 |
Iberostar Bouganville Playa (Tenerife, Spain)
by Homelovin
The Bougainvillea is quite a large hotel and is quite popular. There is a long distance between the reception and the dining room, then down further to the pool area. Going back and forth to your room becomes a chore, so plan to take everything you need in one go to avoid wasted trips. The lobby is large and marbled, here you leave a 10 ... Euro deposit for your pool towel. The dining room for breakfast and evening buffet is on the first floor, it's big and noisy, but there is a lot of choice and plenty of staff serving and clearing. There is nightly entertainment shows, but that just isn't our thing so we didn't attend. The pools are clean and large with plenty of sunbathing and shade space. Some spots overlook the sea too which is really nice, a bit windy there but nice and cool too. Our room was basic, the beds not too comfortable and as the week wore on I really started to miss my bed back home. The balcony had a sea view, but rooms round the back looked over the road and car park.
The best bit about this hotel is the location. It is right at the far end of Las Americas, really near Costa Adeje really, so it's quieter but you can easily get to the noisy bars and clubs if that's what you want. Walk in the other direction for a short while and there a more options for dining and drinking, again with a quieter atmosphere, and with so much choice the prices are very competitive.
A walk down some steep steps to the beach, here you can hire sun beds and parasols.
I would recommend this hotel, but it's not outstanding, just good. Approx. £75 per night on Hotels.com when we went in April.
Read the complete review |
 |
Hotel Novotel Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona, Spain)
by Homelovin
We liked the Novotel Sant Joan Despi, but not the location. I booked very last minute for me, hubby and teenage daughter - we decided on Barcelona as it has the rare combo of culture with a beach. This hotel looked good as it has a pool which is tricky to find in a city without paying the earth. It was very clean and a bit lively with ... quite a few families coming and going, and modern. The reception staff were very helpful with maps and suggestions of what to do. Our room was quite large, and the sofa bed great for my daughter, bathroom large but soulless. The view was of a motorway, but no noise from it at all as the glazing was excellent. The breakfast was included, but was the usual cereal, bread, boiled eggs of Spanish hotels. We took breakfast to the room for our daughter, have you tried to get a teenager out of bed when on holiday? But the staff tried to stop us - they didn't want food leaving the breakfast room.
The down side was that it took a tram and metro ride to get to Las Ramblas. This was fun on day one, but by day five we were bored with it. There was a 7 day ticket which made the travel inexpensive, but we ended up leaving late morning and not returning until midnight just to reduce the commute. One evening we did eat in the hotel restaurant, it wasn't very cheap, there was no atmosphere, and we were done in about 40 minutes. There isn't much nearby in the way of bars, so we went to bed early that night.
The hotel is fine - just look properly on google maps before you book to make sure it is in a suitable location for what you want.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Gran Hotel Conde Duque (Spain)
by Homelovin
A perfect hotel for tourists like me. I went with my husband for a long weekend after securing 30 pound tickets with Easy Jet from Luton. The metro stop is just around the corner, so we travelled from the airport to the hotel easily and for 2 euros each. The Grand Duque is in a quieter part of Madrid, which we wanted because I'm a light ... sleeper. It has a very peaceful, calm ambience. We walked easily into the centre every day, but there was always the option to take the metro. The rooms were a little on the small side but so comfortable we really didn't mind. We had a room facing the front, so we had a Juliette balcony which we opened to let the atmosphere in. The front is a large square with a children's play area, locals chat there and walk their dogs. I felt very safe in this area. The beds were very comfy, there was 2 armchairs and a small table, lots of wardrobe space, and a small TV on the wall. There was only the news channel in English, but we were out all day so it didn't bother us. The bathroom felt very luxe. We didn't have breakfast included, and it seemed a little expensive, so we made tea in our room and went out for our meals. There isn't any tea making facilities, we took our own kettle and kept a small bottle of milk in the mini bar - there is a small supermarket 2 minutes around the corner to get very cheap bits and pieces. There is a large lounge area which was very comfy, we did use this to read quietly for a bit. We really enjoyed our stay, and would go back again. If you're looking for loud, exciting and smack bang in the middle of things, this isn't for you - but if you want a calm, comfy retreat to escape to just a walk from the shops, bars and restaurants, then this is your hotel. We booked with Hotelopia.com at 70 pounds per night room only.
Read the complete review |
