definitely a pleasant surprise, and really good value for money. Very large bright apartments with comfy beds, even the travel cot was of good quality. Rooms were spotlessly clean, cleaned everyday , with new bedding and towels. Could not fault the food, we travelled as a family of 10 and there was something for everyone. We were even given a bottle of champagne for my husbands birthday for breakfast ! The pool area was clean and no rush for sun beds, the pool was heated , which was a real bonus for April. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. The area is also very clean, with lots of shops , bars and restaurants within walking distance, the beach is about a 20 min walk but well worth it. Thanks for a great holiday.

For what was meant to be a nice relaxing get away, turned out to be anything but! The receptionist made rude comments when we turned up, didn’t even get a full explanation about the hotel and we had to get information from other guest. The room key didn’t work on arrival. And that was just in the first 10mins! It then just to worse, from raw foods in the kitchen (raw sausages, raw chicken) flies around the salad and I know this can’t always be helped but there was nothing to even try and help the situation. 1 member of our party got food poisoning but the hotel wouldn’t take responsibility as we “didn’t take a photo of the raw food”. Then came the room, although the actual room was lovely, loads of space with a kitchen. However the air conditioning unit had some sort of malfunction when it would drip onto the balcony instead of through the drain. Of course we only had it on when we were in the room early evening but it would start to flood the balcony. This then caused another member of the party to slip over and mess her knee up. Luckily our whole party was adults but this could have easily got nasty is there was children in the room. We reported the issue to reception on the first day and they said they would send a technician up but they never arrived (we could see our balcony from pool side so knew nobody had been) we reported it again on the 3rd day and again nothing. We then reported it to our travel rep and the reception team just fobbed them off too. On the 4th time of reporting we asked for a manager but just got laughed at by the reception staff. I would not recommend this hotel what so ever. The staff did not care at all and there is way too many health and safety problems here.

We went self catering and didn’t realise there was no air con so wouldn’t do that in summer! Accommodation was basic but clean and the room was really big. The pool was lovely. Open from 10-6. Would have liked some pool music though. Didn’t eat in the restaurant but pool bar was good although didn’t open until 11am. Pool bar serves food from 1pm. If you want to pay in cash you can open a tab at reception and pay a €50 deposit or leave your card details. Was a 5 minute walk to the beach front where there’s some lovely restaurants. Shopping place and restaurants right outside the hotel. Would return but would book a room with air con!

This is not a full review. I just want to point out a couple of things. The lifeguards start stacking the sun loungers and chairs before 5pm. You can’t sit near the pools or go in the pools after 6pm. Lots of complaints about this. All inclusive - set meal times, no snacks in between. Missed lunch 4 times as we were out and about so had to buy lunch or wait until dinner. Also, be aware that on the day of your departure (regardless of what time you leave) your AI finishes at midday so you have to pay for any food/drinks after this time. On the positive side, there are ample places to eat at reasonable prices so wouldn’t come AI next time.