I went to the Alegría Colonial Mar for its water park, one of the most fun in Almería and one of the few in Andalusia built for every age, from the baby having a first splash to the teenager who wants speed.

We stayed in mid-September 2026 on full board, and we paid for the stay ourselves, out of our own pocket and with no invitation. Here is what we found, the good and what they need to improve.

The short answer: yes, I recommend it, especially if you are travelling with several children a few years apart. It has the most spacious rooms I have seen in Roquetas and a water park where every age has its own area. The food is the only thing that lags behind, although it isn’t bad.

My take on the Alegría Colonial Mar in two minutes

8.3/10

Overall score

Families with children of different ages

Ideal for

The water park

Best bit

In a hurry? See it all at a glance ↓

Sounds like your kind of hotel? Check prices and other guests’ photos before you book. Check prices

I give it 8.3 out of 10. It shines brightest in what matters most with children: cleanliness, the room and the kids’ facilities, all between 9 and 9.5.

The kitchen sets the ceiling. Breakfast, lunch and dinner stay at 7.5: there is variety and you don’t eat badly, but it isn’t at the level of everything else.

Javier Sobrino on the terrace of his room at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with the water park and the sea behind — From our terrace we could see the whole water park, with the sea behind it.

And the beach is right in front: you walk out of the hotel, cross the promenade and you are on the sand, so you can go back and forth between the pool and the sea as often as you like during the day.

The best and the worst of the Alegría Colonial Mar

The best

A water park with an area for every age: a babies’ splash pool, medium slides and four big ones.
Rooms of around 30 m², much roomier than in the older hotels in Roquetas.
Big, comfortable beds, with four pillows per bed.
The beach, just across the promenade.
9.5 for cleanliness: everything looks well kept and freshly painted.

The worst

The food, decent but inconsistent: meat that comes out dry and overbaked desserts.
The TV isn’t a smart TV.
The quiet pool is in the shade in the afternoon.
The volleyball court has more dirt than sand.

Where it is and what arriving is like

The Colonial Mar isn’t in the Roquetas tourist resort area but on the town side, on the outskirts. It is a different area from hotels like the Bahía Serena, the Best Sabinal or the Alua Golf Trinidad.

Better or worse? It depends on what you are after. If you want a promenade, beach bars and hotels side by side, this area will suit you less. If you want a quieter family hotel, with a water park and the beach in front, I prefer it.

Front and main entrance of the Alegría Colonial Mar hotel in Roquetas de Mar — The hotel’s main entrance, with Víctor, co-founder of Discovering Stays.

Check-in, and what time to arrive

We arrived at around one in the afternoon and the room was ready. It was quick, with no waiting, although to be fair the hotel isn’t as full in September as in August.

My tip: try to arrive between 12 and 1. At that time there are far fewer people at reception than from three o’clock onwards, and even if the room isn’t ready, you get check-in done and can start enjoying the hotel.

The lobby of the Alegría Colonial Mar, an inner courtyard with galleries and lots of natural light — The lobby is a huge inner courtyard, with glass walls and natural light everywhere.

The pools and the water park

It is the reason people choose this hotel, and it delivers. The good thing isn’t just the size but how it is laid out: every child has an area made to measure, and with siblings of different ages that changes everything.

The main pool at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with the big slides in the background — The main pool, which is also where the big slides end.

The big pool does everything at once: you swim in it, play with the children, there is aqua aerobics and the big slides drop into it. That is why it isn’t the pool for swimming lengths in peace.

The babies’ area

For the little ones there is a splash pool designed for babies: the water is 15 to 20 centimetres deep, and it has water jets, colourful fish and mini slides to their scale.

Javier Sobrino in the babies' splash pool at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with giant fish and water jets — The babies’ splash pool, with the giant fish and the water jets.

The medium slides

Next comes an area for children who are no longer babies but aren’t teenagers either, with its own slide castle. The sign at the entrance asks for a minimum height of one metre and gives the opening hours: 11 am to 7 pm. It is the area in the cover photo.

The big slides

For the older ones there are the four big slides: two straight ones that pick up a lot of speed, a covered one with curves and an open-air one, also with curves. I went down all of them and had a great time, so a child is going to enjoy it even more.

Here the sign asks for a height of 1.20 metres, and the opening hours are the same as for the medium slides.

Entrance to the big slides at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with the 120 cm minimum height sign — The entrance to the big slides, with its 1.20 m sign, and the four slides seen from outside.

The big slides in the Alegría Colonial Mar water park, with the hotel building behind — The entrance to the big slides, with its 1.20 m sign, and the four slides seen from outside.

With three areas like these, the children keep themselves busy for hours and you don’t have to find them a new plan every half hour.

The quiet pool

If you need a break from slides and shrieking, there is a quieter pool, the one the hotel calls the silent pool, with relaxing music in the background. The catch: it is in the shade in the afternoon, so it only gets the sun in the morning.

A water park for every age

If your children are a few years apart, each of them has their own water area here. Check prices and availability for your dates.

Check prices and availability

The room: one of the biggest in Roquetas

The room is among the best I have stayed in anywhere in Almería. It is around 30 square metres, when the norm in the older hotels in Roquetas is about 20: that is 50% more space, and with two children you really notice it.

Room at the Alegría Colonial Mar with two big beds, a desk and a TV — The room, with its two big beds and the open wardrobe to one side.

Javier Sobrino next to the bed in his room at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with the pillows and the wardrobe — The room, with its two big beds and the open wardrobe to one side.

The ceilings are high and the beds are big, queen size, with plenty of room between the bed and the wall to leave your suitcase without tripping over it. In other hotels in the area you can’t even open the fridge without bumping into something.

The bed and a good night’s sleep

The bed is one of the best things about the hotel: comfortable, wide and with four pillows each, a detail you appreciate. The air conditioning is built into the ceiling, cools well and makes no noise, which you can’t say of many hotels.

The terrace and the views

The room has a terrace, and this is one of the few hotels where I recommend paying a bit more for a sea or pool view. The views are lovely and they brighten up your holiday every time you step outside.

View from the room terrace at the Alegría Colonial Mar over the pools, the water park and the sea — What we could see from the terrace: the pools, the water park and the Mediterranean.

The bathroom and the details

The bathroom is spacious, nice and clearly renovated. The only small downside is that at peak times the water pressure drops a little.

There are plenty of sockets, some with USB-C, a desk, a coffee machine, a fridge and a big wardrobe. What lets it down is the TV, which isn’t a smart TV, something I see in a lot of hotels and that you miss with children.

Renovated bathroom in a room at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with a wide washbasin and a glass-screened shower — The bathroom, spacious and renovated.

The food: the “weak” spot

We were on full board, and the food is the least outstanding part of the hotel. You don’t eat badly, but next to the rooms and the pools, which are excellent, it is a step below. We give it 7.5/10.

Javier Sobrino eating at the Alegría Colonial Mar buffet, with grilled meat, potatoes and vegetables — One of our meals at the buffet.

Lunch and dinner at the buffet

The buffet is set out in islands, and thanks to that there are hardly any queues, although the dining room fills up at peak times. There is meat, fish, stews, salads and desserts, with plenty to choose from at lunch and dinner.

One of the buffet islands at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with salads and cold starters — One of the buffet islands. Spreading it out like this avoids long queues.

The problem is consistency. The same meat could be juicy on one plate and dry on the next, and the desserts were the same: some tasty, others overbaked.

Breakfast

Breakfast is along the same lines: lots of variety, although I missed having more kinds of cured meats. You eat well without it being anything special, which is why I give it the same 7.5 as lunch and dinner.

The bar, the snack bar and the ice creams

As well as the buffet there is a snack bar and a bar for coffee, soft drinks and something to nibble on. All-inclusive covers the ice cream cones, which is an extra treat for the children.

We had a couple of coffees in the shade at the snack bar and it was really pleasant. To give you an idea of prices, two coffees cost us €3.50 (about £3).

Javier Sobrino at the pool bar counter at the Alegría Colonial Mar — The bar counter and the sign for the all-inclusive ice creams.

Sign for the ice creams included in the all-inclusive, on the bar counter at the Alegría Colonial Mar — The bar counter and the sign for the all-inclusive ice creams.

The staff

The best of the team are the lifeguards: attentive, friendly and keeping a good atmosphere around the pools. Some of the staff we chatted to were just as kind and fun.

In the dining room they clear plates non-stop. When the pizzas came out stuck together and there was no way to cut them, a waiter appeared straight away with the cutter. They are small details, but they say a lot about a team.

The beach, across the promenade

The beach is three or four metres from the hotel: you walk out of the door, cross the promenade and your feet are in the Roquetas sand.

As on almost all of this coast, the shore starts with coarse sand and small pebbles that don’t hurt, and by the water it turns fine. The sea is a bit choppier than in Benidorm, but it didn’t seem dangerous to us.

Javier Sobrino on the beach at Roquetas de Mar, right in front of the Alegría Colonial Mar — The Roquetas beach, just across the promenade from the hotel.

There are parasols and sunloungers for hire, although with the pool right there you don’t need them as much. The easy thing is to alternate: a swim in the sea, back to the pool, lunch and back to the sand.

For kids: kids’ club, arcade and sports

With children, for me it is one of the best hotels in Almería, and I would choose it above all for siblings a few years apart: the little ones have the splash pool, the middle ones their slides and the older ones the big slides, the arcade and the football.

The kids’ club

The kids’ club is small: a little house where they keep toys and equipment, with a shaded garden for activities. It is designed for very young children, and although they run games all day, don’t expect the kids’ club of a big resort.

Arcade, football and volleyball

There is a pretty cool arcade room, with pool tables, motorbike games and loads of different machines. Children always love this kind of room.

For football fans there is an artificial turf pitch, and several days a week they set up matches and tournaments. The volleyball court, on the other hand, needs some work: it has more dirt than sand and you are better off playing in trainers.

Javier Sobrino in the arcade room at the Alegría Colonial Mar, with pool tables, motorbike games and arcade machines — The arcade room.

For adults, and the gym

If you go without children, the hotel does the job, but it isn’t its home ground. It has the quiet pool, a gym, a café, a terrace, a snack bar and the beach in front, but the focus here is families. If you are a couple travelling without children, there are better options.

The gym isn’t big, but it is very well kept: it has cardio machines, a cable machine and dumbbells, good air conditioning and peace and quiet. I trained there without any problems.

Alegría Colonial Mar scores, category by category

Category	Score	Why
Overall	8.3	The average of the twelve categories
Cleanliness	9.5	Spotless and freshly painted.
Bed and pillows	9	Big, comfortable bed with four pillows.
Bathroom	8.5	Spacious and renovated; loses pressure at peak times.
Room size	9	Around 30 m², 50% more than in the older hotels in the area.
Breakfast	7.5	Varied, but short on cured meats.
Lunch	7.5	Lots of variety, not much consistency.
Dinner	7.5	In line with lunch.
Pools	8.5	An area for every age and a quiet pool.
Kids’ facilities	9	Splash pool, slides, kids’ club, arcade and football.
Adult facilities	7.5	Gym and a quiet pool, but the focus is families.
Beach	8	Right in front, across the promenade.
Staff	8.5	Attentive, especially the lifeguards and in the dining room.

The average of the twelve categories is 8.33, which gives the overall 8.3. The four 7.5s are breakfast, lunch, dinner and the adult facilities.

Who the Alegría Colonial Mar is for, and who it isn’t for

It’s your hotel if:

You are travelling with several children of different ages and want each of them to have their own water area.
You want a spacious room and the beach right in front.
You prefer a quieter area than the tourist resort zone.

It isn’t your hotel if:

You are a couple travelling without children: there are better hotels for that.
You choose hotels for the food.
You want to stay right in the resort area, with the promenade and beach bars on your doorstep: have a look at the other family hotels we’ve stayed in across Andalusia.

If the Alegría Colonial Mar isn’t for you

Family hotels in Andalusia, the ones we have stayed in, from Málaga to Mojácar.
Best Oasis Tropical, another family hotel with a water park in Almería, in Mojácar.
Family hotels in Spain, every one we have stayed in, scored out of 10.

Do I recommend the Alegría Colonial Mar? Yes, and here’s who for

Yes, I recommend it, and I left feeling the money was well spent.

The rooms are big, clean and comfortable, the water park works as well for a baby as for a teenager, the beach is right in front and the staff are attentive. All I would ask is for the kitchen to go up half a point, because the rest of the hotel is already there.

If you are travelling with several children of different ages, for me it is one of the best hotels in Almería. If you are a couple or you choose hotels for the food, you are better off looking elsewhere.

The hotel at a glance

Alegría Colonial Mar

Roquetas de Mar, Almería · September 2026

8.3 out of 10

invitations: we paid for the stay ourselves, out of our own pocket

~30 m²

of room, one of the most spacious in Roquetas

1 min

to the beach: cross the promenade and you are on the sand

pillows per bed, and big beds with room to walk round them

A water park for every height

15-20 cm

Babies’ splash pool

How deep the water is. With jets, colourful fish and mini slides.

From 1 m

Medium slides

A slide castle for children who aren’t babies any more.

From 1.20 m

Four big slides

Two very fast straight ones and two with curves, one of them covered.

Slides open 11 am to 7 pm As shown on the sign at each entrance.

My scores, category by category

Cleanliness9.5

Bed and pillows9

Room size9

Kids’ facilities9

Bathroom8.5

Pools8.5

Staff8.5

Beach8

Breakfast7.5

Lunch7.5

Dinner7.5

Adult facilities7.5

9 or more Stays at 7.5: the food and the adult facilities

It’s your hotel if…

You travel with children of different ages.

You want a spacious room and the beach in front.

You prefer a quiet area, away from the resort zone.

It isn’t if…

You are a couple without children.

You choose hotels for the food.

You want the tourist area on your doorstep.

Two tips before you book

Pay for the view. I hardly ever recommend it, but here I do: from the terrace you can see the water park and the sea.

Arrive between 12 and 1. You skip the three o’clock queue and start enjoying the hotel sooner.

If you book through our link, you help us keep paying for our stays so we can tell you the good and the bad. Check prices

Alegría Colonial Mar Aqua Fun: My Honest Review After Staying