PortAventura® Hotel Gold River

We booked a 3 night stay here based on England playing nearby in Barcelona. We had stayed on site before at El Paso and had visited the parks several times. We knew what to expect going in and had plans each day so were well prepared. What we didn’t expect was the quality of the hotel. The theming on the entrance is usually misleading but this continued throughout all areas and into the rooms. Walking to the room was like walking through an actual Wild West town. The room overlooked the pool and was clean, and functional. Good fridge, good safe and excellent air con. Beds were a bit firm for us but that’s a personal preference. Would have like a balcony so we could have sat outside whilst our son would go to sleep but we were that exhausted from the days in the park we were in bed just as early. Booked breakfast and dinner times on the app. Really straight forward, no issues. We asked to sit outside each time and found that a much better experience for us rather than being in the main dining hall as it seemed very chaotic. There was also another identical buffet open in a smaller room to the rear which was a lot quieter. Food was of a better than expected quality and good variation. Evening food had a theme each night. Breakfast was the same but to be expected. No complaints. Hotel is very clean overall. Staff are really friendly and interactive. There are plenty of photo opportunities and bits around to keep the children entertained. We explored the grounds on our first morning after breakfast and it was an interesting experience. Pools are really good. A welcome break from the sun and crowds in the park. Spent a few hours here in the middle of each day. Pool bar has a good range of drinks, same with the lobby bar although it was quite warm in there on an evening. Access to the park was nearby and took you right to the Uncharted queue. Go on this first as it has the longest queue all day. With having a 6 year old with us we didn’t really queue for the big rides as we had being on them previously so used the single rider queue. Although I’m still not sure where the one for Dragon Khan is. Ended up in the fast track line and the attendant let me on when it was fair to do so. Found the prices in the park reasonable too but we didn’t eat at the themed buffets just the quick serve whilst in there. Drinks weren’t as expensive as I was expecting either. You get a days entry into Ferrari Land too which has a much more convenient opening schedule now. Will be back in a few years and usually like trying the different hotels but we have already decided on just staying here again as we had as close to a perfect experience as you could hope for.