Hotel Los Delfines in La Manga del Mar Menor

Hotel review Honest review of a recent stay : no paid review just absolute honesty. Food: Majority of the food in the hotel was awful and inedible , this is not a 4 star. Chips were bearable , I would say the salmon and the cod which is on every few days at dinner time was the only thing that was actually nice and I’m not a big fish eater. The water park which is included in the all inclusive is great for processed food. You can have chips , hot dogs (real large ones) and cheese burgers for free and they are actually really nice this I would expect from 3 star hotel. Food rating : 3 star ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Pool : The pools in the hotel are nice , they are clean and are suited for all ages. There are 2 small pools and a kids splash pool which is awesome and the large pool which there is only one has a slope entrance so you can walk in again great for all ages. No grumbles at all. The water park which is included in your price is amazing I won’t even grumble one bit on this. There are multiple slides and they cater for all ages in this water park. The setting is nice and pretty if I have any photos I’ll attach but we loved it. Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Room: The hotel rooms are very small and cramped and the balcony’s are small. I would say this is the smallest room in any hotel abroad I have stayed in and there is minimum storage. If you were here longer than a week you wouldn’t have anywhere to put your clothes I struggled with 7 days worth. Not everyone likes to unpack but I like to be settled. The balcony is tiny but I believe every room gets one so that’s a positive it could be worse. However, the bathroom has a bath and a shower all in one and it’s beautiful to have a bath abroad :) love this part. The rooms are cleaned everyday and the cleaniness is next level. The hotel cleaners are great with fresh towels every day and the room is cleaned and your belongings are looked after. There is a safe but it’s €10 a day for the safe a 4 star should provide a safe in the hotel price wanting your belongings secure is essential and you shouldn’t have to pay for this privilege. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Entertainment: Day time there are always little activities to do they aren’t the best. Night time again it’s not the best. You need to be drunk to enjoy this personally believe it’s quite poor. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Staff: Can’t fault them they are lovely people , always there to help, if they can’t they’ll find someone who will. Cleaners everyone is just lovely. What’s near by: There are so many restaurants 3 minutes from the hotel. Majority do the same food but honestly the fillet steak at Es Paca is by far the best steak on the *****. There is an Indian restaurant and a Chinese. There are a couple of bars as well if you like a good drink. In the bars there are bouncy castles for kids. There is one restaurant / bar that has a huge trampoline park, bouncy castles, electric go karts. Fun machines for the kids. Only €2. It’s a good shout! Honestly don’t stay in the hotel on

When i booked a Double Seaview room in this hotel for the price I paid, i expected a good size room, but it was very small.
I also asked for the romantic package to be in my room when we arrived as it is my wife's 60th special birthday. This was a bottle of champagne and cake,chocolate. This was indicated on my initial booking with booking.com and also again with the hotel direct. Extra charge for this, which I was happy to pay.
When we arrived, there were no signs of a package in the room looked in the mini bar, which was a waste of time as no drinks were inside also no tea/coffee in the room. Went to telephone down to explain, and then i found the phone was not working.
Went down 6 flights of stairs because the lifts take ages.
Reception didn't know anything about it or what the package was or included.
They did sort it afterwards, but it wasn't much of a surprise for my wife.
I was very upset and disappointed.
By the end of our 2 night stay, the phone was still not fixed.
We were going to a really nice restaurant in Playa honda so we needed a taxi booked.
The receptionist at 10 am on the morning of the taxi said this was no problem she took our details, room 605, time, and name she said to sit by the door and the driver will come in at 7pm and ask your name.
We waited at 6.50, then 7.05. I went to the receptionist and she said when she contacted the taxi company they said it wasn't possible so she rang our room to tell us but the phone doesn't work (as we said on arrival)so no contact with us but we were in our room all afternoon she could have come upto the room to check. They then rang another taxi company so we never left the hotel until 7.20pm good job we were just going early for a drink before our meal at 8.30pm.
We also asked the receptionist what time check out when we arrived she said 12 pm. we had a knock on the door at 11.30 am. to say we should have been out by 11am.
Overall, an OK clean hotel with a fantastic choice of breakfast, but lack of staff on front desk and lack of communication over the 2 days and staff not reading special instructions on bookings.
I would say as a couple who travel all over Spain and the rest of the world i would say this hotel needs to look at the smaller things to be given a 4 star rating as I would class this hotel more like a 3 star+

How this place is given a 4 star by tui is beyond me, cold food at most sittings hot plates difficult to find. Stayed as a half board holiday maker. Unable to purchase a lunchtime snack unless you upgrade !! Hotel all about upgrades upgrades upgrades. You have been warned ⚠️.