| | Turisme, Calella, 08370, Spain
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Overall Community Rating: |   8.9 (based on 3 user reviews) |
 Santa Monica: Hotel Santa Monica by Lizzie Slater |
| Posted 01 November 2005 about a visit in September 2005 | Overall rating: 7.8 |
My parents have been making noises about buying a property abroad, so when they invited us to join them on a fact-finding mission we leapt at the chance. They booked a week’s half-board with Thompson for a bargain £99 each, including transfers.
Things started off well: the inflight meal was edible, but then there was a two hour delay on the transfer coach, so when we finally stumbled into the hotel at 4am, first impressions –of a dingy reception pock-marked with woodchip -were not favourable.
General stuff
Despite initial misgivings, the hotel staff were mostly very attentive and reception offered various services, including bus and train timetables, and a selection of English magazines and papers.
The hotel is located in Calella’s tourist district, so basically all the familiar stuff is right on your doorstep – the bars ply a mix of drinks promotions, footie matches and karaoke, which may or may not be to your taste! I don’t mind this in small doses, and I’d recommend the Beach Boys club for the brilliant staff, atmos and singers! The supermarkets are a good for cheap drink and cigarettes, often better than duty free. Just make sure you shop around for the best deals: if in doubt look for busy stores with plenty of people queuing. Some of the cafes aren’t bad either, with meal deals for 4-5euros, perfect if you get peckish hunting for Granny’s Tia Maria.
Accommodation
At a guess I’d say the hotel dates from the first wave of ‘60s package holidays and while some parts – notably the dining room and bathrooms – had been upgraded, the rooms hadn’t quite caught up. Like reception, they were decked out in pimply woodchip with the odd damp patch adding to the effect. It was quite funny once we recovered from the shock, though I’d have been considerably less amused if we’d paid brochure price. Meanwhile the rooms were very clean, with towels etc replenished daily; there were also ample spare blankets plus efficient heating/air con. I wasn’t hugely keen on the door linking us with next door, as it restricted our privacy somewhat. While it might be useful for families we felt like furtive teenagers at certain times, if you get my drift!
Food and drink
I wasn’t expecting much of the buffet, but the choice and quality far exceed the hotel’s two star-rating. Each night there was a good selection of salads, stews, pasta rice and veg, along with fresh fish, a carvery, breadcrumbed stuff for the young ‘uns and a variety of fresh fruit and puddings if you weren’t already full up! Really you’d have to be an incredibly finicky eater not to enjoy it, and shame on anyone who couldn’t spare a few coins for the tip box. I’ve read a few comments about having to queue for meals, which is true, but we never waited very long. Breakfast was more standard, ie cereal fruit and fry-ups. Oh and don’t bother with the dining room coffee, it’s nasty powdery stuff, much better to wait and get a decent cup from the bar upstairs.
Sadly the bar wasn’t a patch on the dining room, with the décor resembling a working men’s club circa 1950. No wonder the staff looked fed up. The just-like-home comforts extended to the exorbitant drinks prices: to make matters worse they use strict optic measures, as opposed to the loveable Mediterranean practice of tipping the bottle and counting to ten. Suffice to say we spent very little time there – I tried to read during an especially vicious downpour, but was put off by the incessant bibbing of the fruit machines and a woman nearby, who was drinking heavily and conducting an animated conversation with the curtains.
Rep service
Having had four hours’ sleep, the ‘hello campers’ meeting on the first morning passed by in a bit of a haze but I ascertained that Thompson ran trips to Barcelona – at 6 times the price of a train ticket – plus kids clubs and a good deal on car hire. Unfortunately on enquiring about this, we were curtly informed that there were no cars left and no they couldn’t suggest anywhere else. So why mention it then? Luckily the receptionist nodded towards a pile of leaflets, and was very helpful in phoning around for us. Nor was I impressed when I asked the rep about Figueres– she completely ignored this, suggesting Barcelona instead. I replied that I’d visited several times & wanted to try somewhere else, only to be told very patronisingly that she’d been 50 times and had not seen everything. Er, good for you love. I think the moral of this is, invest in a good guide book!
Entertainment
This wasn’t bad once you got past the bingo; even the bar seemed less bleak after a couple of cocktails. One night there was a magician and his leggy assistant, which was fun, eliciting excited squeals from the children and toothy grins from the blokes. There was also a flamenco show, and the magician’s girlie did a turn or two, involving some extraordinary leg manoeuvres. (Cue toothy grins…) So ten out of ten for effort – there was something on every night, although it was difficult to get a seat as the bingo crowd resolutely hogged theirs.
Pool & beach
The weather was warm but wet during our stay so the pool wasn’t crowded: it looked nice enough, though unheated. On clear days the sunbeds filled up rapidly, so you’d need to get down early to bag a spot in high season. However, the beds were jammed together like sardines - hopefully I can say this without causing offence, but there were a lot of overweight people and I certainly wouldn’t fancy being sandwiched so tightly during busy spells. Far better to head for Calella’s long sandy beach, an easy 5 minute walk via the subway. When we visited the sun shone thru a fine haze and there were lots of families and children gambolling in the surf. We thought it was lovely and enjoyed a stroll along the leafy promenade before selecting a café for lunch – what a good holiday is all about.
Calella and further afield
The centre of Calella is also within easy reach & it's a very pleasing little Spanish town. Unsurprisingly, it hasn’t entirely escaped the ravages of tourism – there are quite a few places peddling horrific tourist tat, but there’s a sizeable population outside of the holiday trade, helping preserve the town’s character. First up there’s a series of small squares dotted with cafes and tapas bars. On several afternoons there was a brass band playing, a seductive excuse to relax with a carajillo and the wonderful smell of almonds drifting from a nearby brazier. Moving past the church, you enter the main shopping street – bypass the tourist dives and you’ll find plenty of quality souvenirs, particularly leather goods, jewellery and local ceramics. Good as the hotel food was, I managed to drag the boyf into Calella one evening to sample the local dining (under the cunning pretext of a romantic dinner) & I’m really glad we made the effort. Having perused the menus, we eventually plumped for Don Corleone’s, near the church. All the dishes were cooked to order in the open kitchen, great entertainment in itself. Add a flamboyant maitre d’ charging round at high speed, amazing food & drink, and you have a memorable experience. If Calella's other restaurantsare as good as this, you’re definitely in for a treat!
We made full use of the coastal railway to explore the surrounding area, including Santa Susannah, a pretty resort town, and of course Barcelona. Having car hire was also very handy: in a single day we took in the boating resort of Empuria Brava (where my parents are looking to buy) then Lloret & Tossa de Mar. While Lloret is Blackpool with the thermostat turned up, we were surprised by how charming Tossa is, with exquisite views of the bay and a stunning mountainous backdrop.
To summarise, the area has loads to offer - a week just isn't long enough! The hotel was largely redeemed by the food, but it was overall great value for money - fingers crossed the parents take the plunge so we can explore the region further!
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 Santa Monica Reservations |
| Santa Monica: Nice informal hotel by Stephen Rayment |
| Posted 08 September 2004 about a visit in July 2004 | Overall rating: 10.0 |
We've just spent 2 weeks at the Santa Monica and had a very good time. This is a family hotel and so there were lots of children there. The food is plentiful and the rooms are air conditioned with phone and TV.
The location is away from the main part of the town but within easy walking distance. There is a transport service that stops outside the hotel and runs through the town towards Pineda.
One thing I can't understand is the people who get up at 7 in the morning to put their towels on a sun lounger, you're on holiday, take it easy! (thats my rant over with).
The entertainment is good if you get involved with it, and we did!
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| Santa Monica Reservations |
| Santa Monica: hotel santa monica by Crossey |
| Posted 10 October 2003 | |
Not a badly positioned hotel, about 10 minutes walk to the beach as you have to go under a subway. About a half an hour walk to the train station. Food is buffett style. Be prepared to queue to get into the non-smoking restauraunt at both breakfast time and evening time. Very English type food. Be warned even out of the school holidays when the kids are supposed to be at school, it was packed with screaming kids. Entertainment most nights consists of usual bingo and karaoke. Kids are supposed to be out of the bar at 10.00 but were in well after that time especially on flight departute nights. Sun lounge area gets packed very early on. For a hotel full of English it suprising how many were up early putting their beach towels on the beds. Sun beds are packed side by side. Be prepared if you have someone large on the sunbed next to you they will probably be hanging onto your sunbed. Life guard on duty most of the day between about 9.00 and 17.00 hours. Has a break for lunch. Hotel has a Thomson kiddies club.
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| Santa Monica Reservations |
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Santa Monica Questions | Have you got a question about Santa Monica that you want answered before you book online? If our reviews do not contain the information that you need, ask a question and let other visitors tell you the real story!
 Santa Monica: How far from airport |
| 05 Jun 2008 by Amanda Keddie |
Can anyone please tell me how far the hotel is from the airport and how long the bus journey takes?
Also how far from barcelona and how long does this journey take?
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