On arrival at the hotel we could already see how well prepared they were. The hotel had only opened the same day so we were among the first 170 guests to check in this season.
1) Reception
We followed the instructions and disinfected our hands before following the arrows on the floor to walk up to reception.
The reception desk had plexiglas across the whole desk with three service points. After handing over our passports (without the covers), we were given a form to fill in with our home address. I was given a pen but asked to place it in a bowl on reception when I had finished so it could be sanitised.
We were told that we could go to the restaurant to eat but usually we would need to book our meals in advance. The staff member also explained which restaurants and activities were open and how we could see and book everything on the TUI BLUE app.
2) 40% occupancy
We didn’t know at first, but after talking to staff members we found out that the hotel will currently run at a maximum of 40% occupancy. We had noticed that there only appeared to be guests in two out of eight of the buildings and this would appear to be correct – buildings C and E are currently occupied.
This means that the hotel will have a maximum of 800 guests instead of 2000. This has an impact on the facilities that are open and the number of TUI staff.
Last year there were up to thirty five TUI entertainment staff at the hotel and they stayed in TUI apartments around twenty minutes from the hotel. This year there are currently ten staff, which will increase to twelve next week, and they are staying in building H on site.
There is one main restaurant open instead of two. The Spanish speciality restaurant is only open on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We’ve booked for Wednesday and expect it to be busy.
The take away and a la carte restaurants are also not open. 
There are two bars open – the pool bar during the day and ‘The Bar’ by the evening entertainment in the evening.
3) Room / area capacities
All round the hotel are signs saying how many people are allowed to be in an area at the same time.
There is also a limit of 8 people in the gym. We were supposed to book online but we hadn’t been able to find a time where three places were available. In the end we just went down and as there were only three people there we decided to chance it.
As the hotel is only at 40% occupancy none of these limits seem to be an issue. The maximum number of people at the fitness classes has been four!
I think perhaps the activities for younger children get booked up quickly. Luckily this doesn’t affect us anymore.
4) Wearing of face masks
In Spain face masks must be worn in all indoor public spaces, plus in outdoor public spaces where social distancing cannot be maintained.
This means we have to wear our face masks when walking around the hotel, in the restaurants to be served and at the bar when ordering drinks. While seated the face mask can be removed.
This means when we are sitting by the pool, at evening entertainment or at our table in the restaurants we don’t have to wear them. Having to wear them to order food makes understanding what is said a bit difficult and I’ve occasionally been served something when I was asking what it was but that’s a small price to pay.
They can also be removed while taking part in organised activities outdoors – fitness classes, shuffleboard, quoits etc. They also don’t have to be worn in the pool.
In our own room or on the balcony we don’t have to wear them either.
The TUI and hotel staff tend to have masks on all the time unless they are teaching fitness classes or performing at evening entertainment.
We have been for a couple of walks along the beach and most people are not wearing masks while they are walking so we didn’t either.
I went for a run this morning and didn’t wear my mask on the street but I passed a number of other runners who also weren’t wearing masks. I finished my run in the hotel grounds but didn’t put my mask back on as I was trying to get my breath back. There was no one, except the cleaners, around that early anyway.
5) Hand sanitiser
Hand sanitiser is available everywhere around the hotel – entrances to restaurants, by all the bars, by all entrances to reception, by the entrances to the blocks of rooms. We are encouraged to use it while waiting to be seated in the restaurants and at the bars. They are regularly replenished.
6) Food and beverage offering
There is one main restaurant, Green & Grill, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with the Spanish restaurant also open two evenings a week.
Before entering the restaurant everyone has to sanitise their hands and wait to be seated. All serving staff wear masks at all times.
There is one entrance to and one exit from the serving area which is clearly marked and there are distance markings on the floor.
Green & Grill would normally be a buffet restaurant where everyone could help themselves. This would result in lots of people handling the same serving utensils and queues forming at popular sections. Instead the dishes are all behind plexiglas and the staff serve you what you want. There is still a great selection of food for every taste. They would also usually offer themed evenings but these are not taking place at the moment.
Due to the restrictions of the number of people allowed in the restaurant we are asked not to spend more than an hour for breakfast or more than an hour and a half for dinner. As the food is already prepared we would have to want to eat lots or take long breaks between courses to get anywhere near this length of time. I think the longest breakfast we have managed so far was forty minutes and dinner fifty minutes.
Drinks in the restaurant are ordered via the staff who seat us and are usually served in jugs or carafes.
At both bars there are clear markings in place showing where to stand, where to queue and which way to go once served.
The bars also have plexiglas and the staff all wear masks.
7) Cleaning
The team of cleaners are busy all day. As well as cleaning the rooms they are also cleaning the corridor floors and all the handrails in the buildings.
Yesterday we were sitting by the activity pool and the lifeguard was cleaning the handrails by the steps with disinfectant every thirty minutes.
While we were checking in the reception staff were wiping down the desk between each guest and the bar staff do the same.
Today Bethany and I played Can-Jam which involves trying to throw a frisbee into a plastic bin. Emma, from the entertainment staff, was pleased that we were from the same family as it meant she didn’t need to disinfect the frisbee between each throw. They have been given stringent guidelines that they have to stick to. She wasn’t even allowed to pick up the frisbee for us and hand it back.
8) Sun beds and pool use
The sun beds are laid out in threes with a side table and umbrella per group. These three sun beds are in marked areas with 1.5m between groups. As the occupancy is only at 40% there are always free sun beds available all day.
When we arrived we were given a letter from the hotel making recommendations for pool use. This splits the pool day (9:00 to 19:00) in two – 9:00 to 14:00 and 14:00 to 19:00. It then recommended that odd number rooms used the pool for half the day and the even number rooms used it the other half. The halves alternated between mornings and afternoons. We’ve not noticed the staff checking room numbers but we suppose that if the pool got busy they may start checking.
We have mainly been using the activity pool which is so quiet that we often have the pool and surrounding area to ourselves.
9) Directional signage
Across the whole hotel there is directional signage where necessary showing which way would be best to go to help with social distancing. You will already have seen photographs from reception, the restaurant and bars.
At evening entertainment there are lots of markings in front of the stage. There is an area marked within black and yellow tape which the guests are not supposed to be in. There are also crosses on the floor showing where people can stand to dance during the disco section. TUI guides tend to patrol this area to ensure that social distance is maintained.
10) Reservation system and TUI BLUE app
TUI BLUE have an app which contains all the information about the hotel. In the app we are able to book all our meals and also sign up for activities that have a maximum number. This means the hotel staff have an idea how many people will be arriving for meals at different times during the day and the TUI staff know how many people are turning up to their activities. Henry, who is the fitness class trainer, only gets out enough mats and equipment for the number of people registered as he has to disinfect everything before we start and after we have finished.
The restaurants don’t appear to stick to the reservation times as we have never been asked for our reservation in Green & Grill. When we went to The Taverna last night they did check us off on a list. We assume this is more because we are only allowed one visit during our stay.
We had difficulties trying to book in to the gym during the first couple of days so we decided to just go along and see if there were too many people there. The maximum number of people allowed in the gym is eight – the first time we visited there were three people already there so there was plenty of space for us. The other times we have been there was no one there. I mentioned this to one of the entertainment staff today and she managed to book in, so it was perhaps just a glitch in the system.
As soon as the activities are fully booked it shows on the app that it is no longer bookable. This happens regularly with the kids clubs.
Overall we have been very impressed with all the precautions and guidelines that have been put in place to keep everyone healthy. We have definitely felt safe the whole time that we have been on holiday. We have however chosen not to go out of the resort for day trips or other such excursions. We considered going on a glass bottomed boat trip as there is a pick up point at the beach by the hotel but this would have meant wearing a mask all day except when eating and swimming – the weather is really too hot to wear a mask all day. We have had a really relaxing but active holiday in the resort and on the beach.
Crouch Family On Tour 