THB Royal

I arrived late at night yesterday having booked the day before. The booking system from TUI hadn’t relayed my booking to the hotel. This caused a delay checking in but the hotel were brilliant and even changed my room location (as on own wanted to be less far away). I also had some problems logging in to my booking to show him but the member of staff was patient and helpful - despite juggling lots of other people’s queries. Having travelled a lot and stayed in both budget and luxury I don’t know what the negative reviews are about: Fantastic location - I walked to the beach in 10 minutes. Massive apartment that’s clean and comfortable with a lovely patio. The atmosphere is very chilled and not like the full on mental entertainment/music blasting all day. Lovely pools. Lovely staff. Clean. Obviously usual lunatics get up at 7 so I missed out on a sunbed but I have my donut so who cares. I’m loving it here and the only negative I can think of is a very rude fellow guest insisting/demanding to be dealt with during my check in. RUDE whoever you are and thank you to that staff member who dealt with it diplomatically. If you’re looking for a cool place for families, solos, couples, there’s something for everyone. My something is this place and the gorgeous little beach.

Overall, we had a wonderful stay at this hotel/Playa Blanca in general. We would definitely return to PB but would look for somewhere more central if possible due to the long walk into town with the kids, and with kitchenette facilties. We had a couple of minor issues regarding the hotel: - Felt like two different hotels between the upper and lower levels (called "main pool/quiet pool") We were allocated a room on the upper level, there is no entertainment or music and the pool bar was closed the whole time (I assume this is due to staffing levels as we alone would have spent a lot had it been open). When you walk through to what felt like the "All Inclusive side", it was a totally different vibe, and we only learned of the daytime entertainment & inflatable slide late into the holiday as its not publicised much (could do with a weekly timetable upstairs). Guests are of course welcome to bathe wherever they choose but it just didnt feel like "our" side. - Our bathroom really smelt of sewage, however upon researching, this is common of the area in general, and the hotel were quick to send Maintenance up to check our drains etc., but we learned to just cover the drains. - Sunbeds were an issue, by 10am they were all gone but we learned to phone down to request more or ask the lifeguard who would radio for more to be brought up. However by 1pm or so they were all gone entirely. My husband was told on the first day that he was only entitled to 2 beds despite being a family of 5, and that the children didnt get a bed. When he pointed out other children had beds, he was still told no and the member of staff walked away. Unsure if this was a miscommunication/language barrier but wasnt a great first impression. Pool showers didn't work. - WiFi was shocking and didnt work for several days. - Evening entertainment could do with a little more variety, and differed from schedule. Wasnt much for the kids in the evening other than an hour of songs off a phone, on a stage that dipped so much in the middle I was worried a child may fall through the wooden slats. The Nightclub is now the gym. The "Pizzeria" bar (never saw any pizza) by the evening stage needed more staff as the queue was so long that we actually gave up on a couple of occasions and went back to the room. Also didnt see Kids Club open at all, my daughter walked down a couple of times but the door was always locked and lights off, but we didnt pursue this as they were quite happy in the pool. - Lifeguard was pretty inattentive, sat on his phone or talking to staff for a lot of the day and sadly we saw him completely miss a couple of potential incidents where other guests stepped in. - We knew on a RO only basis that we had a fridge/tea-coffee facilties (one mug was stuck to the tray). We got some cutlery from the restaurant and had cereal in mugs, noodles, sandwiches etc and washed up in the bathroom sink. The shop sells cookable foods so not sure if other rooms have kitchenette facilities? Just bear in mind and double check your room type! We had requested a balcony because of the toddler, although we were told on checkin due to hotel capacity this wasnt possible, and actually our terrace room was fine and near the pool so was easy for us to pop in an out. Considering the hotel was full during summer holidays though, it did feel like it was operating at a limited capacity, and is more dedicated to the AI guests. All of these things aside, we felt safe, the hotel is overall very clean, upstairs pools were well maintained, our room was cleaned & towels replenished daily, and we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday.

We stayed at THB Royal as a family of five and, whilst there were some positives, our holiday was ultimately overshadowed by a serious privacy incident on our departure day. There are some positives, food is good and pool area is well kept. This however is not a 4 star hotel and the distance from the town/marina is 20mins or more so taxi is required or hire a car. We used Bissau Rent a Car and had a good experience. There is no kids entertainment or very little, so for younger kids there are better options. We drove to Rancho Texas this was a great day out and worth doing with kids. The overall service is very poor and we experienced many areas for concern around security, sun bed allocations and also maintenance and leadership challenges. As an example they painted communal areas with blue paint but did not put up signs meaning residents went into toilets with wet paint (come on where is the common sense?!). I would like to acknowledge Francesca (manager), who eventually helped resolve ongoing issues we experienced regarding sunbed availability for our family. Whilst it took several discussions, a solution was ultimately found and I appreciate her efforts in assisting us however its evident the hotel is understaffed, inexperienced and undertrained. Unfortunately, a far more serious incident occurred when we were using the courtesy rooms before our transfer to the airport. For anyone with children or young girls this is a worrying issue so please take note as there is no CCTV and little security. I was using a locked courtesy room when a member of staff forcibly broke the lock and entered without warning. Shortly afterwards, the same staff member entered the neighbouring changing room whilst my 14-year-old daughter was getting changed. My wife and our daughters aged 8 and 11 were also using the adjacent facilities at the time. This was an extremely distressing experience for our family and completely overshadowed the end of what had otherwise been an enjoyable holiday. We felt that our privacy had been seriously compromised and were left shocked and upset by what had happened. The incident also resulted in a rushed departure as we tried to regroup and make our transfer on time. During this process, our luggage was damaged. Following our return home, I raised a formal complaint with both THB Royal and TUI. The hotel acknowledged the complaint and discussed the matter with TUI. However, I was disappointed with TUI's handling of the issue. The initial responses focused on matters such as facilities and sunbeds rather than addressing what was, in my view, the central issue: unauthorised entry into occupied changing facilities being used by me and my family. Whilst TUI subsequently advised that the staff member had been interviewed, I do not feel the investigation adequately explained the full sequence of events or recognised the impact the incident had on my family. No compensation was offered. I appreciate that others may have a positive experience at the hotel, and there were aspects of the holiday that we enjoyed. However, given the seriousness of what occurred and my disappointment with the aftercare and complaint handling, I felt it was important to share our experience so that future guests can make an informed decision. Overall: A disappointing end to our holiday, made worse by the lack of meaningful recognition of the impact on our family. We will never return to this hotel and consider whether to use TUI in the future.

I booked very last minute as a solo female traveller in my late 40s. First of all, I was so happy with the room allocation. For reference I had room 805 which was by the Zen pool, and right by it too. Gorgeous clean room with a terrace so happy with that. Arrived late after restaurant was closing so provided with a sandwich, fruit and water. Unpacked and got settled. First impressions were that the facilities were tired and in need of an upgrade. This isn’t a complaint about the rooms, but the bar area, the entertainment area and the supermarket are all in need of an overhaul and a clean. The food was ok but not a lot of choice and lots of saucy dishes which didn’t appeal to me. Most days I had salad, cheese and pizza and chips. That was fine. I didn’t indulge in alcohol during the day but took advantage of the water filling stations around the complex. I was disappointed that that the pool bar by the zen pool was closed for the duration of my stay. Not sure why, as peak season with kids being off. It was advertised as having that facility so that was a shame. Sunbeds! Against my better judgement I became one of those people who reserved their bed as soon as I woke up and watched it while I sat on the terrace. Despite the rules within the welcome sheet, the sunbeds were often reserved late at night or at the crack of dawn, with families not using them until 11am onwards. There were not enough sunbeds for those who wanted to use them. I would have been happy with a sunbed and had it on my terrace but that was forbidden. This is something I think the hotel needs to focus on as no one adheres to the rules. It’s every man for themselves! The WiFi was hit and miss but did work, just laggy on occasions. I would consider booking again if it were me travelling alone, if I could be guaranteed the same room or at least one in the 700/800s. Playa Blanca is a nice resort but if you’re wanting something more upmarket for the evening, head to Marina Rubicón where there is a great selection of lovely bar’s restaurants and shops.

I'm so glad I ignored the Karen reviews before I went. The entire place is very clean and well kept. The staff were so friendly. You could simply tell that they all to a person wanted to be helpful. I was trying my best with my limited spanish and they encouraged and corrected with kindness. The food was unbelievable. The mains selection changed every day and there was always something to find. Not only was the selection great especially at lunch and at evening but the quality of the food was much better than I was anticipating based on the reviews I read here. The rooms were spacious. I had 2 balconies. One with two sunbeds and the other with tables and chairs.. The cleaners left the rooms spotless and cleaned 6 days out of 7. The staff ag the bars and restaurants were amazing and those ag the reception were very helpful. There are two pools. One with good music and the other was quieter. Sunbed situation was alright. I got a bed every day. Loads reserving beds with towels in the morning unfortunately, which is a problem everywhere. But nobody was removing towels from the hotel. Thats a bug bearer of mine tbh. I think anyone reserving sunbeds should go to purgatory. That said I hit a bed each day, I had to camp out and stake my claim early mind you. The hotel is beautifully placed with beautiful views of the mountains out by Papagayo and everything is within a 10-20 minute walking distance. If youre fussy and picking holes in this hotel you really need to look in the mirror and speak to the Karen staring back at you!! Fair play to all tbe staff ag THB Royal. You were all class. Muchos gracias. Disfrute mucho mi vacaciones contigos.