Copacabana — Hotel in Lloret de Mar

So, let’s start at the beginning: our transfer company (not the hotel!) decided to drop us at the other Blue Sea just up the road. A five-minute detour wasn’t quite the grand entrance we imagined, but hey—exercise is included in the price, right? Pro tip: make sure your driver knows you’re at the Copacabana. 🎶||Travelling light (no cases—just four nights of sun and simplicity), we arrived at 20:45 to a warm, genuine welcome. The reception team really did make it feel like they were pleased we’d chosen their hotel, which was refreshing and set the tone straight away.||Like I say, we’d emailed in advance and requested a high floor with evening sun. And by gosh, did they deliver! After a morning exploring and then a lazy poolside afternoon, retreating to our room and being greeted by that golden evening sunshine was just perfect. A small request, but one that made a big difference.||Talking of poolside… good news: no need to get involved in the dreaded sunbed wars! The pool area opens at 09:30, so there’s no 6 a.m. Olympic sprint with towels in hand. After breakfast we meandered back to our room, freshened up, grabbed our towels, and strolled down—no problem at all finding a spot. Much more civilised, and all the better for it.||So, where was I! Ah yes… the drinks. Let’s face it—that’s the real reason most of us are here, isn’t it? One word: fabulous. All local, all included, and tasting every bit as fresh and moreish as the premium brands (which they do offer, but honestly… don’t waste your money). Grab a cocktail, sit back, and remind yourself you’re on holiday.||And the beer? Light, ice-cold, and surprisingly good. I was genuinely impressed to find it was Mahou, a pale lager from Mahou San Miguel—a proper Spanish brew that costs a fair bit back in the UK. Yet here it’s flowing freely by the pint… what’s not to love? 🍺||Now then… let’s talk about the cups—because this seems to be the hill some reviewers have chosen to die on! Yes, the cups cost you €1. But come on, guys… it’s a deposit, not daylight robbery. You’ll get it back. Hardly breaking the bank. And to be fair, the half-pint cup you’re given is actually really decent. Not flimsy, not glass (for obvious safety reasons), but a solid, high-quality plastic that feels nice in your hand. Frankly, I’ve had pints back home served in worse!||Where was I! So far, we’re at: welcome ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, drinks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, pool ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. No issues—apart from the occasional negotiations with your partner about where and what time of day you want to relax (we’ve all been there).||Top tip: if you’re a morning-sun person, head for the loungers on the left by the Tutankhamun motif; if you prefer your rays in the afternoon, set up camp on the other side. Easy win, no arguments required.||Let’s talk about the food! Now, whenever we’re away, we usually walk into a hotel restaurant and get hit by an overwhelming wall of paella aroma. Not here. It’s there, but it’s not knocking you over at the door.||And look—I know I’ve maybe come across like an advocate or sponsor so far (I promise I’m not!), but this is just being real: it’s not, and nor should you expect, à la carte dining. This is a buffet in a 3-star hotel. Manage your expectations, look at the price you’re paying, and then ask yourself what’s reasonable.||Honestly? We found food that suited our palates every single day. A mix of Spanish classics and international bits, plenty of choice, and always something to fill a plate (or two…). If you want Michelin stars, you’ll need to pay Michelin prices.||I know I’m jumping around a bit here, but let’s circle back to the loungers. Yes, some are a little tired, some better than others—but nothing that stopped us relaxing poolside. Same goes for the decor. You can see they’re working to keep on top of things, and in general it’s pretty good.||Of course, if I really wanted to, I could whip out my phone, zoom in on a flake of paint or a stray pigeon feather, and post it online as “evidence.” But come on—that’s just people looking for faults. Let’s be honest, some folks arrive on holiday with a little spite or an axe to grind already in their hearts. Not our vibe.||For fear of losing the room and your attention, let’s wrap this up! Noon it, look forward to it, know what you are paying for is what you are getting. Have blinkin fun, treat the staff and other guests with respect and you will have a...

After a perfect 4 days, the last night was so awful that it completely ruined the whole holiday for me and a friend. The good: The location, breakfast, pool area whilst small was good with fresh water, nearby resources such as shops, bars, restaurants etc was brilliant and within a 10 minute walk to the beach. The bad: Unfortunately there was a problem within our group involving loud verbal disputes and threats of physical violence in our room at approximately 11.30pm. I sought security to remove a member of our group (I was lead passenger and booked the room) and the member was behaving aggressively towards my friend, this was escalating until the security guard removed them from the room. Not even 5 minutes passed when the group member returned with the security guard and an older gentleman who, despite being a staff member, did not speak any English. He hand gestured a zip across my mouth and pointed at the removed guest and towards the room, then the member returned to our room silently. I tried to explain that it was not possible to share the room and if we were expected to, then me and my friend would have to leave the room, to which the older gentleman said "okay" and him and the security guard walked away. It is worth noting at this point that the removed member could speak Spanish and had clearly told a few porkies at reception, in order to be allowed back in the room. We packed all of our belongings immediately and left the member of our group in the room, and stayed at the lobby for 8 hours until breakfast at 8am. It was in those 8 hours we were subject to torment and bullying from that older gentleman who knew we didn't speak Spanish, forbidding us to sleep on the sofa, call us disrespectful (assuming respecto in Spanish means we weren't being 'respectful'). I had no mobile signal to call emergency services for police assistance, despite showing my phone to reception, I was refused to use their phone. However, a while after, someone walked into the hotel asking to use their phone to call a taxi which was provided with no hesitation. The older gentleman continued to make our lives a misery by putting on the air con unit above our heads (at early hours and it was already chilly). There were multiple air con units in the lobby area, and the one above our heads was the only one turned on. My friend spent the following hours couching, and we both suffered with bad backs which we still have today (3 days later). My friend was coughing up mucus at the airport and we were sleep deprived by just over 40 hours by the time we were on our flight home. Disgusting handling by the older gentleman who I assume was 'supposed' to be a manager, zero professionalism. Fancy having management at a hotel that doesn't speak a word of English and hand signals "zip your mouth" at your door to return a very troublesome guest! Within our time sofa-surfing on our last night, we witnessed guests checking out, yet we were refused a room (for 4-5 hours) and I was told they had no rooms. To add further insult, guests arrived to check in and we provided a room. Lastly, I had a conversation with a guest who was involved in a "group pool party" at 1.30am and staff erased the cctv footage, so there would be no evidence and therefore no consequences. Needless to say having guests use the pool whilst intoxicated when it is normally closed and erase the cctv, is alarming to say the least. After all this, we had no choice but to use the ladies toilets by the bar to get dressed and ready for breakfast. We then checked out, leaving the remaining guest in the room. Shame this happened because if it weren't for this experience on our last night, we agreed we'd happily return in future. However, we will not even consider it now and hope others will learn from this and either proceed with extreme caution, or...

We were here the end of June and it was the perfect base for us who just wanted somewhere to sleep and be guaranteed some food to line our stomachs before hitting the clubs. We loved coming back to find Fran on the night-shift and have a talk with him before heading to beds. We looked forward to our 5:30am chats.||The food is food, some strange selections at times and it not hot, but as a mum I'm used to eating my dinner cold anyway. ||The pillows are comfortable and we must have been lucky to have soft mattresses (having been in other rooms with the rock hard ones.)||We barely slept but that wasn't due to discomfort but due to us not wanting to miss out on Llorett de Mars offerings of the beach, shops, clubs, bar, market etc. ||||Anyway, I have now literally just left this exact same hotel tonight in floods of tears. It started off that friends we had met let me taste their vodka as they thought it was too strong - it was mostly vodka and a splash of coke. ||The bar lady seen the cup touch my lips and straight away called my friend over to pay $6 as i wasn't all exclusive (we didn't use it to full benefit last time so didn't find it worth-while this time around). She called management to come and speak to us and they were threatened with their bands being removed. ||They wouldn't reason with us. I hadn't drank that drink. I had a couple of sips.||||Then we went out and came back with another friend who was staying at a different hotel but was wanting to spent the last hour with us and help us with our luggage to the bus (I have chest infection and this offer was taken up gratefully). We explained to reception and they let him in. We promised he'd leave with us at our checkout at 4am. ||My friend I travelled with and I got changed so he waited in the other room. ||Reception came banging on the door. Causing a scene. Calling us Liars and saying we'd be barred from Blueseas hotel. Again, there was no reasoning with them. Then refused to listen, argued back and constantly called us liars. ||||Our neighbours also came knocking on our door asking us to talk quieter (when security can cause scenes in the corridors??)||Not to mention these neighbours were smoking weed their whole stay, spoke loudly and played music until all hours too.||||I don't care if the hotel is 3* or 5* customer service comes first - Fran can do it perfectly maybe he should teach the others! ||||It's unreal the difference between our two experiences. But after tonight I...