STA badgeATOL badgeABTA badge
Holidays
City Breaks
Long Haul
Destinations
Holiday advice
Playacalida Hotel
Playa Calida is a family-family hotel in Almunecar, a traditional town on the Costa del Sol, on the south coast of mainland Spain. The hotel is steps from Playa Velilla, a sandy stretch bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. It's also a short drive from the centre of Almunecar, where you can find a seafront promenade home to restaurants that offer Spanish specialities such as tapas and fresh seafood. The hotel offers activities such as aerobics and boules, and has a gym where you can keep up with your fitness regime. There's also a spa, home to a Turkish bath, whirlpool and a sauna, where you can sign up for relaxing treatments such as massages. The hotel provides family-friendly entertainment on a daily basis and offers a kids' club for younger children and teenagers. If you want to unwind, you can lie beside one of three outdoor swimming pools which have relaxation areas decorated with Mediterranean greenery. There's also a separate kids' pool. Playa Calida has three bars, all of which offer soft and alcoholic drinks throughout the day. Some of the bars serve snacks, chips and ice cream too. There are also four restaurants, all of which are open for dinner.
Playacalida Spa is 200m from Playa Vellila and a 3.5km drive from the centre of Almunecar. Here, you can walk along the seafront promenade for views of the coast, sip a cocktail at a bar overlooking the marinam, or ascend to the hilltop perch of San Miguel Castle, a 7th-century fortress. If you're looking for a family-friendly day out, you can drive along the coast to Malaga, where you'll find a water park, a theme park, lively nightlife and sandy beaches. You can also spend the day exploring the historic city of Granada, famous for its ancient fortress.
You can choose to eat dinner at one of the buffet restaurants, or at one of the two a la carte restaurants that serve international cuisine. If you want to eat out, you can choose from a varied selection of dishes including pasta, pizza and Spanish paella in the centre of Almunecar.
To keep the kids happy, two of the restaurants offer a kids' menu. Children can also enjoy activities and make new friends in the kids' clubs.
Rooms at Playacalida Spa have a bright colour scheme with traditional furnishings. All come with a balcony or terrace, satellite TV and air conditioning.

Hotel Facilities

General

  • Number of bars/lounges: 1
  • Number of poolside bars: 1
  • Number of restaurants: 3

Internet

  • Free WiFi

Activities

  • Fitness facilities
  • Waterslide

Food & Drink

  • Breakfast available (surcharge)
  • Snack bar/deli

Pools and wellness

  • Pool umbrellas
  • Number of outdoor pools: 3
  • Number of indoor pools: 1
  • Turkish bath/Hammam
  • Full-service spa
  • Sauna
  • Children's pool
  • Pool sun loungers

Front-desk/reception area services

  • Tours/ticket assistance
  • Luggage storage
  • 24-hour front desk
  • Safe-deposit box at front desk
  • Concierge services

Shared spaces

  • Garden
  • Terrace

Entertainment and family services

  • Children's club (free)

Cleaning services

  • Dry cleaning/laundry service
  • Laundry facilities

Business facilities

  • Meeting rooms
  • Business centre

Shops

  • Gift shops or newsstand
  • Shopping on site
  • Hair salon

Other facilities

  • Lift

Location

Almunecar, Andalusia, Spain

Address: Urb. La Galera S/N, Almunecar, Spain

Reviews

4.4/ 5Very goodAverage review rating
Browse reviews by provider:
5 reviewsSorted by: Newest
Katherine SOct 2026
2.0/ 5

“Disappointing experience”

We are on holiday as a family of four, with two boys aged 6 and 12, and we booked this holiday expecting suitable facilities, entertainment and activities for the children. Unfortunately, our experience has been very poor in several areas. Swimming pools and facilities The swimming pools are so cold that the children are unable to enjoy playing in them for any length of time. This has been a major disappointment, as swimming and pool activities are a huge part of a family holiday. The hotel sells inflatables and balls, giving the impression that these can be used to enjoy the pool facilities. However, these are not permitted in the lazy river or swimming pools, which is frustrating and misleading. Furthermore, children using the indoor pool have to be constantly observed, which adds further restrictions to what should be an enjoyable family experience. We were also disappointed to discover that access to the spa facilities with children costs €20 per person for just one hour, with access available at 10am. Even more frustratingly, we were not allowed to view the facilities beforehand without paying. This means we are expected to pay for something without being able to establish whether it is suitable or enjoyable for our children. Entertainment The entertainment has been extremely limited, particularly for families with children. The mini disco on many evenings consists of just one to three songs, which is nowhere near what we would expect from a family holiday resort. What is particularly disappointing is that, at weekends, when more Spanish local guests are using the facilities, there appears to be considerably more entertainment and activities provided. Paying holidaymakers staying at the resort during the rest of the week do not appear to receive the same level of service or entertainment. This leaves us feeling that the facilities and entertainment are not being provided consistently for all guests, despite us paying for a holiday with the expectation of being able to enjoy these amenities throughout our stay. Food and all-inclusive drinks Although the selection of all-inclusive drinks is reasonably good, the absence of cocktails is disappointing, particularly for an all-inclusive package. The food has been very poor, with insufficient quality to make us want to eat in the resort regularly. As a result, we have felt the need to go out and pay for meals elsewhere, despite having already paid for an all-inclusive holiday. This has resulted in additional expense and has significantly reduced the value for money we expected. Overall experience and requested resolution Overall, this has been a very disappointing holiday for our family. We paid for a family holiday expecting enjoyable swimming facilities, good food, varied entertainment and amenities suitable for children aged 6 and 12. Instead, we have experienced cold pools, restrictive facilities, minimal entertainment and poor food. A family holiday should be an opportunity to relax and make happy memories together. Unfortunately, the experience we have had has not lived up to what was advertised or what we reasonably expected when booking

  • Stayed in Oct 2026
Sławomir FOct 2026
5.0/ 5

“Excellent hotel”

We had a very pleasant stay, hotel staff was friendly and the seafood at the restaurant was great. We also liked the pools, on of which had a view on the sea. Overall we had a really enjoyable experience.

  • Stayed in Sept 2026
M70NJPSept 2026
3.0/ 5

“The Playa Calida is not quite as good as you might have hoped for or read about”

This review is based on factual information and not emotional views so please read on. My wife and i stayed here as a break to unwind and relax for 8 nights and we had read the hotel description, location information and trip advisor reviews before booking so we knew that the location would not be walks along a promenade or beach as such, more a chill out hotel We booked the holiday through love holidays and included the hotel, flights and transfers so we were all set. The flight out was all great with Vueling, taking off from Gatwick. Upon arrival we found the hotel transfer company, MTS Incoming SL, and we were told we would be waiting for 1.5hrs for the shuttle bus despite the holiday booking information stating 1 hour would be the max wait. However the lady on the desk did find us a sooner shuttle bus and so off we went after 30 minutes waiting. The driver was ringing his wife on video call and was not really concentrating on the road at all so this was a real eye opener as he was also constantly on the phone talking to different people and the driving became more erratic as the journey went on but we reached the hotel after 80 minutes with only 1 drop off before our hotel so just be aware of the transfer time using a mini bus. We checked in at reception and we went to the room and that was what we expected. were given 2 pool towels and were informed it was 1 Euro to exchange them for clean ones. we were given a sheet of paper outlining what was included in the all inclusive and this is where you need to be aware that at this hotel there are 2 types of all inclusive. Premium all inclusive and Imperial all inclusive and there are differences. The Premium is like a full board plus whilst the Imperial includes everything. Premium is what you will receive as the Imperial is only open to those whose book and choose this option direct with the hotel. Not all drinks or snacks are included so you need to be sure that what you are ordering is included on the room card. They will ask for payment if it isn't included. We arrived on the 16th Sept and you need to be aware that the season changes on the 15th Sept as this has an effect on what is open within the hotel. The swim up bar with the internal quadrant of the first part of the hotel closes on the 15th and times for meals also change on this date. There is a local market on a Friday and you need to know that it isn't what you might expect of a typical tourist market, it is a locals market, mainly veg, sauces, clothing which is more 3 items for 5 Euros that have come from a clothing bank. Very few stalls were selling local hand made jewellery, handbags, t-shirts , footwear that you might find at the normal tourist type markets. The bus timetable also changes on the 15th sept from Playa Calida and so you need to check out the times as the busses are normally full and getting a Taxi was very difficult, however if you manage to get one its around 10 Euros there and 8 euros back. The town does not have much in the way of tourist style shops The McDonalds opens at 11.30am and closes at 11pm as an FYI. There is Aldi & Lidl if you needed anything form there. The hotel is dire need of some basic maintenance as walls were missing some coverings/paint, areas desperately needed painting, the Playa Calida sign did not all light up, the fountain outside the front was filthy and the water jest had been turned off, the restaurant was a bit tired aswell. Don't get me wrong, the hotel was clean and tidy, just a bit run down and needed a few quid spent to spruce it up. The lazy river in the internal quadrant was good as were the slides joining them up. The infinity pool had an amazing view but again, a yellow line of sun cream scum was evident around the pool edge above the water line and was the same in the jacuzzi. The infinity pool area does not open until 10am but there wasn't any real queue for sunbeds or the usual rush to reserve them, in fact after visiting the market, we found a good choice of sunbeds available at 1.30pm so that was good. The cleaning of the sunbeds, pool and pool area was not cleaned to any real good standard in comparison to other 3 / 4 star hotels we have stayed at. The restaurant had a salad bar, choice of 3 kids meals, choice of 2 freshly cooked meats (usually turkey, chicken or pork) and 2 choices of freshly cooked fish. there was a different Paella dish every day. The desserts was a bit samey each night so not much variety. The soft drinks had all been watered down which is common in most hotels to make the drinks last a bit longer and is a cost saving. Freshly cooked omelettes were available for breakfast as were freshly cooked eggs. We did enjoy the holiday, don't get me wrong, but given our experience at other hotels of varying star ratings, this does not meet 4 star accommodation but would if the management spent some money improving standards across all areas and took some pride rather than just taking the money. I think the moral of the review above is that you need to be aware of the season change and the effects this has on the hotel amenities, local travel arrangement's such as buses into town and the all inclusive option which is more like full board. We hope this review gives you some information to aid your decision making as to whether to stay at the hotel or find somewhere else. Thank you for taking the time to read the above review and helps you make an informed decision.

  • Stayed in Sept 2026
Simona TSept 2026
1.0/ 5

“Extremely disappointing – definitely not a 4-star hotel”

Our stay at this hotel was extremely disappointing. In our experience, this property is nowhere near the standard we would expect from a 4-star hotel. Honestly, the overall standard felt more like a 3-star or even 2-star hotel. The food was one of the worst parts of our stay. The quality was extremely poor, the food was often unappetizing and the overall presentation was careless. It was simply not the standard we expected from a 4-star hotel. I also experienced stomach problems during our stay, which made the experience even more unpleasant. The condition of the dishes was particularly shocking. Some of the plates looked old, heavily worn and, in some cases, not properly cleaned. Finding dishes that do not appear properly washed is completely unacceptable in any hotel, let alone one presenting itself as a 4-star property. The service was also inconsistent. We repeatedly had to point out issues, including things that had not been refilled or taken care of. Unfortunately, even after informing the staff, some things were still not properly resolved. Overall, the hotel gave us the impression that quality, cleanliness and attention to detail are simply not a priority. The difference between the advertised 4-star standard and our actual experience was very noticeable. To be fair, there were two things we genuinely liked: the beautiful view and the infinity pool. Those were definitely the highlights of our stay. Unfortunately, those positives were not enough to compensate for everything else. Based on our personal experience, we would not consider this a 4-star hotel and would not stay here again. We cannot recommend this property.

  • Stayed in Sept 2026
chrisd1982_12Sept 2026
3.0/ 5

“Lovely hotel, but all inclusive isn't all inclusive”

A mixed experience. Positives first because its a lovely hotel, beautiful location, the pools are fantastic with plenty of sun loungers and sun deck space, excellent food, the rooms are lovely and everything is very clean. Unfortunately some of the management and communication isn't great which let it down slightly, and the all inclusive package is absolutely not all inclusive, as a very large number of drinks and snacks have a supplementary charge. It would be more fairly described as full board with slightly cheaper drinks. The spa treatments looked lovely and my partner intended to treat herself to a massage and possibly a few other treatments, however when we went in on our forst evening we were told that they were fully booked until two days after our holiday finished. Whilst they can't help being busy, if we'd known this would be the case we could've booked well in advance, but this information wasn't available so we didn't know we needed to and missed out. Another communication issue was that the all inclusive package works differently to most hotels, and this wasn't explained. Rather than getting a wristband, you have to present your room key at every transaction and you need to check whoch drinks tou can habe to avoid extra charges, which have to be paid for on the spot meaning you need to have your bank card with you. This is slightly inconvenient and wasn't explained at check in, so for the first afternoon we didn't have any idea how to order a drink without being charged until we found a barman with good enough English to explain it to us. This could be partly a language barrier issue and obviously it's my problem not theirs that I don't speak good enough Spanish to have this conversation, however there are evidently enough English speaking guests for there to be an English language information sheet given at check in, so why not explain it on there? Another communication issue - we had a very late flight back home so on our last day weren't due to leave the hotel until 8pm. We asked a few days before about paying for late checkout. We were told this wasn't possible because the rooms were all booked (but it was still being advertised on a board at reception despite not being available), however we could leave our luggage behind reception and still make use of the hotel facilities until we left - a standard arrangement that I've used at all inclusive hotels many times before. However when we checked out we were told that drinks were still included for the rest of the day but food wasn't, which due to the isolated location made us a bit of a captive market for having to fork out nearly 60 quid for lunch in the same restaurant we'd previously been told we could still use for free. On top of that, it turned out that drinks weren't included either, as I embarrassingly found out at the bar when my key was rejected and I had to run back to my lounger for my wallet with the drinks sitting on the bar. If the arrangement is that after checkout you no longer qualify for any all inclusive food and drink them that's fine (if in my opinion a little bit stingy and unnecessary considering the price bracket of the hotel), but we were first told that everything was still included, then that food wasn't but drinks were, and then that drinks weren't either. So at each step if felt like something was being taken away and we felt a bit ripped off in the end. Again, if this had been explained on the information sheet we would've known what to expect, could've planned accordingly and wouldn't have felt that way. So its mainly just a communication thing, and possibly highlights a training issue around staff knowledge. Overall, we had a nice time and I would probably recommend staying here, but just be aware that all inclusive isn't really all inclusive and budget in some spending money, ring up and book your spa treatments well before you travel, and if you have a question about how things work maybe ask a couple of different staff and see if they both say the same thing before taking it as the answer. Overall it's gorgeous hotel in a stunning location with loads of potential, but it just lets itself down a little bit.

  • Stayed in Sept 2026
How Tripadvisor collects reviews

Why book with Thomas Cook

Low deposits

Low deposits

Secure your next holiday from £19pp

Spread the cost

Spread the cost

Book now, pay later in instalments

24/7 on holiday support

24/7 holiday support

Expert help whilst you are on holiday

Price match guarantee

Price match

Know you are getting the best holiday deal

ATOL & ABTA protected

Your holiday is financially protected

Skip past other hotels

Other Hotels in Spain

Bungalows Castillo Beach

Bungalows Castillo Beach

2.7OK(2,000+)

Spain, Caleta De Fuste

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / Self-Catering

from£135pp
ATOL Protected
HOVIMA Cool Costa Adeje
Chosen by us

HOVIMA Cool Costa Adeje

4.6Excellent(2,000+)

Spain, Costa Adeje

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / All Inclusive

from£505pp
ATOL Protected
Barcelo Lanzarote Active Resort
Family-friendly

Barcelo Lanzarote Active Resort

4.1Very good(10,000+)

Spain, Costa Teguise

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / Bed & Breakfast

from£315pp
ATOL Protected
Hotel Beatriz Playa & Spa
Family-friendly

Hotel Beatriz Playa & Spa

3.7Good(10,000+)

Spain, Puerto del Carmen

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / Half Board

from£295pp
ATOL Protected
Hotel HSM Canarios Park - All Inclusive
Family-friendly

Hotel HSM Canarios Park - All Inclusive

3.6Good(5,000+)

Spain, Calas de Mallorca

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / All Inclusive

from£220pp
Plus local fees of £9 pp. Total holiday £229 pp.
ATOL Protected
Alua Village Fuerteventura - All Inclusive - Hyatt Inclusive Collection

Alua Village Fuerteventura - All Inclusive - Hyatt Inclusive Collection

4.1Very good(5,000+)

Spain, Esquinzo

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / All Inclusive

from£245pp
ATOL Protected
BLUESEA Callao Garden

BLUESEA Callao Garden

3.4OK(5,000+)

Spain, Callao Salvaje

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / Bed & Breakfast

from£210pp
ATOL Protected
Aparthotel HSM Calas Park - All Inclusive

Aparthotel HSM Calas Park - All Inclusive

4.3Very good(1,000+)

Spain, Calas de Mallorca

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / All Inclusive

from£275pp
Plus local fees of £9 pp. Total holiday £284 pp.
ATOL Protected
Hotel LIVVO Jandía Golf - All Inclusive

Hotel LIVVO Jandía Golf - All Inclusive

4.0Good(1,000+)

Spain, Esquinzo

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / All Inclusive

from£245pp
ATOL Protected
O7 Tenerife

O7 Tenerife

4.4Very good(2,000+)

Spain, Puerto de la Cruz

Flight & Hotel / 5 nights / Bed & Breakfast

from£165pp
ATOL Protected
1 of 0

Other hotels in Almunecar