Aqua Hotel Aquamarina

1 reader found this review helpful

This is an international hotel with very rude and unhelpful staff.
The entertainment was appalling and the meals were not up to much. Save your money or go else were.
The pool is small and the sun beds are so close together you can’t pass them.
Also the hotel although clean it is very shabby and is in need of a refurb.
We travelled with two children aged 9 & 6, one is a wheelchair user, and they just wanted to come home.

We booked this hotel on a budget - as it was amazingly cheap on alpharooms. It worked out to £22 per night for 2 people including breakfast and evening meal! We booked to stay for 10 nights.
When we first arrived, they had no record of our booking, but this was quickly sorted out by the staff. We were given a huge room (really it was two separate rooms joined by a hallway) but as we were on the top floor, the size of the balcony was minute (the balconies on each floor as you go up got smaller and smaller) you could barely fit a chair there - let alone lie down. It also had a concrete block raised out of the centre, making it even smaller.
It was also noisy because of the air con extractors on the roof. Our hotel room was meant to fit at least 4 people, but only 2 at the most could fit on the balcony!
The food was fine if you are not too fussy, and they serve some interesting cocktails at the bar. 'Entertainment' was also thrown in, but got crowded quickly. We went towards the end of the season, so maybe we didn't get to see the best that they could offer!
The resort of Santa Suzanna is about 20-30 mins taxi ride from the airport (you can get a train, but you have to change and we had a lot of luggage). There is not a lot in Santa Susanna itself - only a selection of large hotels, some tourist shops and a beach.
However, the hotel is about 5 mins walk from the train station which runs directly to Barcelona and only cost £10 return each. We found this a really cheap way to combine a beach and city break holiday.
I would say stay at the Aquamarina if you want a cheap holiday, where it's easy to explore other places from. I would make sure when you book that you're not on one of the top floors if you like to use the balcony!

It was a very clean hotel. The food is not remarkable and not suited for the English as the food was things like squid and rabbit.
There were long queues and many plates and bowls had chips on them.
We had a late flight home from Girona 2.05 but couldn’t keep the room after 10.00am but the luggage room was very safe and the showers were hot and very clean.
The entertainment wasn’t very good it wasn’t in English and English people were not asked to join in with activities. Also no lilos or rubber rings are allowed in the pool so we spent most of our time on the beach which is just down the street.

This was the second time we had stayed in this hotel and would certainly stay there again.
The rooms were very clean, security very good, camera's on all the corridors, inside and out.
Meals, a very good choice. Entertainment excellent, lots for the kids to do (day & night).
Ideal location for visiting Barcelona which is only a short train journey away (the station is 5 minutes walk from the hotel) but don't worry the trains don't run all night (and they are electric trains so not noisy).
There are market stalls just outside the hotel each evening (craft stalls).
The only downside is at weekends the locals stay there, which makes the hotel very busy & noisy.

I have been to this hotel 3 times with my grandmother and I love it to bits.
I would definitely recommend it as the food is excellent, nice clean rooms, the beach is across the road, the town is just a little walk away, the people are so nice.
I loved it so much and I can't wait to go back again. Hopefully next time I wont have to spend 24 painful hours on a coach full of old moaners, but never mind...it was worth it!

1 reader found this review helpful

Yes it is a very clean hotel, very large and well equipped, but the week we were there it was overrun with children. It appears that much of Europe give their children two weeks off from school at this time of year and it certainly filled up the hotel with noise. We suffered also from the alfresco disco at the next door hotel, Florida Park. 99 decibels until midnight every night. The food is not remarkable but we ate all we required and found the salads particularly good.
At some meal times there were very long queues to enter the dining room, especially at 6.00pm for the start of the evening meal, we waited until later and found no problems. Many of the plates and dishes had chipped areas and at breakfast there were never enough cereal dishes to go round but all in all not at all bad. We had a late flight home 2.15 am from Girona and were unable to keep the room after 10.00 that morning, but the luggage room was safe and efficient and for one euro you could have a shower before the flight. I thought the plumbing was excellent. Hot water as soon as you turned on the tap, the flush worked every time, and the shower pipe was not snagged, leaking or hanging off the wall, much better than some we have known.
AS for what to do, well go out because we found the hotel entertainment excessively noisy and for no good reason. The M/c or whoever he was seemed to think that the louder and faster he talked the better he was. The bingo was dreadful, 6 or 7 languages no doubt were needed but to try to do it as a "rap" was awful. If the number was say 27 it only needs saying once not twenty seven times. We tried music in several bars along the street, Johan Strauss for the Germans at one hotel, but generally music from some years back and not modern disco. We went on the train to Barcelona twice, well worth the trip, and visited Calella, Malgrat, Blanes and Tossa sometimes by train sometimes by boat. The markets are fairly large and all full of the same goods whichever town you chose.
It is a family hotel and our family are long gone so perhaps it was not the ideal spot for the over 65s but there were plenty of English guests in the hotel who like us were not in the first flush of youth, but away from the hotel and the limited resources of the resort we still think we had a pleasant and successful holiday.

I went there with my boyfriend on a half board basis.
Restaurant was ok, we never really had to queue, which was great. You got until 10:30am to go for breakfast, they had cereal, croissants, bacon, eggs, toast. But I did make strong use of the Microwave, sometimes the food was hot, but sometimes just warm. The tea wasn't very nice, as the milk out the machine was really sweet, so after a week being there, I decided to get just my tea out the machines, and use the milk that was used to pour on cereals, it was a lot nicer, just wished I had knew on my first week. But we learn from these things!
Also dinner was ok, but me being a very fussy eater wasn’t the greatest, but my boyfriend enjoyed it, lots of different meats and stuff, but unfortunately, only the British know how to queue! Make sure you stay in your place, else people will walk all over you.
Every morning, maids will come round, but you can put your do not disturb sign on if you have had a late night. We stayed on 3rd floor which was nice, but not a very nice view of the front of the hotel, just a car park.
Also everyday the fun animation staff try to get everybody doing aerobics in the pool, which is fun to watch, but beware if you’re not in the mood, they try and get everybody in doing it! Just wonder to the toilet or something, but the staff are very fun! Would definitely recommend for families, always something for the kids to do, with a games room downstairs too with lots of pool tables, and table tennis, and arcade machines, also internet access.
We walked into malgrat (go out the back of hotel by the pool, and turn left)
Its ok, but not many restaurants, I would recommend the Italian restaurant! Very nice.
Quite a few souvenir shops, but all really selling the same.
I would definitely recommend Lloret De Mar, 10 minutes on the train. Lots to see and do, very large beach, you could spend a couple of days there!
Also went to Barcelona on the train, roughly an hour,
lots to see and do there, but make sure you get off train at Catalunya station, as there are 3 stops in Barcelona, and if you get off there, you will be in the centre at La Rambla, which is the main walk where all the shops and cafes and restaurants are, including those moving statues you see, they are really funny! Only costs about 6 euros each on the train, and that’s a return. Very cheap! Well worth it. Also went to la aquarium in Barcelona, really good, most taxi's are metered though, but there cheap.
Overall I enjoyed the holiday, we were there 2 weeks, apart from a few storms on the 2nd week, which was a shame, weather reached about 31c, very hot.
Make sure you take your dinner card with you to the restaurant, else they don’t let you in.
Also good entertainment at night, but you can get a bit bored of them having to explain everything in 5 languages! Also when watching a show, don’t sit on the front row, else you might get picked on to go on stage (very embarrassing believe me!)
also, it does say in the leaflet you get when you check in, that when leaving the hotel, you can keep your room on for another 22 euros for the day, which I thought was really good, as we were not flying until night, so it meant it didn’t need to worry about swimming and stuff, but when I tried, the hotel said no, as they were fully booked, so don’t count on that like I did, but saying that, the facilities that they have for people that are checking out are really nice, very large showers, luggage rooms, changing rooms, so wasn't as bad as I thought.
also, don’t buy too many presents, we were charged at Girona airport coming home for being 5 kilos over weight, which meant they charged me 9 euros per kilo, I had to pay £30, coming home (they turned out to be expensive presents) but everybody else in the queue also got charged for suitcases being overweight! Even if they were a kilo over. They are very strict, if you can, buy another bag there, and take it as hand luggage so you don’t get charged if you buy anything there.
Would go there again, definitely, enjoyed it.

We went as a family of 11, ages 60,57,41,38,34,30,17,15,14,10, and 5.
I agree with most of the comments in the review below. The hotel is definitely one of the cleanest I've been to and the room service is excellent, unless you have teenagers who refuse to get up before 10am, but if you just put the notice on your door they will return and make the beds, empty bins and replace towels.
The staff are all very friendly but the entertainment is very much geared towards the Spanish, (even though there were plenty of Brits there) our teenagers only had about 3 nights where they could listen and dance to any chart music, which was a shame as the Spanish music tended to clear the dance floor very quickly but the DJ didn't seem to make the connection. You need to find the entertainment at other hotels, rather than the Aqua Marina.
The lifeguard definitely has a No Fun policy around the pool, but he waited until our second or third day, letting us buy the inflatables, then use them for a couple of days before telling us we couldn't use them anymore, which was annoying. I also told my son to wear a T-shirt to protect his shoulders from the sun, but this was also not allowed.
Santa Susana itself is quite a small resort and once you've walked the main street once, you don't really need to do it again, but the train is cheap and runs quite frequently. I would also recommend the road train trip which takes you into the hills behind the town, it takes about an hour and costs 3.40euros for adults and 2.40euros for kids, it is a really lovely tour and gives you a much better view of the town itself.
The food is pretty much the same as anywhere in Spain, starts off ok, but by the second week you are getting a bit fed up with it.
I would recommend this holiday for all ages.

Read the very useful reviews of the hotel before booking. I would agree with most of the other comments.
The hotel is very clean and well cared for despite being a large property.
The staff are excellent and always helpful. Bar and reception staff speak good English and are pleased to help. Its and old adage but only the Brits know how to queue. Make sure you get to the counter and don't stand around waiting to be asked. Get in front. Watch out at dinner too. Don't lose your little card or you'll waste time running back to your room.
I would agree with the food comments I've read but still managed to put on a stone. The meat courses are not always brilliant, but great fish and salads. I found that using the microwave was the best thing. If its hot, the food was 10 times better. Use it, its free. (Take some parmesan if you like it on your pasta).
Top Ten Tips :
1) Air Con - Great to have. Make sure that your system is switched on at reception though. You'll notice the difference. PS doesn't work if the balcony door is open.
2)TV - Only 2 English speaking channels out of 20 - CNN & BBC World, both OK for ten minutes then you get bored with the same news. I worked out how to re-tune the TV and got some new foreign ones. The World Cup coverage was good with a large screen TV in the bar which was very popular.
3) The Pool - For some reason the SOS guy has a 'no fun' policy that means that you can't play with a ball, take in a lylo, dive or jump in the pool. Personally I think that they have taken this a bit too seriously. He goes to lunch from 2-3pm dive in then!
4) Entertainment - If you are in Santa Susanna for two weeks you are likely to see the same old faces. Quality is good to excellent but a little repetitive. Learn some new dances though.
5) Rooms - Clean, modern. Insulation is not used extensively in Spain, so noise does travel! The corridors can get noisy. Each room has a double and a single bed. If you are three adults sharing make sure they know this at booking. Only then will you get a room with three singles.
6) Shopping - Very touristy all the way to Malgrat (left out of the hotel). If you want a better choice take the train into Calella (two stops) where they have a better choice of shops. Ten minutes walk to the Carrefour supermarket. Great for stocking up if you have a fridge in your room. 2 Litres of water at the hotel is 1.5 Euros, its 22 Cents at Carrefour.
7) Barcelona- One hour on the train (6Euros?) Great value, great trains (Classical music on board). Santa Susanna station- turn right out of the hotel 300 yards. Exit at Placa de Catalonia, head across the square and down the Rambla to the harbour. Take in all of the little streets, great cafes and bars. Don't miss the food market (right off the Rambla) Buy fresh cherries and watch the world go by. Wear good walking shoes No Flip Flops! Take in the great galleries and museums or just explore. Check your return train times and plan. Return trains to Santa Susanna always on platform 1 take the Blanes train.
8) Drinks - Bottled Estrella / San Miguel 1.8 Euros / Draft Beer 3 Euros a pint. Take a cool bag with you. Buy 1 Euros worth of ice and a bottle of Cava from the little supermarket and have a few drinks on your balcony before dinner. You can buy cold drinks from the supermarket and drink them by the pool all day. Nobody bothers.
9) Night Clubs - my boys didn't have to walk further than 200m to the cleanest and best of the clubs. Entry is 10 Euros with two free drinks. They soon got the hang of drinking the branded beers (Best value). The club is underground so you'd never know it was there.
10) Bars - Poor! There are the usual British pubs- avoid them unless your desperate to have a conversation. Stick to the hotels they are the best, with free entertainment.
UK guests are in the minority now throughout Spain. The hotel caters for many different nationalities so entertainment can be a little awkward as they have to cope with all the languages. A game of Bingo can take up to an hour because of the 6 languages! There is water aerobics every morning to get you going.
All in all an excellent hotel. Busy and noisy at times. Great staff.
If you want something quieter go to the Mercury Village which is very beautiful. Fewer kids around.
Enjoy your time in Santa Susanna.

My girlfriend (21), and myself (22) just got back from staying a week at the AquaMarina Hotel in Santa Susanna. First of all i must say the hotel is of a high quality, and all staff are extremely friendly. The room we stayed in was spacious, and was cleaned every day we stayed there which was good. The breakfast buffet on offer was good, ranging from cereals to hot croissants. The pool was very good, and was kept at a nice temperature.
Unfortunately the dinner wasn't very good at all. The hotel catered mainly for the Germans and Dutch people and didn't suit us at all. We therefore only ate dinner once in the hotel, due to the lack of quality and variety on offer.
As for the resort of Santa Susanna, I felt it was disappointing as the lack in variety of restaurants was poor. The resort also wasn't kept too clean, and to be honest we were expecting a lot better. I would recommend two places to eat in the resort, firstly, 'The Steakhouse'. This restaurant was about the only restaurant we found to offer a wide variety of foods on their menu. The staff were very friendly and the service was very quick.
Secondly, 'Melias'. We often went in to Melias after the Steakhouse for dessert. What we must recommend is the Strawberry Waffles (Gofres) which is the nicest dessert ever to be created on the planet.
Going onto the shingle beach, we both thought that it was very nice and easy to sunbathe on with our beach towels. The sea was extremely cold which was unexpected. There weren’t many water activities down at the beach which was disappointing.
Over the seven days we spent the weather was tremendous, at most days averaging around 33 degrees centigrade.
We made a visit to 'Water World' in Lloret which was only a 20 bus journey away. What a good decision it was to go here. The park catered for all ages, there were water slides for children, and then the more daunting slides for those who are very brave such as the 'Kamikaze'.
Due to the lack of activities and lack of restaurants in Santa Susanna, I was glad that we only had booked a week. If anyone is going on holiday to this resort for 2 weeks, I would recommend them to go on excursions to Barcelona, and the more livelier resort of Lloret.
Overall we enjoyed our holiday, as the weather was very good, but the resort was disappointing as there wasn't very much to do.