El Arenal Holidays

It was decent for the price. Nothing fancy. Served its purpose. Friendly staff.

Only great thing is the location. Very central and close to metro. We arrived and room wasn't ready till PAST check in time with no real apology from staff. We waited over an hour in the lobby and watched as other guests were offered free welcome drinks and escorted to their rooms while we were ignored by staff. They then wanted to charge our credit card 150 euros PER DAY for "incidentals" and in case we use mini bar or ate at the hotel restaurant. We refused. Room colors are very dark with poor lighting so very depressing and not good for people with poor vision. TV so large that it blocked 1/2 the entrance to the bathroom and also prevented us from opening one of the closet doors. No table and no chair to sit on so bed is only option if you have a standard room. Staff polite but aloof. Rooftop bar closes relatively early. Would not stay here again and not worth the price. There are nicer hotels for same price point elsewhere in the area.

This could easily have been five-star, but it's the classic "devil in small details" issue: 1. Pronounced street noise at night from people passing buy and other activities. I think noise-rated windows could mitigate this issue. 2. "Zero" level apartment has windows on eye level of the passers by, i.e. to get privacy you need fully draw blinds even during the day (no daylight). One-way reflective windows would mitigate that, too. I'm sure higher level apartments don't suffer this particular problem. 3. Shower mount impossible to hold in one position, making it most frustrating experience. The shower head was flying and dismounting when you just looked at it wrong. I suggest a new fully fixed shower head for "rain" experience. 4. No cutting board (?) and no drying rack for laundry (what's the point of a washer if you have to scramble to hang the wet laundry?). I know these are small things, but become a problem when you want to cut something or make laundry. 5. Request for the cutting board sent to given Whatsapp number was met with a generic message "we're open 10-18 on weekdays and whatever on weekdays (it was 10:10 Friday) and no follow up after that. After this I gave up reporting anything else. I really wanted to like this place, as everything looked great at first and the meeting host was nice and helpful. However, the issues described above spoiled it to the point I can only say it was just ok. Not terrible, but not outstanding, either.

Beautiful large apartment in great position. Overlooking the square,the soundproof windows & blockout blinds ensured a good night sleep. The living area,bedroom & bathroom was perfect, and kitchen with large fridge was handy. Staff were super friendly & helpful, & the hotel is a short walk to most sights. (Excellent restaurant a few minutes walk- Bodega de los Secretos) There was a gym, sauna & spa pool available for a private 1 hour session which was great. If the spa was just a few degrees warmer everything would have been perfect. Highly recommended.