Playitas Hotel - Sports Resort

This was already the second time for me at Playitas hotel (first time a few years ago), so I knew already what to expect: great breakfast and dinner options, so even for 2 weeks stay is was not getting too repetitive. Many sports events, activities and facilities to choose from (some of them against a small charge, others free), and everything is very well organized. The whole resort seems to work like a well oiled clockwork. I had the same room as the first time I was there (a Junior suite in block 4), which was very spacious, had a big balcony and with great views of the resort and the ocean. The (public) beach is just in front of the resort and allows you to cool off in the sea. Most of the guests seem to prefer the pool to the beach, but the water temperature of the pool was much too hot for me and not refreshing enough, so I always went to the beach for sun bathing and swimming; it was largely empty apart from a few locals; the only disadvantage was the sand blowing around when it was windy; and the (dark) sand was usually very hot, but I knew this and put on my water shoes when going into the water; this also helped with the stones that are quite frequent on the beach and in the shallow water. Only a couple of minor points: The shower in the bathroom is of the open walk-in/drive-in type without any separation on the floor, so water will tend to run into the bathroom, especially when using the overhead shower. Better use the hand-shower and point it inside to minimize the effect, and/or put a towel on the floor to prevent the water from running further into the bathroom. My shower sink also started to smell a bit after the first week, but this was fixed the same day I reported it. Furthermore, being a light sleeper, I had some problems sleeping on the first night with a low frequency motor hum coming on every 15 minutes for a couple of minutes from a kind of service room next to my room (probably a water pump or something to do with the air conditioning). Ear plugs did not help much with those low frequencies, but I solved this by simply putting on the air conditioning fan each night (without cooling) which made a very similar but constant noise so that I did not notice the other motor switching on and off anymore.

Didn’t really know what to expect but it was great. Sure, I took the best accommodation ( a suite) and was given room 7406, at the very top. ( fortunately, there is an electric car constantly running people up to the heights!). The room had divine views over golf course/hills AND, from a different window, a great view of beach and sea. Divine! The buffet restaurant does a great, healthy breakfast and the three course buffet dinner is good value and there is a good choice. Activities abound with plenty of classes bookable 2 days ahead. Great place for up to a week. Home for a rest!!

I really like Playitas, let’s get that straight. I’ve been here 6 times in total over the last 3 years, and I am leaving happy every time. BUT 
The quality of their food has gone significantly down and so has the instructors. 
I like to workout using my entire body, in many different ways but mainly focusing on the cardio and strength, so I can’t speak for all the dancing / yoga classes. The only reason I want to come back every time, is because of the trainer called Stephane. He is, by far, the best instructor and is probably the only reason I wanna come back so often. You can tell by his workouts, that he is both the most intelligent of instructors and also the most experienced.
Every single time I go to his workout, I know there is going to be options to train like a world class athlete, but also to learn a lot about my current capabilities. Many of the others instructors are not skilled enough, and the last two trips I’ve had, I’ve actually walked out of multiple workouts, because the instructor clearly wasn’t prepared or even seemed like they cared. As for the food, it’s still quite good, but every time I come back, I can predict what’s on the menu, since they have clearly started to just recycle the same 7-10 meals each week. Writing this review, I just finished my 6th trip, and both me and my partner had 48+ hours taken away from us, due to bacteria in the food, which left us bedridden and unable to contain any substances. During this same stay, some of their own staff had illness related to their food as well. It’s a shame when the place brands itself as “Europe’s best sports resort”, because the food doesn’t live up to that, and only Stephane can make that branding stay. 
If he leaves, the place needs to rebrand itself as “Europe’s best family and dance resort”.