stayed in june as party of 3 adults,think theres plenty of info on hotel from previous reviews so to be brief,yes its needs a refurb but that made no difference to our holiday,great value 3* all inc but what sets it apart as said many times is the staff led by the management team- great service and a lesson to other hotels
thought it may help to add some other info that may help people(not read the recent reviews in june so apologies if someone has done this already)
courtesy bus good so well worth making use of it-doesn't run on a sunday,
you can walk to centre/beach 15/20 mins or so strolling we found however as a fews hours wandering round in the heat can mean you don't want to walk back heres the transport options we used
minitrain- L4 is the one you want and stops near hotel, 3 euros per trip per person (don't know about child prices) ,only drawback it can take quite a long time due to the route and not exactly comfortable sat on the wooden seats
if 3 or more adults like us then quicker taxi option is more appealing as its about 9/10 euros which is expensive but same cost as minitrain for 3 of us- one word of warning with taxis,getting them from centre of salou was fine because they went round the back of salou so cost was pretty consistent however if you get one from the beach area they tend to take the direct route (walking route) back to the hotel which crosses the train tracks and if you have to wait for a train at the crossing the meter is still going round and cost going up,we had this once and the cost was 11euros for a brief wait however we had previously stood at the crossing for a very long time on one day waiting for a train so imagine sometimes it could make a major difference to the fare,
the plana bus to nearby resorts is very good and reasonable - they do a group travel card for just over 15 euros which allows you 10 trips I think it is to all the nearby resorts,tarragona old town and other roman ruins well worth a trip if you like that sort of thing but a lot of walking is required as its a big place-we did see however on our way back to bus stn a minitrain which would have been the smart option in hindsight,cambrils is very nice (and expensive) and again well worth a visit
markets- one on a Monday very near hotel- few minutes walk from back exit in hotel-located just past computors in hotel reception area,quite a big market
cambrils market is very big and the bus from salou drops you right next to it
reus market- not impressed with it at all however if you want normal 'high street' type shopping then reus is the place for you- note there are 2 plana buses from salou to reus think they were numbers 14 and 47 but check at the plana shops ,one takes a lot longer than the other as it goes all over the hilly part of salou
Barcelona as we all know is well worth the trip,holiday operators trips are the dearest,train is ok if you want to do it all by yourself however imo plana bus trips are the best for first timers as they have a guide with you most of the time , just really do watch the wallets and handbags on ramblas,saw a purse snatch that was so quick that the thief was gone before my brain registered what he had just done and a reasonably well dressed girl with brand name shopping bags in her hand attempted to scam us out of a mobile phone,we did hear 3rd hand that 2 different people from the hotel got their purses stolen in salou centre btw so I guess you have to be aware at all times is the moral,please don't let that put you off what is a really good holiday resort when all considered and you can do far worse than spend it at the villamarina imo,talked to somebody staying at a 4* hotel that was in the tripadvisor top 3 salou hotels who would have given their right arm for the service and food we had at the villamarina, hope some of this helps you

This is a great all round family hotel with the added bonus of an adult only roof top bar with jacuzzi's for a retreat. With a mixed family group from grandparents to teenagers we found that there was something for everyone with a varity of different dishes every meal, a hot snack bar poolside, plenty for smaller children to do and good entertainment in the evening. Unfortunately we suffered a bereavement during our holiday but Lindsey, Monika and the rest of the team could not have been any more helpful and accomodating.

We stayed here end of May through to June and the hotel staff are by far the best we have ever met, my baby had breathing problems whilst here and the hotel manager Lyndsey walked us to the medical centre(5mins away), signed us in and offered to wait with us, he was then transferred to tarragona hospital to which the doctors and nurses were brilliant, when my son was discharged and arrived back to the hotel every member of staffs concern was so touching, monica(guest relations) fabulous woman nothing is a problem, always around making sure guests are happy, food is lovely plenty of choice every night and staff brilliant, lifeguards are a credit to this hotel, not only do you feel your children are totally safe whilst they are on but they also go above and beyond interacting with the kids teaching them swimming techniques how to dive and throwing balls, whilst there I witnessed them save 2 small children whose parents were not watching, reception staff are brilliant nothing is to much trouble, visited portaventura whilst there and Aquapollis these are well worth a visit fab parks, the fountain display is out of this world a must see and the beaches are brilliant parks and climbing frames all the way along and shops galore in salou. Now for the 2 things I would like to see changed at the hotel, the entertainment staff are brilliant and work very hard I must say and feel I need to give a particular shout out to Paige, Zoe and becky, lovely lovely girls who made my boys holiday, but the entertainment on offer needs a little bit more thought to it, there were quizzes everyday inside and also of a night a quiz again some more adventures outdoor entertainment would be better, then bingo in the afternoon and of nighttime found this to much also, then the outside entertainment acts at night were singers most nights and the same singers would then form groups to call themselves something different which I found very weird and some were definitely better than others, the Polynesian show and African footprint were brilliant more of this would be great and entertainment through the day round the pool would be great fun also as there is only water polo at present which was fab and my kids loved it, the reps from the hotel put on shows such as Greace in chaplains nightclub they should defiantly do this in the hotel, but don't want to sound like I didn't enjoy my holiday I did from start to finish, Lindsay, Monica and every staff member are brilliant this hotel Defo offers the personal touch and if the acts are tweaked we would love to come back and I would recommend to anyone, i know I'm going on but one more thing is the hours of the free bus to the shops in new town salou could be extended its from 10am until 11.30 and then 4pm until 5.30 but the driver is a lovely fella.....people moaning about the rooms should really get out and enjoy more and I personally found the beds much more comfortable than other hotel beds I have slept in, finally thanks villamarina we had a blast great hotel that offers personal touch xxx