Occidental Roca Negra

Such a lovely hotel. Food was amazing and the staff were all attentive, happy and hard working. A bit out of the way of shopes etc but if you hire a car it's perfect.

Wonderful quiet place and I mean quiet it was what we needed I write honest reviews so I’ll write it all as I base where we go on the reviews so I will do this to help you guys. The hotel is in a quiet place , itself is a sun lounger only hotel there is no entertainment pool side or REPS or anything to “ disturb “ you , the pool bar is right by the pool it is in a figure of 8 and has a very large bubble pool not hot tub as it’s refreshingly cool which in the hot days it’s lovely so is the pool it has a shallow end and a deep end but I’d say it’s about 5ft 5 /6 on the cloudy days and windy it’s cold but on the warmer days it’s a godsend. We had ROOM 203 which I believe is the biggest room the view was of the sea but if you peered over the wall you could see the pool . There was no towel wars always sun loungers there is a life guard but he is also the patroler of the areas looking for anyone who dares take a drink in the plastic glasses near the pool god forbid in it sitting on the side is not allowed either with one , it’s sunloungers or the food area only there is permently fixed sun umbrella things look like palm trees with small wooden tables around it for your drinks. The rooms are good size ( we did have the suite) beds are comfy and the lounge area is good with a fridge for your drinks water is replaced every day from the maid who work their butts off BUT just me the smell of the cleaner smells of perm solution in the communal areas not bleach but like perm solution/cat pee. It’s very clean all over the communal toilets are spotless. The pool bar is well stocked and the AI drinks are plentiful (I don’t drink so I had difficulty finding a non alcoholic drink that wasn’t Coke or a San Francisco drink ) where usually it’s the opposite I will say the non alcoholic beer which I had every so often is ok. There is different packages we had purple string brackets with a wooden bit in with the name of the hotel on it we saw yellow ones I think they were half board what no one explained to us that our string wrist bands were also our room keys until we were leaving I just thought they were just pretty. Food is excellent the pool bar has snacks there or you sit at the tables outside and you get a menu of things you can order you can even have 3 courses if you want it is select but it’s a good selection for AI. The meals at night you do find things to eat but we tended to go later on as we stayed by the pool mostly as that’s all there was apart from going down the steps/path to the left of the hotel and there are some volcanic made sea pools where you can swim in them they even have metal steps into them . You can walk into the shops near the harbour I say shops it’s a handful and a couple of ice cream places and a spar shop. Mainly restaurants to be honest. You can have Cava with anything even your breakfast in the hotel in fact most of the cocktails /spirits seemed to satisfy everyone there. There is an upstairs bar which opens until 11 I think it has the much sort after swinging chair overlooking the pool area from above there seemed to be a “ I’m in it and not coming out “ ownership of it so I’d get your butt in it. The upstairs had also little covered seating areas where they seemed to be for chilling I think it was for more then couples but they were always full by couples playing cards watching their phones etc. the highlight of this upstairs was the twice weekly entertainment a singer good god you’ve never seen such a crowd dancing and at one time doing a conga I was highly entertained and FaceTime my daughter because it had become lively . But you know what they were having fun and we got the much cherished swing . So please note the drinks up there are AI but snacks/food is not but we didn’t mind that as dinner (when the heater thing didn’t break down ) was warm not hot warm and plentiful. The food was really amazing the presentation and the array of food was brilliant. Everyone in there was hardworking and I only had two incidents where I saw a man loose it a bit because his melon was put in the ice cream he was furious and I hate to think what the translation was but in a way I don’t blame him. The other was on the last day and I had some pancakes made and dared to ask for my raisins in and she muttered under her breath again I wish I spoke Spanish. On that note the same woman was cross contaminating everything that was being cooked she had eggs being fried on the left hob and she had pancakes and omelettes next to each other with her using the same utensils for both pancakes and the omelets with ham/cheese/onions etc so if your a veggie or have allergies your a bit screwed but that was just her. They do do gluten free bread btw I noticed it so thought I’d mention it. Ok so the BAD bits FLIES EVERYWHERE and they are unfazed by you swatting them or doing anything you’d do for the “ English flies “ haha they land on you crawl on you, the bug you at one point on the pool bar on the beer mat I counted 30 !! Now this is not just an outside thing they are everywhere in your room on your balcony everywhere NOW this is NOT a reflection on the hotel we were told it’s because there is a chicken farm near by who they feed literal 💩 too that’s why they are flies with no manners. But you need strong fly spray with you if you take some you’ll be fine they are not fazed by anything like they are on steroids so we sprayed the room and left it then went back and sprayed the 💩s with them individually near the end we were fly free. Your AI finishes on the day you leave at 12pm sharp so we didn’t know this and we’d booked a late departure room for €40 but we were told this so we stock piled our drinks in our fridge upstairs and just bought them down when we needed them haha I’ve never had an AI hotel that has this policy ever. All in all we enjoyed it there despite two days haze it’s called calmina fine sand and is then bought up by the wind and it blocks the sun so everything was windy and cold which can happen anytime in the summer it was a weird two days. We come back with relaxation and a sun tan we needed peace tranquility no ties no rushing and no kids . There were no lager louts no one being rowdy and it was focussed just by the pool. We went to the spa there it is worth a trip in the package we got was 90 mins on the spa and a couples massage we paid €85 for both of us the massage was amazing and just what was needed I think their names were Altina , Eris and Bea go and see them they are the best. Would we go again yes we would if we needed a place to chill and relax and have no ties for a few days yes but we stayed 5 days I think a week would have just been ok if have been disappointed if we did 10/14 nights . I think leaving a can of fly spray in the room and catering better for non drinkers except Coke and San Francisco’s and making sure the cross contamination was addressed (thankfully I was ok as no allergies etc ) and being able to have a nice drink in the pool whilst on the side reading a book not made to feel like a naughty kid would make this better for the 5 stars I would have given.

If you are staying in this hotel I highly recommend going with the half board or all inclusive package. If you are not visiting with a car, Restaurants and supermarkets are 25 min away by walk in the heat uphill and downhill can be tricky. That being said, I was quite happy with the food in this hotel - the buffet in particular which is what you get if you choose half-board package. Each evening there was a different theme which I loved, lots of fresh fruit & salads, pizza and chips for the picky eaters and of course lots of delicious Spanish and international dishes. I recommend going to the buffet early as it can get quite full. The restaurant & hotel in general has lots of flies which was abit unhygienic. Staff are friendly and the service is fast. I loved the desserts at dinner - they don’t taste like ‘Fridge’ like in typical buffets, very yum. Please enjoy some foodie pictures x

Great hotel, very clean. The rooms are very large and well designed. Staff are very helpful and friendly. The food was good. Particularly surprising was the pool bar food. Not a massive menu but very good food. The roof top bar was great with fantastic views. One thing to be aware if you want to walk into the village its down a very steep hill, so getting back up could be a challenge for those less able. The all inclusive drinks were good, even included brands like Smirnoff. Overall a great hotel to stay.

Hotel is located in a quiet part of the island away from mass tourism but only one our drive from the airport with excellent roads. The natural pools are located next to the Hotel and is a nice experience.