My favourite hotel in Calella de la Costa.

I have been asked which hotels I consider the best and worst in Calella.

Well, the best is easy, of all the hotels I have stayed in up to now, the Maritim wins hands down and I am reluctant to try any of the others on my wishlist in case I am disappointed!  Others on my wishlist include the Bernat II and the Hotel Mar Blau.

Whilst not wanting to call any hotels 'the worst' there are hotels I would not stay in now although they do have their uses. The Olympic, for example.  I have stayed in the Olympic a few times in the past when I could not afford any better. Working full time I was determined to have a week in Spain every year but it had to be cheap which meant coach travel and budget hotels.

Similarly with the Bon Repos and its sister hotel the Esplai, when they were all I could afford I was grateful for them.

One of the problems with the cheaper hotels is that they are used by the German holiday companies who specialise in coaching in hundreds of teenagers who run riot around the hotels and resort with no supervision at all.  

One year a group were running around the hotel banging on doors at 5.30 in the morning, I was so worried that I put a door under the doorknob and I do not scare easily.  This was in the Haromar.

Another year, every non German in the hotel (the Calella Palace, or Osiris as it was then), lined the terrace and clapped as the teenagers all trudged off to their coach dragging their cases for the journey home.

Another issue is the location of the single rooms in the cheaper hotels.  They are never the best located in any hotels, usually having views of the bins, but in the Olympic I was right next to the lifts, which were not quiet and were going all night.

I have stayed in the Amaika which was a good hotel, although the standards seem to have dropped in recent years.  This is a 4* hotel with the interior resembling the Titanic, why anyone would want to base their decor on a sunken ship I don't know.

The rooms in the Les Palmeres were fantastic, but the hotel is definitely geared towards the older traveller.

I enjoyed my stay in the Hotel Vila, it looked completely uninspiring from the outside but inside it was amazing.  But it is more a weekend break type hotel rather than for a full week.

Do you have a favourite hotel?  

Self Catering in Calella de la Costa

There are several self-catering apartment blocks in Calella, 20 minutes away in Pineda de Mar there are caravan sites too.

Camping El Far

I would love to stay here, but unfortunately it is well out of my price range with rentals costing between €300 and €1300 per week, but maybe one day.  It is situated at the south end of Calella de la Costa.

There are bungalows available or you can pitch your own tent.  From the entrance to the camp, it is only a few minutes walk to beach and the centre of Calella.

Safari Apartments

I have stayed at these apartments on several occasions and have always been happy here.  The only reason that I don't stay here anymore (I prefer the freedom self-catering gives you) is that their prices have been increased, it used to cost me about £70 per week, plus the cost of food and drink, now the prices range between £250 and £500 per week for a one bedroomed apartment, which will sleep upto 4 people, albeit a little cramped.

When you arrive, you are given a 10% discount card for the onsite restaurant/bar and the food is very good there.

There is a pool, not very large, and it is unheated so is very cold even on the sunniest days, it is a great hangover cure!

 

Mar Blau Apartments

If you book these apartments, be careful, a lot of online booking agencies use photos and descriptions of the Hotel Mar Blau which is a 4* hotel further along.  The apartments are not in any way connected with the hotel.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the apartments, although dated they are clean and well maintained, considering that prices start at £8 per night you cannot really expect more.  

 This is the hotel....

....these are the apartments.

The staff are all friendly, but are only available office hours, there is an emergency number for out of hours issues, but I struggled to get hold of anyone on this number (I arrived after 6pm, could not get hold of anyone, and so had to book into a hotel for the night).

If you do arrive late, or early, keys are left in an unlocked mailbox in the foyer, most of the apartments are privately owned, with only a few let out.

 

But if you are travelling on a tiny budget, or just want somewhere to sleep, then there is nothing wrong with these apartments.