Once our second home – sadly, things are changing!

11 September 2026 at 11:39:18
We love LaSiesta – which is why this review is so difficult
We normally write our reviews after we have finished our stay. This time, however, we decided to share our thoughts already during our holiday, because the current development at LaSiesta is genuinely disappointing for us – especially because... this campsite has meant so much to our family over the years.
We have been coming to LaSiesta regularly since 2021, and for us it has always felt a little bit like coming home. Our girls have practically grown up here. They know the campsite, the familiar faces and the little routines, and we have made so many wonderful memories here as a family. That is why this review is not easy for us to write.
Our pitch – and the lack of communication
One thing that really disappointed us even before this year's stay was our preferred pitch. When we were already making our booking in June for summer 2027, we asked whether, when we returned at the end of August this year, we could once again have pitch 505, which has become our preferred pitch over the years. We were told at that point that it would not be available. Of course, we completely understand that if you book at short notice, you cannot necessarily expect to get a specific pitch. We have absolutely no problem with that. But in our case, we had booked this stay a full year in advance, and we are long-standing returning guests who have been coming back since 2021. That is why we simply found it difficult to understand that our preferred pitch was already unavailable when we had booked so far in advance. We even contacted LaSiesta by email before our arrival to politely express our surprise and ask about the situation. Unfortunately, we never received any response.
I personally work in a 5-star hotel in Germany, so I am very familiar with the importance of regular guests and with how these situations are usually handled. We are not expecting special treatment or claiming that we are entitled to pitch 505. But after coming back regularly since 2021 and booking so far in advance, we had hoped for a little more consideration and, at the very least, a response to our message.
Punta Cana
Unfortunately, this is not the only thing that has disappointed us this year. The service at Punta Cana has, in our opinion, declined significantly. And this is definitely not because there is not enough staff. On Tuesday, for example, there were four or five members of staff on duty and plenty of empty tables. Despite this, we had to get up from our table and go to the counter ourselves just to place our order. Later, we were told that this was because we had not made a table reservation and therefore no table service was provided for us. Honestly… come on.
We completely understand having different service arrangements depending on whether a table has been reserved or not. But having to find this out only after we had already been sitting there and then having to get up and order at the counter ourselves, despite plenty of staff being present and the restaurant not being busy, simply does not feel like the level of service we have been used to at La Siesta.
We also cannot understand the current separation between the tables where guests receive table service and the outdoor tables where guests have to use self-service. To us, it makes absolutely no sense and certainly does not feel like an improvement for guests.
In fact, we now find ourselves preferring to eat at La Taberna del Áncora, which is about a five-minute walk from the main campsite but is also part of LaSiesta. And honestly, the difference is huge. The food is fresh, the service is attentive and the overall experience is so much better.
We are more than happy to pay LaSiesta prices when the quality, service and overall experience match them. That has never been an issue for us.
But at Punta Cana this year, we simply do not feel that the value for money is right anymore. And that is what makes the situation even more frustrating: it is not about wanting everything to be cheap. We are happy to pay for good food and good service. We simply expect the experience to match the price – and at Punta Cana, unfortunately, it currently does not.
The indoor pool
Another disappointment for us is the indoor pool. We went there with four adults and two children, specifically because the weather was windy and cooler and we thought the indoor pool would be a good alternative. But the water was incredibly cold. There was basically no noticeable heating at all. Especially on cooler or windy days, an indoor pool should surely be somewhere guests can go to warm up and enjoy the facilities. Instead, we ended up feeling just as cold in the indoor pool as we did outside.
What happened to Dofy?
And then there is Dofy. For our girls, Dofy has always been a huge part of La Siesta. He is not just a mascot to them – he is part of all those childhood memories they have made here over the years. We have now been here for two weeks, and our girls have only seen Dofy once, on stage in the afternoon. So we honestly have to ask: what happened to Dofy? It may sound like a small thing to adults, but for children who have grown up with this campsite and its mascot, these are exactly the little things that make LaSiesta special. Dofy has always been part of the magic for our girls, and we really miss seeing him as part of the everyday animation and atmosphere.
Havana Bar & cocktails
We are also very disappointed that the Havana Bar is closed this year. For us, it was simply part of the LaSiesta experience. And the cocktails no longer seem to be freshly prepared but are apparently ready-mixed. Perhaps this is more convenient, but for us it takes away another little part of what made LaSiesta special.
Please don't give us a standard response! We have tried to communicate our concerns politely rather than simply complaining publicly. Unfortunately, our email was never answered. And just to be very clear: we absolutely do not want a standard reply to this review. We are not looking for a generic “thank you for your feedback” response.
What we would genuinely like is for someone from the management team to take our feedback seriously and actually read it as it is intended: as honest, well-meant criticism from guests who have been coming here since 2021, who have recommended LaSiesta to friends and who genuinely care about this place. Of course, there will always be new families and new guests coming to LaSiesta. But surely the question is also: don't you want to keep your loyal returning guests? We have been those guests for years. Our girls have practically grown up here. We have recommended LaSiesta to friends, and some of them are now spending their second holiday here in an Aruba bungalow. We did that because we genuinely loved this place and wanted others to experience what we had always experienced here.
That is why we are speaking up now. We are not expecting special treatment, and we are certainly not saying that everything was better in the past. We know that things change. But we do believe that feedback from long-standing guests should matter – especially when that feedback comes from people who actually want to keep coming back.
There are still things we love
There are, of course, still things we really like about LaSiesta. The new playground is fantastic, and the additional area with billiards, table tennis and other games is a great addition (although the opening hours until 8 pm are somewhat questionable when the shows start at 10:15 pm – and the noise is certainly also audible from the nearby bungalows. The soft-dart machine is also currently broken or not connected to the electricity, and at the moment there aren't even three darts available to use. What a shame!).
We are also always happy to see familiar faces from the long-standing staff. Seeing people we have known for years is still a lovely part of coming back here.
We deliberately chose LaSiesta because it is smaller and more personal than larger campsites such as Sangulí. The family atmosphere has always been one of the main reasons we kept coming back. Our girls have grown up with this place, and they have so many memories here.
The difficult part
We have been loyal to LaSiesta for years and have accepted that things change. But this year, for the first time, we feel that the value for money is no longer what it used to be. And for the first time, we are seriously considering looking for an alternative for our next stay in Salou. That is not something we say lightly. Because the truth is, we don't really want to go somewhere else. We would much rather see LaSiesta return to some of the things that made us love it so much in the first place. For us, this has always felt like our second home. And we really hope it can feel that way again.
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