Hotel, Guesthouse and B&B Reviews

These are my personal notes on some of the places I have stayed on my travels. I have chosen to only comment on those places that I was generally satisfied with; I see no point on this website in describing accommodation that I would not recommend to anyone else. For the same reason, I have not attempted to rank or score the places. However, where I have particularly liked somewhere, I believe that the tone and content of my review will make that obvious. The opinions below are my own and are just that – opinions formed on the occasion of my visit. For this reason, I have given the date of my visit at the bottom of each comment; things may have changed since.

Spain: Cantabria

Hotel Valdecoro, Potes. The hotel is surprisingly modern inside and, pleasingly, spotlessly clean. It is situated on the edge of the town, maybe a brisk 10-12 minute walk away from the bus station and the main tourist centre. On my first visit I needed to catch the 8.15 am bus to Fuente Dé and yet the hotel normally served breakfast only at 8.30 am: I was very, very impressed that they offered to start it at 7.30 am to fit in with my plans. Otherwise, the hotel does not seem to do the personal touch; I found I was treated in a functional and efficient manner, which was fine with me.

Date of stay: 22 September 2013 and 4-5 June 2015

Hotel Aliva, Puerto de Aliva. I had walked from the cable car at Fuente Dé up to Torre de los Horcados Rojos but had then baulked at the prospect of continuing to the Refugio near Picu Urriellu. So I decided to retrace my steps and head for the Hotel Aliva, knowing that I would have to continue down to Espinama if it was fully booked. But it wasn't and I was offered a room, with breakfast. The hotel is very clean and well presented but what makes it special is its stunning and peaceful location, 1600 m up in the Picos de Europa. It can only be reached on foot (downhill from the cable car or – much harder – uphill from Fuente Dé or Espinama) or, if you must, by four-wheel drive vehicle. Breakfast and dinner were both very good, with the latter not as expensive (given the remote location) as I might have feared. One extra bonus of my stay was an "Astronomy Workshop", consisting of a 2-h illustrated lecture (in Spanish!) before dinner, followed by a 3-h viewing through a telescope afterwards, finishing at 1.30 am.

Date of stay: 23 September 2013

Hotel Picos de Europa, Santander. The hotel is centrally situated, about 10-15 minutes walk from the bus and train stations. It is not much to look at from the outside (it is next to a burned out building and the entrance is tucked away up a rather gloomy alleyway) but inside the hotel is perfectly fine for an overnight stay. My room was a good size and clean. An unexpected bonus was the breakfast, served in the vibrant and smart basement café, which was excellent. If your mood is "budget" or "functional", you will be happy with this hotel. If you are seeking somewhere "nice" then I would recommend that you pay a little more and go elsewhere.

Date of stay: 25 September 2013 and 6 June 2015

Posada Rural Punta Liñera, San Vicente de la Barquera. The Posada is a steep 15-min climb (on foot) from the pretty and interesting main town but has a rural feel and overlooks a stunning, unspoilt piece of coastline. My welcome was friendly, the room clean and comfortable, the breakfast, excellent, and the cost appropriate. This is the sort of place I would return to, maybe even for a romantic weekend.

Date of stay: 3 June 2015

Spain: Catalonia

Sercotel Urbis Centre, Tarragona. The hotel is right in the centre of Tarragona; so a good location yet I was not disturbed by any noise. My room was small and showed some minor signs of wear and tear on the decor, but it was clean and I thought it was fine for my purpose. The open-access PC in the reception area was very useful as I did not have my iPad with me. Tarragona was an interesting and pleasant city, but will not replace Cordoba and Granada in my affections.

Date of stay: 27 September 2011 and 30 September 2011

Ca Les Barberes, Paüls. Simple, rustic guest house with very friendly, likeable hosts. My room was inexpensive and I was served an excellent home-cooked dinner (morcelas) and breakfast.

Date of stay: 28 September 2011

Vilar Rural de Arnes, Arnes. My room was a good size, very clean and modern, and had a nice terrace. I had a couple of swims in the decent-sized pool. Dinner was a buffet and the drinks were reasonably priced. There were few other guests at the hotel and it was chronically understaffed – the waitress at dinner was also trying to serve at the bar, which was on the floor above! When I first saw the hotel, I thought it must be a new school for the village or an industrial unit occupied by some hi-tech company. Somehow, modern and stylish (and lots of concrete) doesn't work for me in a rural setting. I enjoyed my stay but still feel rather guilty about it.

Date of stay: 29 September 2011

Spain: Mallorca

Hotel Costa Azul, Palma de Mallorca. I flew into Palma late one evening, walked out of the airport terminal and straight onto a bus to the city centre. I had pre-booked a room at the Costa Azul and knew its location was down on the seafront, by the marina. I was a bit nervous about choosing where to get off the bus as it was dark and I did not know the city – but I found myself 50 m from the front of the hotel! Less than an hour after stepping off the plane! The reception at the hotel was very friendly. My room was clean and the breakfast next morning was very good. All in all, it was exactly what I wanted. In the morning, I walked to the bus station in the city centre, caught a bus to Soller, and started my 3-day walking trip.

Date of stay: 7 April 2011

Tossals Verds refugi, on the GR221. This is a pleasant hostel or bunkhouse situated on the GR221 footpath. The accommodation consisted of bunk beds in a mixed-sex dormitory. In the evening we were served a good-value dinner complete with excellent local red wine.

Date of stay: 8 April 2011

Santuari de Lluc, Lluc. This is a monastery, beautifully situated in the Serra de Tramuntana; during the day it is quite a major tourist attraction, with busy coach tours passing through. The rooms seem to be get booked up very quickly and I had to spend more than I intended on a “junior suite”, which had its own small living room and was furnished with period furniture. So, certainly not cheap but a wonderful place to stay once the day-trippers had gone home.

Date of stay: 9 April 2011

L’Hostal-Hotel D’Interior, Pollensa. There was no one at the hotel when I arrived (about 5 pm) and I had to wait 5 mins for someone to come. My room was very stylish and very clean. The hotel is in a very narrow street so there is no real view from the window. I was leaving the following morning at 7.30 am to catch the bus to Palma but they could not do breakfast that early and so left me a tray the night before, which was OK. The hotel was not staffed at night.

Date of stay: 10 April 2011

Spain: Gran Canaria

Hotel Valencia, Las Palmas. I stayed here for one night at the start of a walking tour of Gran Canaria. The bus from the airport took me to San Telmo bus station and it was then a 2-mile walk to the hotel – if I had caught the 15 min past the hour bus then it would have taken me to the Santa Catalina bus station, which is far closer to the hotel. It was getting dark and I found the hotel quite hard to find (it is up a small side street), but then I should have brought a better map of the city. I found the hotel perfectly functional and a good price for Las Palmas. My room was clean, although the bathroom looked a little "tired" with a yellow-ish shower curtain. I was pleased to find that, the next morning, my bus to Agaete could be caught from the main shopping street nearby (near "El Corte Inglés") and that I did not have to go back to the San Telmo bus station.

Date of stay: 4 January 2014

Hotel Rural Juncalillo, Juncalillo. This is a quiet roadside bar and restaurant with a few simple but very clean rooms available. I was served an excellent dinner in the restaurant and, to my surprise, an equally good cooked breakfast the next morning.

Date of stay: 5 January 2014

Hotel Rural El Refugio, Cruz de Tejeda. I stayed here for one night in the middle of a walking tour of Gran Canaria. I had walked from Juncalillo in about 4 h 20 min, the latter part of the walk being of stunning quality. I had pre-booked the hotel and it was quite pricey but there are very few options in the Gran Canaria mountains and the room was traditionally furnished in a pleasing manner. The best bits of my stay, however, were the meals, with both dinner and breakfast being reasonably priced and excellent.

Date of stay: 6 January 2014

Hotel Escuela Santa Brigida, near (but certainly not in!) Santa Brigida. The hotel was, as expected for a four-star establishment, very nice and my room, although small, was excellent. I had paid in advance for B&B. It was all very quiet, however, and it seemed strange that there was no bar. Instead, to get my well earned cold beer, I had to cross a candidate for the world's busiest road – the hotel is right on the GC-15 – to a bar opposite, which I liked so much that I decided to return to for an inexpensive dinner rather than eat in the hotel. The hotel breakfast the following morning was very good, as you would expect, although I could detect for the first time that some of the staff were trainees (the "School" in the hotel's full name, presumably).

Date of stay: 7 January 2014

Hotel Parque, Las Palmas. Stayed here for one night at the end of walking tour of Gran Canaria. The hotel was very smart and very well situated. My room was large and well decorated in the modern, stylish manner. I had to catch a 6.45 am flight the next day and the hotel gave me a packed lunch in lieu of breakfast, which was thoughtful of them. The lady on reception was very helpful about booking a taxi to the airport for me. There was only one tiny, tiny negative: the tiled floor of my otherwise clean room was very dusty, with great balls of fluff appearing after every movement – I would guess that the hotel had been mostly unoccupied over the winter. I had dinner in the 6th floor restaurant and it was sort of OK but I would probably have done better going elsewhere, although there was not a lot of choice nearby.

Date of stay: 8 January 2014

Spain: La Gomera

Hotel Torre Del Conde, San Sebastián de La Gomera. I had solo occupancy of a twin room overlooking the street with breakfast included. My room was clean and had everything I needed. The Wifi signal was only strong enough to be usable in part of the room; one could not use it while lying on the bed, for example. The shower had a good flow but the temperature fluctuated. The breakfast was adequate; the usual continental fare. My check-in and check-out were business-like rather than friendly, while no one spoke to me at all during breakfast; so I would say that they do not do "personal". All in all, it was a good enough place to stay and I would gladly stay there again; just do not expect anything extra special.

Date of stay: 15-18 January 2017

Spain: Lanzarote

Hotel Diamar, Arrecife. The hotel has a great location on the sea front, close to the Intercambiador where the airport bus no. 22 arrives. Everything was very clean and the breakfast was good.

Date of stay: 30 November 2021

La Molina, Maguez. Lovely studio apartment with a lot of character and its own private enclosed garden. The cleanliness was superb. There is a bus stop almost outside the front door, while the nearby bar/restaurant was excellent. I stayed during December and found the apartment slightly cold but a small fan heater was provided. WiFi was only available outside the apartment, in the courtyard area.

Date of stay: 1-4 December 2021

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