I booked this Hotel via a travel company that went into administration shortly thereafter, which meant that upon arrival I discovered no room had been reserved in my name. What started out as a big shock and could have been an absolute disaster was swiftly turned round by the very helpful reception staff who frantically started looking for a spare room they could accommodate me in. While one of them, Eva, looked through the room bookings, Maurizio fetched some cold Cava to calm my nerves. They promised me I wouldn't sleep on the street even if they'd have to phone around to the other hotels. In the end they were able to accommodate me and all was well.
The hotel is of great standard, the rooms are clean and the breakfast buffet is out of this world. There is a variety of everything one could wish for from Continental, to English, to Spanish and let's not forget the 'cava station'. Breakfast con bubbles? Err, yes please!
The hotel offers dinner in the same location but I did not sample this. Instead I had some food in the bar on the top floor. I had the tomato, mozzarella and walnut salad and a mojito and I'm afraid to say that neither was very impressive. The service was also quite slow and the bar did not have any atmosphere as there was hardly anyone in there. I did not get a chance to visit the restaurant on the same floor but they boast an a la carte menu and pre-booking is required.
A couple of things I find disappointing is that the rooms don't have balconies, but that's not the hotel's fault, I say if you want a balcony, book a hotel that has one. The other thing is that there is no outside pool. I feel they missed a trick there. The pool is under a roofed area and it gets really very hot in there. For me it was all the same as I prefer spending time on the beach, where you can purchase a sun lounger (€3) and a parasol (€2) for the day if you wish to do so.
All in all I had a lovely time at the Arrecife Gran Hotel. read more
