Esmeralda Cotillo Homes by LIVVO

We have just returned from our holiday to this resort with Jet 2. We enjoyed our 2 week holiday, however, there are some points that I would like to share with other people considering staying in this resort. When we arrived at 9:45pm we had a code for the gate and our room which worked fine. The apartment was well equipped with plenty of pans, utensils etc. There was no "food welcome pack ", so make sure you have called at the Hyperdino Express by the El Cotillo Beach hotel ( open till 10pm). Washing up liquid, 3 dishwasher tablets, a dish cloth and pan scourer, bin bags and a few coffee filters were provided. We were in a ground floor apartment which was spacious and had air conditioning in the main area and a ceiling fan in the bedroom. The bathroom was modern with a good shower with hand soap, shampoo and toilet rolls provided. The outdoor patio was adequate, but not very private, as there was only a 1 metre long privacy wall between each apartment, then the rest of the deck area was open plan. The pool and surrounding area was clean with reasonable sunbed provision. Umbrellas were available but difficult with the wind. The pool area was closely supervised by the lifeguards who unlocked the pool area at 11am and locked it at 5pm which was a pity. We saw no evidence of towels being left on sunbeds which made a nice change. There was a digital safe in the bedroom which was very useful, however, use it with caution as we locked all our phones and money in it to go to the beach, but when we returned in the evening, the code we thought we had set to lock the safe would not work and it was after 4pm, so there was no hotel staff on site. There was a number on the reception door but this was no good as we had no phone. Luckliy we had enough food and cash on us to kast until reception opened at 8am. Staff unlocked the safe quickly so all was sorted out, however we were told that there would have been no help available until 8am even if we had managed to contact them. After that we continued to use the safe and had no more problems but made sure we kept at least one phone out of the safe ! The cleaning regime for the rooms was haphazard with no clear plan shared as to whether the room would be cleaned or not. This did not matter to us except we were unsure whether to leave the towels on the bathroom floor so that they would know we wanted them replacing or if to hang them up to dry as a notice in the bathroom said they would only be changed if left on the floor. Location of the hotel was good with a 2 min walk to the nearest beach and a 20 min walk to the nearest beach with bar and basic toilet facilities. No sunbeds on any beaches in El Cotillo. Next to the hotel, there were several bars and restaurants - although some were closed for holidays. Unfortunately, there was a major building site next to the hotel which did cause considerable disturbance all days except Sunday. Hard to say how much longer this will go on for, but I would estimate another couple of months. El Cotillo centre was well-worth the easy 5-10 min walk with some good restaurants, bars and shops. There is also a Spar Supermarket which is better stocked and cheaper than the Hyperdino Express. There is also a Superdino by the football ground (15 mins walk) which has good variety and generally cheaper than both other supermarkets. Gluten free food and vegan food was available in all of the supermarkets. On day of departure, our bus was picking us up at 3pm. Checkout was at 12 noon, a new pass key was issued for the external gate which also gave access to a private storage locker, shower and toilet facilities, clean towels etc were provided which was helpful.

Great location, supermarket 5 minutes away. Restaurants and bars 1 min away. Rooms have everything you need. Building work opposite is nothing to worry about ( looks like it's going to be a beautiful hotel when completed. You are given a 4 digit code before you arrive, this doesn't work until after 3pm, but there is staff here until 4pm. Once you check out they have storage lockers you can leave your cases in. Nice relaxing area down the ramp near reception. Great gym area. There are also showers you can use before you are picked up ( spotlessly clean) transfer time via taxi or private transfer is about 30 minutes

The apartments are comfortable, beautifully maintained and spotlessly clean. Lovely kitchen and bathroom, and very comfortable beds. We were on the ground floor, with our own patio furniture and sun beds on both pool-facing and rear terraces, which gave us privacy and all day sunshine. The apartments are in a great location, close to the beach and some good cafes less than 50 metres away. There are so many fabulous places to eat and drink in El Cotillo, all of which are easily walkable from the apartments. The only slight negative was the pool opening hours; I had been looking forward to early morning swims, but it didn’t open until 11am. There was noise on some days from the adjacent building site, although I think it was just bad luck that our visit coincided with pile-driving. However it wasn’t every day, and the hours were limited to 9am- 4pm. It won’t put me off going back.

Clean, modern, bright apartments in a perfect location just minutes from the beach and a short stroll to the resort centre which has an impressive selection of restaurants, given that it’s a very ‘low key’ and ‘emerging’ resort. We loved the peacefulness of the place - it’s not a place to come if you are looking for a lively, party atmosphere- it has a lovely laid back feel and is more about enjoying the cafe culture and good food, rather than nightlife and bustling bars open till the wee hours! We booked a first floor apartment and loved the private roof terrace, equipped with sunbeds, astroturfing and a stone bath to cool off in if you get too hot! In addition to that, we had a large terrace overlooking the pool area, which had the sun all morning, so perfect breakfast spot! Everywhere was exceptionally clean; it feels very new and the apartment is very well equipped for your stay. Only thing it didn’t have was an iron, but we brought our own anyway. Well stocked supermarkets just around the corner selling everything you could possible want, including fresh pastries and bread. One thing to note is that it does not have a pool bar or anything like that so the pool area is also very laid back with most guests using the pool, then return to their apartment. Again - we loved this aspect of it as it was quite ‘anonymous’ - people were friendly, but were not living in your pocket and seemed to be there to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. The only issue we had was the extreme noise levels from the building site across the road - we were unfortunate in that; the week we were there they were digging up concrete foundations with a pneumatic digger and the work continued all day long! Not the apartments fault at all, and it would not put me off coming back at all, as aside from that - the place is idyllic! Other reviews have mentioned a bit of noise, but nothing too invasive, so I guess we were just unlucky in the week we chose! Would not hesitate to return to these fabulous apartments and I really hope El Cortillo keeps its charming, friendly atmosphere as it’s a refreshing change to find somewhere that has managed to retain its authenticity and hasn’t sold its soul!

Second time in the resort but first time staying here. Beautiful apartments- everything that’s needed to make an enjoyable stay- no iron in rooms. No charge for the safe. Extremely clean. Pool open 11 till 5. Would have preferred it to open earlier as like an early morning swim. Beach, bars and restaurants literally on the doorstep. 4 min walk to the harbour. If booking a package holiday would recommend the taxi transfer as so much quicker. Great courtesy facilities available when checking out. Staff fantastic. Building work is going on and unfortunately they were at the excavation stage the week we were there and was difficult to get away from it. The pool decking was vibrating from it and our room was literally right opposite so could hear it all around the apartment Started at around 7am and carried on til about 6pm. We spent most of our days on the beach to get away from it.