Castilla Alicante Hotel, San Juan de Alicante

...spent a week at the Castilla and have returned home very disappointed with the hotel itself and the concrete jungle in which it resides. To start with the pluses: The hotel is spotlessly clean - though we did find in our room a cockroach of the sort of proportions which might have got it some extra work in the film "Alien". The cleaning staff and indeed all the female staff working in the hotel were helpful and efficient, pleasant to talk ...
...lifts worked!

None of the male staff measured up to the female. Surly, unhelpful and distant are the kindest words I can find.
The food was poor - it was never served warm. Maybe it is a Spanish tradition to serve mashed potato and vegetables cold. If so it is not one that I have encountered before. The shops in the area are full of delightful fresh fruit and vegetables. Why did the hotel only serve tinned? The menus gave no ... more

My wife and I have just spent a week at the Castilla and have returned home very disappointed with the hotel itself and the concrete jungle in which it resides. To start with the pluses: The hotel is spotlessly clean - though we did find in our room a cockroach of the sort of proportions which might have got it some extra work in the film "Alien". The cleaning staff and indeed all the female staff working in the hotel were helpful and efficient, pleasant to talk to and always wore a smile. Anything else? hmmm the lifts worked!

None of the male staff measured up to the female. Surly, unhelpful and distant are the kindest words I can find.
The food was poor - it was never served warm. Maybe it is a Spanish tradition to serve mashed potato and vegetables cold. If so it is not one that I have encountered before. The shops in the area are full of delightful fresh fruit and vegetables. Why did the hotel only serve tinned? The menus gave no indication of what the food actually was..merely a name. If I was paying over 16 euros in a restaurant I would expect some description. They served a smoked fish salad. Sounded good. How can a salad be cooked vegetables left to go cold and congeal?
The room we booked was advertised as having a minibar... it didn't. The air conditioning only blew warm air. The car parking charge of 7.50 euros a day seemed excessive.... though once again one of the female staff came to our aid and suggested we park in the road outside.

The hotel is situated in the midst of a concrete jungle of tower blocks, driving is relatively easy as all the streets are one way. It is less than 100 metres from a beautiful beach.

My advice if you use this hotel - and its offer prices ARE very reasonable - DONT go half board, eat out. If the standard hotel breakfast is to your liking then it is good value. Bacon swimming in its own grease for 2 hours may be wiser avoided.

Thought I'd better add that it would be difficult for a vegetarian to eat dinner here as no vegetarian alternatives were avaulable during the week that we stayed. 

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