Playas de Guardamar Hotel in Guardamar del Segura

The hotel has a beautiful location and amazing views, but the stay was spoiled by very rude staff. An older man with white hair shouted at us harshly just because we didn’t have the back door key to the beach. Such behaviour was shocking and completely uncalled for.

Depressing Island in a Sea of Sand Dunes.
Have waited for a few days to review in the hopes that something would happen to elevate our experience but sadly it just continues to deteriorate. Honest review of the hotel and its facilities.

Rooms - Basic room was adequate with 2 large beds and a small balcony with a sea view. The hotel is designed so that all balconies get a side view of the sea. Soundproofing was terrible though with our neighbours sounding like they were in our room so we upgraded to the panoramic room.
Panoramic room - nice large room at the front of the building facing the sea. Large bathroom with jacuzzi bath also facing the sea. Some extra seating including a desk. This cost an extra €40 per night and was worth it because as the hotel was so grim we spent a lot of time there. No kettles are provided, I think one is available for €20.

Location - there is nothing here except for a large beach and one tiny expensive shop run by a very grumpy Russian woman. Nothing. No bar, cafe, restaurant, nothing. This would be fine if the hotel was a nice place to be, but it just isn’t.
Hotel - reception makes you think the hotel is nicer than it is. The layout of the common areas is poorly thought out so you have to walk around the back of the building to get to the pool for example. The entertainment area has a small stage and has plastic chairs lined around the edge with a small amount of tables at the back. Giant pillars in the middle obstruct the view for a large portion of the room. It looks cheap and thrown together.
Bar - extremely bright lighting everywhere with sort of floodlights shining down on the outside seating area. There is a comfier seating area also but once again a poorly thought out layout means it’s difficult to see if there is seating available there without walking around and up steps. It is just kind of grim and not a place you fancy lingering which is a shame as there is nowhere else to go. Do they do cocktails? No idea, never saw a drinks menu and the staff are nice and efficient but not really friendly.
Animation - team seem lovely and friendly. Activities every day including archery, dancing, card bingo. At this time of year certainly it was all in Spanish to cater for the mostly Spanish guests but they did speak English too. (I speak ok Spanish so not a problem)
Pool and Pool Bar - the area is very shoddy with lots of the loungers on their last legs and needing a serious power wash. There are no little tables to put a drink on, no table service (it’s quiet so ok maybe in the busy season, but someone once an hour even to take an order?), and no food or snacks at all - we were send up to the cafeteria which is the main bar. The pool is nice, if a little small, and was a nice temperature. There’s also a children’s pool with a slide.
Food - this was a BIG problem! We booked half board thinking we’d order from the pool bar at lunchtime and expected the usual fare to be available, ie some kind of chips/bocadillo/pizza type menu. But all that was available was either a ham and cheese toasted sandwich (very small) or a hot dog. Nothing else. And no other cafes, beach bars, or restaurants nearby. The hotel buffet was not great - everything dried out under the lamps. I had the driest paella of my life there. Some hits - some nicely cooked pork, some lovely mussels, but overall my advice is get there early before the heat lamps do their damage.
Staff - reception staff lovely - friendly, professional and helpful. Cleaning staff the same. The catering and bar staff less so - some were lovely but the one who snapped “she has to wake up and come down for breakfast” when I asked if I could take something small up to my daughter who was still sleeping (had been feeling sick since the night before), seemed to genuinely despise me and enjoy giving me the lecture. The conversation was held in Spanish by the way.
Overall - I would not recommend booking this hotel. The location means the hotel should have everything you need to not leave, and it most expressly does not.