A no Bull hotel! (Golden Taurus Park Resort (Barcelona))

Member Name: otalgia

Product:	Golden Taurus Park Resort (Barcelona)
Date:	01/09/08 (294 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great location, entertainment and accomodation

Disadvantages: None

Introduction
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In a much needed attempt to escape the unpredictability of British weather I decided to book a two week August package deal with Thomson Holidays staying at the Golden Taurus Park Hotel in Pineda De Mar, Spain.

There were several reasons for choosing the hotel. The first reason was the hotels excellent location; both near the beach with plenty of nightlife and shopping in the nearby neighbouring town of Calella. The second reasons for choosing the resort were the excellent facilities and in particular the range of clubs and activities that were available for my 6 year old daughter. Finally, the hotel had several favourable reviews on independent consumer travel websites which was reassuring.

Getting there
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The flight from Cardiff to Gerona airport took just over 2 hours. From Gerona a bus transfer to the hotel took about 45 minutes; though if there are several hotel drop offs on your coach then this can take considerably longer.

On arriving
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The first things you notice when arriving at the hotels main entrance are the lavish gardens, greenery and illuminated fountains. The other noticeable feature of the hotel is an outside glass lift that offers a panoramic view of the gardens and the mountain ranges to the rear.

The reception area is a vast area with a long sweeping reception desk to your left. The décor is warm and friendly with large glass chandeliers sparkling overhead.
Leading off from the main reception is access to the main entertainment hall, restaurant, pools, lounge area, hairdressers, shop, bars and snack restaurant. There are also several pay internet terminals that allow you to play games or surf the web for a couple of euros'.

Checking in to the hotel was fast and efficient. You are asked to leave a passport overnight and are then given a plastic pass card key for your room and a card that details your entitlement to meals in the restaurant (either breakfast only or half board). You are only given one pass key and if you require more then you are asked to leave a small deposit which is refunded at the end of the holiday. You may also hire a key for your in room safe from reception and this is advisable.

The room
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Having checked in it was time to make our way to our room. There are hundreds of rooms in the hotel and your view will either be of the rear of the hotel (which overlooks the landscape gardens and mountains) or of the front of the hotel (which overlooks the pool and the beach area).

We were fortunate to have a room overlooking the beach and the main pool.
The rooms was medium sized (about the same size as a typical Travelodge room) and had 1 double bed and 1 single bed. The double bed was actually two singles pushed together and we found ourselves falling into the gap on many an evening! The room had a television with a selection of foreign and English channels, most importantly BBC1 so you can keep up with the news and soaps! There is a large double wardrobe with shelving to store your clothes. The wardrobe also houses your safe, which is large enough to fit your passports, digital cameras and keys in.

The bathroom was clean and quite airy. There was a bath with a mixer shower head, a toilet, bidet and sink. Hot water was abundant, though the tap water is not recommended for drinking. One noticeable feature of the bathroom was a large ventilation grill that backed on to the neighbours ventilation grill. This became a little embarrassing as you could hear their every movement (!) and presumably they could hear yours. A portable radio was a useful mask!

The rooms are air conditioned and this was vital considering the raging temperatures outside. The electrics (including the air conditioning) are activated by placing your door key card in a slot near the door. This meant that the air conditioning would only be on whilst you were in the room, which was annoying as you could return back to your room late and have a stifling hot welcome. This can be avoided by renting a second key card or by placing a similar sized card in the slot.

The room had quite a large balcony. The front of the balcony is made of strengthened glass so supervision of children is essential. There were plastic patio chairs and a table and a line to hang your wet towels from.

The pools
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The hotel has three pool areas.

The first pool area is in the basement and is a heated indoor pool. The pool is large enough to swim comfortably in, though can be overcrowded on cold cloudy days.

The second pool area is to the right of the hotel and has a large pool that gets progressively deeper. In the centre of this pool is a circular bar that sells snacks and drinks. Handy if you want to keep an eye on your children. The water is not heated but was warm enough due to the hot weather. To the side of this pool is a shallow children's pool which is great if you have a toddler with you. Surrounding the pool is an abundance of free lounger's, though you need to arrive early to get a good location.

The third pool is to the left of the hotel and is the main entertainment area. In addition to the two adult pools and 1 baby pool, there is a main stage and snack bar. The main stage hosts entertainment from both the Thomson representatives and the animation staff of the hotel. Typical entertainment such as water aerobics, water football and general knowledge quizzes are common here!

The restaurants
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As we had booked a half board break we used the main restaurant in the mornings and evenings. The opening hours are quite generous and mean that you are not confined to a set time to eat. The restaurant does get busy, but we had never had any problems in finding a table. The restaurant area is huge with two main buffet tables plus a fresh cook area where a chef prepares meals freshly for you.

The restaurant is clean and well serviced.

All of the meals are self service buffet.

For Breakfast you have an abundance of choice of hot and cold meats, bread, cheese, cereals and fruits plus all of the typical British breakfast items such as beans sausages etc. You can make your own toast using the toaster machines too. There are several drinks to choose from ranging from tea, coffee to sugar free juices and Cava for a champagne breakfast!

For the vegetarian in addition to the above you can have a fresh omelette or pancake cooked by the chef.

The dinner takes the same buffet format and there are several choices of meal to be had. In addition to several meat and fish dishes and rice dishes there is a wide selection of salad and fruit. There is a vegetarian food counter for the less carnivorous.

The drinks are not included in the evening meal though prices are reasonable. A bottle of water costs just over a Euro and a bottle of beer less than two euros.

Once a week the restaurant has a theme day where the meals are prepared accordingly. Typical evenings include Spanish, Chinese and Italian evening. To complete the event all of the staff dresses in authentic costume!

Overall the food quality was excellent and the staff efficient and polite.

In addition to the main restaurant and poolside snack bars there is one public restaurant at the front of the hotel. This restaurant serves a large selection of meals and takeaway snacks such as pizza and baguette sandwiches. The bar also has a large selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The prices are reasonable, though cheaper meals and drinks can be found at the neighbouring bars and restaurants nearby.

The entertainment
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There are plenty of daytime and evening entertainment for both children and adults. The entertainment is provided by both the Thompson Representatives and the hotels own entertainment team.

For the children, Thompson provided several options. There are drop-in sessions where you can sign your child in for a few hours of fun such as face painting, themed games and fun. In addition to the drop in there are also age based teams that your child can join. Each day there is a themed activity which usually lasts for a couple of hours which is ideal if you need a little me time. Thompson also have evening parties which run late in the evening, they do cost a couple of Euros' but are a great way of getting your child to make some new friends.

In addition to the Thomson Team you can also use the Spanish drop in entertainment activities. The Spanish staffs are multilingual and have activities throughout the day such as art, craft, sports and more. For the more competitive child there is the chance to win a hotel diploma. Winners of these diplomas get to collect them later in the evening on the main entertainment stage.

This leads me on to adult entertainment.

The adult entertainment team are a friendly bunch and run several free activities throughout the day. These activities range from Mountain walks and Cycling to Archery and Pistol shooting! Winners of the sports also get a hotel diploma!

The evening entertainment is a typical hotel compendium with shows from flamenco dancers, magicians, snake charmers, Village People tribute acts and Chinese acrobats! The qualities of the acts in general are entertaining and good.

The evening usually starts with a children's mini-disco where they can jump around to YMCA, Superman, The Birdie Song and the usual musical candidates. The mini-disco ends with the 'Golden Golden' song which is a 70's disco song unique to the hotel chain.

Following the mini disco is the Diploma winners parade where children and adults alike can parade their certificates whilst standing on the main stage accompanied by a techno music version of Queen's classic 'We are the champions'. Priceless!

Closing the evening is the main entertainment detailed earlier.
The typical entertainment ends at around midnight.

What's nearby?
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In addition to the day long hotel entertainment there are plenty of other things to while away your hours.

The beach - Directly opposite the hotel is a beach that spans for miles in both directions. To get to the beach you do need to cross a main road and use a subway to go beneath a railway track, but it is literally a stone throw away. The beach is made of shingle type sand that is slightly coarser than regular sand that means making castles is difficult! That said the sand doesn't tend to get into every personal crevice which is nice. The beach has several bars, a cycle track, boat trips and lots more to offer.

Pineda and Calella - The hotel is sandwiched between the two resorts. Both can be walked to in around 20 minutes or alternatively you can take a little mini train that runs frequently between the two resorts. This costs a couple of Euros for a return ticket. Pineda is a nice town, with a large square that has frequent entertainment in the summer months. There is also a large bouncy castle and swinging chair rides for your children to play on. Bars and restaurants are plentiful. There is also a train station here that services all of the coastal towns and is also an hour's ride from Barcelona. Calella is a much larger town and has a long sweeping boulevard of shops covering every type of shop known to mankind. As with Pineda there are many bars and restaurants plus a coastal train station.

Water Parks - There are a couple of Water parks in the region and day tickets to these can be booked from Reception.

Bike Hire - Hiring a bike allows you to visit all of the coastal towns easily as the domain is relatively flat. For the more adventurous there are the mountains to the rear of the hotel that once ascended can offer breathtaking panoramas of the terrain.

Markets - There are street Markets a couple of times a week in Pineda and Calella that are gigantic and varied. Its great fun to have a haggle!

Conclusion
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The whole holiday was a resounding success.

The Hotel is kept immaculately clean, offered good food and general entertainment. Due to its central location and the proximity to the coastal railway line meant that there was plenty to do for the duration of the holiday. My daughter loved it there and

I would definitely recommend the hotel to any family with young children.

Pricing and further information
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The 2 week holiday on a half board basis for 2 adults and 1 child with Thomson holidays in late July 2008 cost approximately £1700.

Hotel information -

Passeig Marítim, 33 - 08397 PINEDA DE MAR (BARCELONA)
Tel (0034) 937671044
Fax (0034) 937670270

Email: taurus@goldenhotels.com
Website:www.goldenhotels.com


Copyright M Jones (Otalgia) 2008

Summary: A great family orientated hotel.