Hotel berhampiran Torredembarra, Torredembarra

The beautiful old buildings that make up the hotel are in the most picture perfect village of Altafulla and our expectations were v high for our little Spa Break. First Impressions : our suite was basic, lacking in any personality or chic soft furnishing touches. It felt very cold, clinical and like an unloved basic air b n b not a supposed 4 star historic hotel. The living area was also super dark, no real amenities in the bathroom besides nailed to the wall shower gel / shampoo. No luxe touches at all, no mini bar, coffee maker… nothing that I’ve come to expect from a European 4 star hotel. The lovely Italian male receptionist couldn’t have been more helpful tho he moved us almost immediately and continued to help us throughout our stay despite our issues so 5 stars for him. The housekeeping staff was also lovely and our waitress in the super fancy resto. Here are the list of issues that the hotel need to address: - Sinks are still shallow the water just splashes back at you. V much style over practicality - only 1 bathmat in a room for 2 people - grill in shower came off and moved around - no rug , no paintings/ photos/ no coffee machine or kettle / no mini bar - no room service - no tissues / cotton buds / body lotion / conditioner - safe was not working I had reserved spa slots and massages n advance but when we arrived the Spa is NOT a spa it’s a tiny facility with a v small jacuzzi type pool big enough for 4 people and another tiny plunge pool all in a very confined space which feels claustrophobic with more than 2 or 3 people in. The sauna is tiny as is the steam room which was not even working. Never mind we thought we will brave the cold and go for a lovely outdoor swim … another reason we choose this hotel as according to the website the pool would be open, it was not ! It was being dosed with chlorine and we were not allowed in. The spa had double booked our massages and in fact they could only accommodate one of us the following day and the therapist was one hour late as her car had broken down and when she did arrive made no apology, made my friend wait until she’d had a coffee and then administered a very poor massage with next to no pressure despite being asked several times to go harder. She didn’t ask any health questions about allergies or injuries …. Shockingly poor ! The dinner at the restaurant was v good if a little fancier that what we fancied but the pizza resto wasn’t open. The lighting in the restaurant v bright and lacking ambience as a result. The winery trip was interesting and the village is fabulous with a couple of great bars and restos and an amazing deli. It’s a shame about the hotel as it could be spectacular if the management spent some money on some tweaks that would make a world of difference to the guest experience. A good interior designer could help to warm up and personalise the gorgeous old buildings

We stayed midweek for 4 nights in a city view room. Room was clean and comfortable and we weren’t bothered by any road noise. Air conditioning worked well. Reception were helpful when needed. Breakfast was fine, better than we’ve had in some other city hotels. The pool was lovely and we had it to ourselves most mornings before heading off sightseeing. The caravan cafe didn’t open whilst we were there due to demand. The nearest beach was gorgeous with soft golden sand and the chiringitos opened whilst late at night. The only thing to be aware of is that taxis were expensive, ten euro to do the mile into town. We ended up walking in via the beach in the day and using buses to go out at night, but these stopped running quite early. We taxied back once and walked back after midnight twice, it felt safe. I had seen on here it was a 20 minute walk, that seemed optimistic and was more like 30, at least it was downhill on way back from town which means it’s uphill into town. All in all a good stay if you like walking.

Hotel was in a great location, close to the beach, train station and lots of cafes/shops / restaurants. Everything was walkable. The staff were all very friendly and helpful - eventhough we speak very limited spanish. Pastries and bottled water were provided each morning and there were tea and coffee facilities in the lobby. The hotel air conditioning was really strong, we never felt too hot overnight and the room was very clean and well presented!

No pongo pésimo porque me sabe mal por las personas que trabajan ahí. Pero la dirección de este lugar debería plante**** enfocar el negocio de otra manera. Pagué 125 € por una noche, entiendo que sea temporada alta, acepto que la habitación no sea perfecta, que haya hormigas en la terraza, que haya colillas en las jardineras, acepto que se haya escapado algún pelo en las sábanas, que haya mosquitos en el techo, que las cortinas estén rotas y manchadas.. pero no acepto que no se haya fregado el suelo, que la colcha tenga manchas de pintalabios, y que el baño no esté desinfectado, había manchas en el wc, se veía que se habia pasado rápido, no olía a limpio. Se veía que faltaba personal, de limpieza por supuesto, por la tarde no había nadie, y en la hora del desayuno, las chicas iban a tope y hacía mucha calor en el comedor. La recepcionista nos propuso limpiar ella misma la habitación, a lo que le dijimos que no y nos ofrecieron beber algo en el bar para compensar. No fue una experiencia agradable para nada.