Hotel Santa Monica

3 readers found this review helpful

We went last year with 2 children aged 4 and 6, the hotel was lovely and clean and the food was great, there was soooo much of it! We did go in september and had no problems finding space by the pool.
the beach is only a short walk away and it's lovely, but shingley.
Be careful in the sea wih small children as there is quite a large drop a few feet out other than that lovely, with plenty of places to buy refreshments along the beach.
Hotel entertainment was great for all the family and drinks were reasonable at the bar.
Slightly pricey pool side during the day, but there are plenty of little shops within walking distance to buy snaks etc.
There are plenty of excursions on offer, the water park in blanes which is about 1/2 hour bus ride is AMAZING kids loved it, dolphins and seals, plus a huge water park with rides suitable for all, this was a bargain excursion and I wish we'd booked to go more than once! Barcelona tour, also 1/2 hour is well worth doing, stadium for footie fans, shopping for the ladies, with a trip to the fountains in the evening-very beautiful! There is a knights castle in Torderra where you have a banquet and watch the knights joust to save the princess, again kids loved this although it was a late night.
The only excursion I would avoid with young children is Portaventura!! It costs a bloody fortune and 1 1/2 hours on a coach with no air con to get there and find the kids are too small to go on most things, wasn't very impressed with that!
would definately recommend this hotel to all

We stayed at the santa monica for the second time we went in 2007 which was ok but this time they have improved so much.The staff were great and the food the best ever there was something for everyone you could see they had done a big refurbishment from the top down there was more choice on the food side and it wasnt cold as it was a couple of years ago mainly because new food was bought out every 15 minutes.Theres something for everyone from cereals to fried breakfast and from cooked dinners to anything a vegetarian would be happy with.The bedding was changed everyday and the maids were very polite the only sticking point however and this needs to be addressed is that kids are allowed to play around with the lifts even bigger kids are the same you could be waiting 5 minutes for a lift .One night we got in the lift and saw all the buttons pressed by the people who had just come out these people were roughly 16 years old.So please santa monica do yourself a favour and start reprimanding people who missuse hotel property and then your guests will have a more enjoyable stay.

hi
i have just came back (jan 2009)
and it was great.The beach is lovely and the sand is so smooth on your feet.
My kids loved it (12&15) the pool was a wee bit deep.
We had a road for a view so we asked for a seaside view and we got it.
GOING BACK ON MAY THE 6 FOR 3 WEEKS (2009)

1 reader found this review helpful

Me and my kids(12 & 14) have just came back from a great holiday.
The staff were great and the food was the best.But my kids got up at 10:00 to put
thier towels down but there was no sunbeds left.
great holiday going back

Me and my kids (10&13) went last year (2008) in may and it was fab the rooms were great and clean and the staff were so friendly.My kidswent done at 9:30 am to put thier towls done but there on sunbeds left and we loved going out and comeing back to a lovely hotel.
WE ARE GOING BACK THERE ON MAY THE 12.

1 reader found this review helpful

Accommodation was excellent,room and bathroom very clean, tho, beds needed mattress covers, not normal in Spain. Facilities and amenities were fine but a quiet room without TV would have been appreciated. Staff were friendly, polite and very helpful and the restaurant food was more than adequate with a huge variety of delicious salads and cooked foods and fresh fruit available, different every day. The waiters and waitresses were so good and worked so hard and so cheerfully as the hotel was VERY full and this did not change their attitude.
We used the cheap, local trains to go to Genoa. A delightful city with an historical and picturesque river front of many old houses, interesting Cathedral with a beautiful, ancient Tapestry of The Creation. As old as The Bayeux Tapestry but not as well known. A visit to Barcelona, by train again was too short and I wouldn't choose to go on the City Tour, a lot of money and to see very little, and much too long. The Picasso Gallery was well worth a visit, but I wanted to see the Sacra Familia Cathedral again but time ran out. The highlight was seeing Montserrat, the Monastery set high up in the mountains, amidst huge boulders of rock.It catered extremely well for the huge numbers of visitors trying to see The Black Madonna, which was well worth the queuing and the meal we had in the restaurant was one to be remembered!! Yes I would definitely go back to this Hotel and visit all the places we missed.

it was fab,going back on april.my kids loved it(age 12 & 13).
we loved going out and knowing we could come back to a clean & lovely hotel.
we went for 2 weeks.When we went to the beach and cola was $4 but we found a wee snack bar and the cola was $1 i could belive it
hope you go to santa monica hotel :)

Myself and My boy friend went away for the first time to Calella, Hotel Santa Monica. We arrived early hours of the morning and when given a room so we did not have a chance to see the hotel properly.
Our room was 301 which was right next to the stair well, little did we know at the time that during the early hours of the morning when we eventally went to go to sleep we would be woken by other guest coming back from their nights out, with hearing peoples voices shouting and people with oddly loud footsteps :s Our bathroom was very clean but our toilet did not stop running water which became irritating during the night.
When we booked our holiday we were given a choice of view from out room we booked a pool room view and instead given a view of a main road and builders building a ramp at the back of the hotel.
The food that was served was pretty basic and aim towards the germans tastes rather than british which made me laugh when my boyfriend was looking forward to a full english and came back with mini cocktail sausages and thinly sliced ham which i think was an attempt as bacon. The main thing that was done at breakfast and lunch times was queuing, to get in the dinner hall, for food and for drinks. This became quiet anoying due to the fact that german teenagers felt that they had the right to get everything first and that does mean jumping the queues. There were salads, cerals and toast but you had to queue to use the toaster and had to put it in three times for it to have any sort of effect on the bread. A majour disapointment was having to pay for drinks during our lunch time meals even though we were half board, which ment yet again more queuing.
The pool and pool area was small and came over crowded quickly with not may sunbeds available or umbrellas, not very relaxing either with little kids running around and turning the showers on and off every 2 minutes. The poolside bar only served junk food aimed at children, so if ur hungry during the afternoon and want healthier options forget it pizza and chips it is! If you are going with young children look out for the price of pop, in this hotel its cheaper to drink alcohol.
The entertainment in the hotel was ok but aimed for children, after that there was a small childrens disco and that was it. so if u are looking for a bit of atmosphere and lively night you will have to make your own entertainment. Do not bring night club clothing because you will become very embarrest because this destination is aimed at families and older couples.
Leaving the hotel and going into the town was not very interesting either every shop sells the same thing, the beach is very pretty but has no beach activities, no pedal boats, no speed boats, no banana boats. nothing. if u like to sleep all day in the sun you will enjoy.
Overall if you are a young couple and your are going on holiday do not go to calella. It is moreexciting staying at home and its cheaper.

1 reader found this review helpful

me and some friends have just came back and it is the second time this year we have been to santa monica hotel. the staff are wonderful and the rooms are always clean and have fresh towels everyday the food not bad depends what you like.
as for the entertment well fernando is the best the shows are brill and funny.there are games though out the day for children and adults. what more can you ask for.

Well i have just returned from a two week holiday at the hotel santa monica and i havent got a bad word for either the hotel or calella itself.
The rooms within the hotel was kept clean and clean towels were giving every day along with soap, shampoo ETC.
The Pool area and hotel reception was always clean and well lit, the staff couldnt of been more helpful with the information of the surronding areas and always were on hand to change money.
The food was fanstasic, there was a different variety every evening meal and the breakfast was very good indeed, the restaurant area was clean and once again the staff were friendly and always smiled!
The entertainment staff, AKA Fernando, Maggie, Javia and Laura were absoulty fanstastic, they could even win an oscar with some of the performances, unlike previous holidays this entertainment was not cheesey and we were made to feel part of the team every night with a different show every night!
The only negative of the holiday was the thomsons rep, called sean, which in other reviews has also been brought to an attention, he was very useless, didnt give any information about the resort of calella and when he did it were smug and not useful, But during my stay the matter was resolved and as we were leaving the hotel we were informed that he had been sacked, so justice was served in my eyes!
Some main attractions for people to visit is barcelona "La Ramblas", barcelona zoo, and the Nou camp. All of which is easily accessible via the train, i myself infact visited the nou camp myself and in total it cost 27 euro which included train fare, metro fare and entry to the stadium, whereas thompsons and local tour operaters wanted 44 euros!