Hotel Bahía Serena: My Honest Review After Staying

The Bahía Serena was one of the hotels in Roquetas de Mar you kept recommending to me: four stars, right on the beach, lovely in the photos and well reviewed. I was back in Almería looking for value for money, and I wanted to see if it was really that good.

We went in the second week of September 2026, on full board, and we paid for the stay ourselves, out of our own pocket and with no invitation. Here is the good and the bad.

The short answer: it was a pleasant surprise. It isn’t a luxury hotel and it isn’t perfect, but the apartments are roomy, the food is better than I expected and the beach is ten seconds away.

My take on the Bahía Serena in two minutes

I give it 8.1 out of 10. It scores 9 in three areas: cleanliness, the size of the apartment and the location, and the kitchen gets an 8 for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is saying a lot for a hotel in its category.

What pulls the average down is what it offers adults: a 6.5, with a gym you pay extra for that isn’t worth it. This is a hotel to enjoy as a family, not one to pick for a premium experience.

The best and the worst of the Bahía Serena

Where it is and what arriving is like

It is right on the seafront at Playa Serena, the tourist resort area of Roquetas. You get both sides of the place: the beach and peace and quiet on one side, and on the other, shops, restaurants, nightlife and bike and electric mini car hire.

Arriving

We walked in at five past three, and Araceli on reception gave us the kind of tip you really appreciate: the dining room closed at half past three, so we were better off eating first and checking in afterwards. That is exactly what looking after your guests means.

Inside, the hotel is easy on the eye. It is U-shaped and open to the sea, with a large inner courtyard full of street lamps, arches and an Andalusian feel, plus the odd Moorish touch and a few more industrial ones.

Parking, and a trick to save on it

If you come by car, parking is the hardest thing about Playa Serena: we found it tougher than in Benidorm. The hotel has its own car park, which costs €20 (about £17) a day.

If you are staying a few days, pay for the car park on the first day and, from half past eleven at night, look for a space outside. That is when the evening shift of local workers heads home and spaces free up. Over six days you save €100 (about £85).

The pools

The pool sits in the middle of the U, with the sea beyond it, surrounded by well-kept gardens, palm trees and sunloungers. It is big and has a real family atmosphere.

It has two slides and several lifeguards spread around it. And something you don’t get at other hotels in the area: there are sunloungers to spare, and room to stretch out without getting up at the crack of dawn.

During the day the entertainment team runs activities. We watched a water polo match where everyone joined in, from small children to their parents, and there was mini golf too. The atmosphere was great fun.

As well as the big one there are other, smaller pools and a quieter area, for when you fancy a rest away from the games.

The room: a 45 m² apartment

Here you don’t get a room, you get an apartment. The one-bedroom apartment is 45 m², with a living and dining area, a small kitchen with a microwave, a bedroom, a bathroom and a terrace of about 12 m².

For larger families there are two-bedroom apartments that sleep up to six. With children, having the living room separate from the bedroom makes for a different kind of holiday: nobody ends up squeezed in around one bed.

Cleanliness and a good night’s sleep

We found it very clean: freshly painted walls, spotless curtains and windows, and beds and linen that are clearly new. The bed is comfortable and comes with two pillows, one memory foam and one standard.

The air conditioning cools well and doesn’t bother you, although it isn’t the quietest we have come across. You sleep well, and in the end that is what counts.

The bathroom

The bathroom is big and does the job, with a bath and a glass screen. I give it 7.5 because of small details that keep it off an 8. Nothing that will spoil your trip.

What could be better

Some of the furniture is ready for an update, and the terrace has no drying rack, which you really miss at a beach hotel, with wet swimsuits and towels everywhere.

The food: its strong point

We were on full board and the food was one of the things I liked most about the hotel. For a four-star in this price range there is variety, it is well cooked and dishes turn up that you don’t always find.

The buffet had king prawns, beef, roast pork, turkey in sauce, fish such as tuna, hake or cod, cured meats, Manchego and salads. And a crepe stand that makes them to order, with whatever topping you want.

Another nice touch: the ice cream cones are in a freezer in the dining room and you help yourself whenever you like. It sounds like nothing, but plenty of four-star hotels don’t have them.

The dining room and dinner

The dining room is spacious and never felt crowded, with the same Andalusian decor as the rest of the building. The presentation could be better: there are no tablecloths or placemats.

Dinner was along the same lines, with fish, some very good breaded escalopes, meat and pizzas. The pizzas had tasty toppings, but the base was frozen; if they made it themselves, they would be far better. You can also eat outdoors, on a terrace by the pool.

Drinks are extra

On full board, drinks are paid for separately, as at almost every hotel. The dining room price list has a half-litre bottle of water at €2.10 (about £1.80) and a 33 cl bottle of beer at €3.20 (about £2.70).

Breakfast

Breakfast is up to the same standard. It runs from the healthy end, with avocado, tuna or serrano ham, to pastries, churros and pancakes made to order, with yoghurts and even kefir.

If the weather is good, you can take your breakfast out to the terrace by the pool, which is what we did on the morning we checked out, before heading on to the Alua Golf Trinidad.

The à la carte restaurant

There is also an à la carte restaurant, new and very nice inside, which we didn’t get round to trying. It has a 4.7 on Google, and judging by the cooking in the buffet, that doesn’t surprise me.

We had two coffees there for €3 (about £2.50) between us, with the beach on the other side of the glass. The food menu, mind you, is quite a bit pricier than the coffee.

The staff

We didn’t deal with them much, but everyone who looked after us was friendly and efficient. The young man at the café was really nice, and you have already read about Araceli on reception.

In the dining room they are quick. We got up to fetch dessert and, by the time we came back, they had already cleared the table. They are small details, but they leave a very good impression.

The beach, ten seconds away

What I liked most about the Bahía Serena is how close the beach is: you walk out of the hotel, cross the promenade and you are on the sand. Ten seconds, five if you are in a hurry.

With children, towels, buckets and flip-flops in tow, that changes everything: you swim in the sea, go back to the pool and do it all again without lugging anything around.

What Playa Serena is like

The sand is coarse, with small pebbles that don’t bother you as you walk, and it turns fine at the water’s edge. There were barely any waves while we were there, and there are a couple of beach bars nearby that are worth a visit.

If you have young children, bear in mind that about five metres from the shore the water is already a metre and a half deep. It isn’t dangerous, but you need to watch them more closely than on a beach where you wade a long way before it gets deep.

For kids: games room and kids’ club

The games room is huge and very well looked after. It is run by an outside company, and it shows: in many hotels half the machines are broken or worn out, but not here.

The kids’ club runs two sessions, morning and afternoon. According to its rules, it is for children aged 4 to 12 who can manage on their own, and it isn’t a childminding service: you have to collect them a few minutes before it finishes.

In the evenings, in mid-September, there isn’t much entertainment: music and the odd kids’ club party, such as a pirate one. I imagine there is more in July and August, and upstairs there is a chill-out terrace that opens mainly in summer.

During the day, on the other hand, children have the two slides, water polo in the pool and mini golf. For a child, there is plenty to fill the day without leaving the hotel.

For adults, and the gym

For adults it falls short, which is why I give it 6.5. It is a hotel for family time, playing with the children and popping down to the beach, not for anyone after a premium experience.

The gym costs extra, €6 (about £5) a session, opens from 10 am to 10 pm and has no air conditioning, just big fans. It has machines to work your whole body, but if you train seriously, it isn’t the place for you.

There is also a spa and beauty area, which we didn’t try.

Bahía Serena scores, category by category

Category	Score	Why
Overall	8.1	The average of the twelve categories
Cleanliness	9	Freshly painted walls, clean curtains and windows.
Bed and pillows	8	Comfortable, with one memory foam pillow and one standard.
Bathroom	7.5	Big and decent, with a few details to polish.
Room size	9	45 m² apartment with a living room, kitchen and terrace.
Breakfast	8	From healthy options to churros and pancakes.
Lunch	8	Varied and well made for a four-star hotel.
Dinner	8	Just as good; the pizza has a frozen base.
Pools	7.5	Central pool with two slides and sunloungers to spare.
Kids’ facilities	8	Slides, games room, kids’ club and mini golf.
Adult facilities	6.5	Not much; the gym costs extra and is basic.
Location and beach	9	The beach, just across the promenade.
Staff	8.5	Kind and quick, with touches you notice.

The average of the twelve categories is 8.08, which I round to 8.1. Only the bathroom, the pools and the adult facilities come in below 8.

Who the Bahía Serena is for, and who it isn’t for

It’s your hotel if:

• You are travelling as a family and want space: a living room, a bedroom and a terrace.
• You care about eating well without paying five-star prices.
• You want the beach on your doorstep and the town close at hand.

It isn’t your hotel if:

• You are after a premium experience for adults.
• You plan to train seriously: the gym costs extra and is basic.
• You don’t want to battle for parking, or pay €20 (about £17) a day for it.

If the Bahía Serena isn’t for you

• Alegría Colonial Mar, on the town side of Roquetas, with a water park for every age and 30 m² rooms.
• Family hotels in Andalusia, the ones we have stayed in, from Málaga to Mojácar.
• Family hotels in Spain, every one we have stayed in, scored out of 10.

Do I recommend the Hotel Bahía Serena? Yes, and here’s who for

Yes, I recommend it, and I’m glad I chose it.

I arrived without high expectations and it beat them: cleanliness, staff, organisation, food and, above all, the location. Having the beach ten seconds away changes everything.

It isn’t perfect: some of the furniture needs updating, the gym doesn’t convince me and it falls short for adults. But if you want a comfortable, good-value family hotel by the sea in Roquetas, it is a smart choice.