"Our holiday at Best Cap Salou was, unfortunately, a huge disappointment. Although the hotel is in a beautiful location right beside the beach, the standard of cleanliness, food, maintenance and overall guest experience fell well below what we expected. We could also clearly feel the hotel winding down for the end of the season, which had a significant impact on our stay.
⭐ The positives
The biggest positive is undoubtedly the location. The beach and sea were absolutely beautiful before the storms affected the area, and being right beside the beach was lovely. The hotel is also not too far from Salou itself, and we were able to walk, take a taxi or use the bus to get into town.
There were some genuinely lovely staff members who deserve recognition. Pedro was one of them, along with a member of the bar team with dreadlocks, who was absolutely fantastic — a genuine 10/10! They were friendly and made us feel welcome. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for everyone, as we encountered other staff members who came across as rude and abrupt.
❌ Rooms, cleanliness and maintenance
Our room was basic and not particularly spacious, which we could have accepted had the general standards been better.
The safe broke multiple times throughout our holiday, and the telephone in our room did not work. Our beds were not properly serviced, and the sheets were not changed during the entire week we were there. This was extremely disappointing and not the standard of housekeeping you would expect from a hotel.
There were also numerous maintenance issues around the property, including broken sunbeds, damaged marble stairs and uneven, broken flooring. We witnessed a child fall and sustain a head injury after a fall on the uneven flooring, which was particularly concerning.
The pool table was constantly breaking, and the indoor pool was also out of order. The swimming pool itself was filthy and did not look well maintained.
🍽️ Food and gluten-free options
The food was one of the biggest letdowns of the holiday. There was food available, but very little that allowed you to put together a proper, satisfying meal. Much of it felt like a random selection of bits and pieces rather than a decent choice of dishes.
The restaurant was partially closed, further limiting the options available. We could clearly feel that the hotel was winding down for the season, and the variety and standard of the food reflected this.
For anyone with dietary requirements, I would strongly advise asking questions before booking. One member of our party requires gluten-free food, and the experience was extremely disappointing.
There were virtually no gluten-free options available at the snack bar, despite gluten-free food being advertised. When we asked, the options simply were not there.
The restaurant also lacked clear allergen information. Food was frequently unlabelled, with no allergen placards to tell guests what they were eating. At times, there were simply unidentified pots of food with no clear indication of their contents. We spoke to the chef on our first day, but this did not resolve the wider issue of limited choice and inadequate labelling.
Guests should not have to guess what food contains, particularly when dietary requirements are involved. Clear allergen information and suitable food options should be a basic expectation.
🏊 Pool areas, supervision and behaviour
The pool areas were another major disappointment. The pool was dirty, sunbeds were broken, and there appeared to be insufficient supervision at times. The lifeguard was absent from the pool area on numerous occasions during our stay. When present, there were still significant concerns about behaviour around the pool.
There were children running around, jumping on sofas and tables, and behaving in a way that made some areas unpleasant and potentially unsafe for other guests. We also witnessed a man slap his child across the face twice, which was distressing to see.
The indoor pool being out of order added to the disappointment, particularly when the weather was poor.
We also paid €15 for a cabana bed for the day, from 10am until 7pm. We left briefly to get lunch inside and returned to find someone else occupying and using the bed we had paid for. When we approached security, they were unwilling to get involved. We effectively lost the use of something we had paid for, with no meaningful assistance.
🚨 A deeply concerning medical incident
One of the most distressing incidents during our stay involved a guest who suffered a suspected heart attack in the hotel reception area.
There were medically trained UK guests willing to assist with CPR, but they were not permitted by hotel staff to help. The guest subsequently passed away, and we understood that they remained in the reception area for over three hours.
This was an extremely upsetting situation to witness. I appreciate that I cannot comment on the full medical circumstances or the reasons behind the decisions made at the time, but the situation raised serious concerns for us about the handling of a medical emergency. I sincerely hope the incident has been reviewed appropriately.
🍹 Drinks, entertainment and facilities
As the season drew to a close, the drinks selection became increasingly limited. When the pools closed, the bar area was too small to accommodate everyone comfortably, resulting in lengthy queues.
The evening entertainment did not begin until 9pm, which is very late for families with younger children.
For guests leaving on early morning transfers before breakfast service began, there were no breakfast options or accessible tea and coffee machines available. Even a basic early-morning drinks or breakfast station would have been appreciated.
We also experienced storms during our holiday, which were obviously beyond the hotel’s control. However, the other issues we encountered were separate concerns that significantly affected our overall experience.
Final thoughts
Best Cap Salou has a beautiful beachfront location and some excellent individual staff members, particularly Pedro and the member of the bar team with dreadlocks, who deserve special recognition for their friendliness and service.
Unfortunately, the positives were outweighed by the poor cleanliness, broken facilities, inadequate food selection, lack of allergen information, limited gluten-free options and concerns about maintenance and safety.
We understand that the end of the season can bring operational changes, but guests are still paying for their holidays and should receive the facilities, service and standards advertised when booking. We did not feel that this was consistently the case during our stay.
I would not choose to return based on our experience, and I would encourage anyone considering this hotel — particularly families or anyone requiring gluten-free food — to carefully consider these issues before booking.
A beautiful location alone is not enough to make up for so many disappointing aspects of a holiday."
