Playa Esperanza Resort

Aug 2025 - 2 adults 2 Children (8yr & 12yr) - Half Board - Junior Suite TL;DR - Great place, location, pools, facilities and food but glad we upgraded to a suite. For context, resort is split into 3 sections as shown on google maps; Apartments (left), Hotel (centre), Suites (right). It appeared to be fairly busy when we visited (early Aug '25) but there were very few queues or crowds. Lots of info is available on the website when visiting, and the hotel assumes you have a device to view it so doesn't post much of it within the site. Facilities: There are three main pool areas; one near the Apartments for fun with some activities from the Entertainment team, one in the centre which includes lanes for regular swimmers and one near the Suites which is relaxing and has a deeper section. Each area also has a shallow pool for young children. The pools were great and we never found them too crowded. Arrived at a variety of times and found loungers each time. Additionally, the resort has a small library, TV room, various spaces for play. Everything was clean and well maintained, with the cleaning staff doing a great job and friendly when we bumped into them. Beach: The beach is right on the doorstep and is a soft, sandy beach with warm water (August). Arrived at multiple times and found space each time, although the loungers/shade were often very busy and incur a charge (the beach does not belong to the resort). The water stays quite shallow for ages so its good for families, and wasn't overcrowded. Rooms: Our room (Junior Suite) was lovely and spacious, although we shared a room with the children and had to sleep on a sofa-bed which wasn't particularly comfortable. Upgraded rooms/suites include extras (e.g towels etc.) and offer more space. Lower cost rooms in the Hotel area (centre) appear small and quite tightly packed, and many may be affected by evening entertainment noise. Food: We found the food really good with options to suit tastes. Different foods on many nights but some basics repeated every night. There were some options for picky eaters most nights and a decent mix of desserts. Wasn't too crowded but busy enough to ensure fresh food was coming out regularly. Never had trouble finding a table and the staff were attentive and friendly. We were half board so had to pay for drinks, which were a little expensive but not too overpriced. Lunch was also extra so we used the snack bar near the fun pool (near Apartments) and tried the Luna bar in the centre. Both were fine but we also explored and found some lovely bars/restaurants within 10 min walk. There's also a decent supermarket across the road. Entertainment: The entertainment team were great and enthusiastic. They ran many activities and engaged with children really well. The Children's rooms were great (one for younger kids and one for older ones) with lots to do and many facilities. The older one was much more relaxed and allowed teens to chill out. Easier if you have a smartphone as a lot of info is online but there are posters around with info on daily activities if you know where to look. The evening entertainment was good in general. Although repetitive, the kids disco had the younger children engaged and kept them busy. Activities and songs from a variety of languages were used to ensure everyone was included. The later entertainment was good (not aimed at children specifically) with some decent music until around 11. The rooms facing the stage area are subject to loud noise until around 11pm, so take care staying in a room that faces onto the 'Luna pool/restaurant'. Other areas can barely hear the shows however, and we found the 'Suites' area to be quite quiet. In general the entertainment for young children was good, but we found older children may find a lot of the entertainment a little young for them. The teen room is good but not ideal if you want to avoid consoles (They had a PS5 & XBOX during our visit). Staff: We found the staff very friendly and helpful throughout our stay. Many could speak multiple languages but appeared grateful when we attempted to speak Spanish (badly). Summary: We really enjoyed our stay and struggle to identify anything negative other that sharing a room with the children and sleeping on uncomfortable sofa-beds. it was a lovely holiday and we would definitely stay here again. We've seen some poor reviews but many seem to be someone holding a grudge for a specific event rather than a fair review of the resort, although some of the lower cost hotel areas do look quite crowded and tightly packed to be fair and have to pay for some basics (e.g. towels etc) which may cause some irritation if not known when booking. If you stay in the suites as we did, I would highly recommend the resort.