Terramar Hotel

I booked a week for my family at the Terramar Hotel at fairly short notice (about a month). I saw some very very mixed reviews, but I am from the school of ‘you get what you pay for’. Just to clarify, the Hotel was the Terramar in Calella, Costa Brava (C/ Diputacio 38 - 50, Calella 08370, Spain). I’ve put this as there seems to be two of similar names, but this is definitely the one.
The holiday was booked for 4 people, 2 adults and 2 kids (both aged just under 10). This is the first time I had booked a package holiday for my family and so ensured all transfers and baggage costs were paid for in advance! Well, to start with I’d have to say how gutted I was with the flight times. We got to the hotel around midnight and got back home around midnight so the kids were knackered!!
The flights were with Ryan Air who I regularly get cheesed off with every time I fly with them. The transfers were with Resort Hopper and were perfectly executed coming from, and back to, the airport.
The hotel itself was, I’d say, a good 3 Star. Some places have reported it as a revamped 2 Star, or actually as a 4 Star. The reception area, lobby and bar area are all smart and tidy. The staff on the main desk were generally quite friendly and helpful and spoke ample English.
We had asked for a ‘family room’ and a ‘sea view’. I didn’t fancy putting the kids in a separate room to ours. I feared the worse on the room front as you never know, but I was very pleasantly surprised. We were on the first floor (102) (Only a small flight of stairs and the one lift is a bit slow) and had a corner room which meant a larger balcony.
The room itself was ideal really but did lack a few things! There was no air conditioning, so on the first couple of nights it was a case of getting used to the heat (no bugs though). There was also no fridge, which would have been handy for storing the water, lemonade and vodka. The TV in the room had 3 Spanish channels but I’d bought portable DVD players anyway. There was also a lacking of plug sockets. Space wise it was fine. The double (2 singles as per in Spain) and then 2 added separate singles fitted in with ample space for the kids to move about. Plus the wardrobe and bedside tables. And we got the sea view. We were also right above the pool area. The maids came everyday. You do have to pay for a key for the safe in your room, plus a 10 Euro deposit, but it was worth it. I advise buying some fans if you have kids. I’d bought two from the pound shop before hand and they did just fine.
The pool was very nice. Never over crowded but we did need covert operations to get loungers in the morning. Being as we were right above it we knew when it was open so just darted downstairs to plonk the towels out. Annoying yes, but everyone was doing it and we wanted the kids to have a good time. The pool was very shallow (5 feet deep at it’s deepest end) but always clean. There was a smaller one for the kids and a large jacuzzi area.
The dining area was ok. We went half board after seeing some of the food reviews but it wasn’t really that bad. Breakfasts had coco-pops, cornflakes and muesli. Plus eggs, bacon, sausage, rolls, juices etc. Simple and effective. In the evening there were always chips, but always something tasty too. Bolognaise pork fillets, beef (veal), calamari, etc… all along with nice puddings. The only real annoying point was that we had to pay for drinks for the evening meal even though we were half board, and the staff in the dining area did seem a little grumpy.
The town of Calella itself was lovely. Not overly commercialised but ample bars and cafes and tat shops. The streets were clean, although keep your eye out for mopeds through the thinner side streets. It felt very safe with the kids in tow and everyone was friendly. There are also plenty of cash machines. There was one very good English bar for football, called the Alcatraz, which I recommend if you want traditional English food and a great fry up… oh and football, on big screens, with Carling!
The beach was also nice and clean. Just a 3 minute walk from the hotel. The sand was a bit stony so the buckets and spades were useless. The water was very clear and clean. The pedalo man was a bit of a grump though, too much sun I think!
We didn’t travel to Barca as we had been before and the journey may have been to much for the kids (hour on the train I think).
Coming back I was bl00dy annoyed with Ryan Air who made us pay 8 Euro because one of our bags was 1Kg over the 15Kg limit. Now, yes, 8 Euro is not a lot, but my sons case was 9Kg (6Kg under the limit) so surely that compensated. Plus you couldn’t just pay the 8 Euro there, you had to queue up in an ever growing queue, of which I was in for about an hour, therefore missing Duty Free. There were a hell of a lot of 'annoyed' people I can tell you. Ryan Air, you are 'not very good'.
Anyway, back to the Terramar… generally I was very happy with the value for money and the quality of the hotel. The kids loved it and want to go back next year. We also agreed it was a nice place and may do a 10 or 14 days next year.