Hotel Santa Monica

Just returned from Santa Monica hotel, despite some bad reviews I found it OK.
No ant infested rooms, nothing stolen and food was very good for a three star Hotel.
Rooms were cleaned every day with fresh towels, entertainment every night not to my taste but most people enjoyed it.
I prefer to walk out in the evening and the local shopping area was great with plenty of bars.
Overall the holiday was great; the only downside for me was getting in and out of the sea. There is a ledge about 10ft in which drops about 1ft and it’s where the waves break.

Just got back from this holiday and have to say had a brilliant time! The food was brilliant even for the fussiest eaters and always chips on the menu breakfast or tea.
The rooms were really clean and tidy and the maids were in everyday. We were on the third floor at the back of the hotel. All the rooms are high even if you book a first floor room as the reception and restaurant were before the first floor.
When we arrived we were told we was at the back of the hotel, we asked to be moved to the front as the other reviews said that there was a busy motorway that ran behind the hotel and was very noisy but was told there was no other rooms available. Once getting to our room we realised that the so called motorway was just like a main road in England. Never heard anything all week.
The entertainment in the hotel was really good something different every night.
The pool was quite small for the size of the hotel but even if we went down to the pool first thing in the morning or later on through the day you could always get a sun bed! They were a bit close together though.
Callella its self is a lovely place and had loads of lovely restaurants to eat in! If you get bored of eating in the hotel, very quite on a night though. Went to marineland for the day and had a brilliant time well worth the money.
Overall the holiday was brilliant well worth the money !

After reading these reviews I was worried about my stay in the Santa Monica. But none the less, I packed my suitcase and decided to see for my self. I’m glad I did, as far as I am concerned, I had an excellent stay here, one of my best holidays.
The hotel staff were very friendly, especially the receptionists, with their own sense of humour, they really made you feel welcome and were willing to help at the drop of a hat.
The reps were helpful and friendly and helped us book all the trips we wanted to do and seemed to be there to help when needed.
As for the food, there was always something to eat for both myself and my children. Didn’t really have any complaints about the food to be honest.
The resort of Calella is busy enough with plenty to do for kids and adults, although there is a shingle beach but it’s easy to get used to.
On one last note, the thing that concerned me the most was the robberies, but when I asked the reps and hotel staff they assured me there had been none reported of late and that they had installed CCTV, and informed us that previously, the resort of Calella had been subject to a gang of thieves working within hotels in the area. Whatever the cause, I heard of no robberies during my stay and luckily had nothing stolen. I would still recommend a safe but just for peace of mind.
Will be going back to the Santa Monica next year and have already booked up.

Hotel room was very nice, requested a first floor room as have 2 toddlers.
Had a double bed, a single & a cot, bath, shower, very large balcony which had 2 sunloungers if you wanted to stay in, only thing was it got very dirty and dusty as the week went on. Maids came every day.
Bar area was ok, the staff not too friendly with the children as my 18 month old son was told to be quiet while playing on a racing car game!!
The entertainment was not that good we had two nights out of the 7 which had good entertainment, the rest was made by the staff which did try their best, which included bingo, karaoke which only the staff sang, & silly competitions between guests. Mini disco for children.
Food was ok not brilliant but not terrible, there was always something to choose from.
Lots of talk between guests about things being stolen from rooms, by the pool & even in the restaurant, so we made sure all valuables were with us at all times.
Kids loved the pool & play area & spent most of their time enjoying this. It’s worth a train ride from the local station to Barcelona it only takes 30-40 mins direct for 6 Euros return a great day out.
Would go back to Santa Monica again as we all had a great family holiday.

This has got to be the worse hotel we have ever stayed at. The rooms are quite spacious but ours was covered in ants.
We had a view of the back of the hotel which was smelly because of the bins and noisy because of the road. Our towels were changed every day but our sheets were only changed on day twelve, because our little one was sick and I put the sheets outside the room.
The food is lukewarm and very repetitive. Nine of us out of eleven of us had severe sickness as did a lot of other people at our hotel.
The reps are good with the kids in the day but the evening entertainment is just them singing along to Whitney Houston cds. The queue for food in the evening is terrible and the lift is a long waiting game.
The sun loungers are taken up with towels pretty early for people to have spaces in the afternoon. The cleaners are back and forth all day, doing a bit at a time so not very good for our little guys who like a nap in the afternoon.
Calella is still in the olden days and when we got caught out in the rain we also got caught in the filth that rises from the drains that can’t cope with the rainfall.
The beach is gritty to say the least and the shelf when you get into the sea is very dangerous for children.
Hope things have changed for future holidaymakers.

Having just returned from this holiday I can now conclude that the accommodation was not acceptable.
I was on this holiday with my husband and daughter aged 3, we did not expect to be put into a room which adjoined with another family; you could hear absolutely everything that was getting said between them.
Rooms clean but could do with getting re-painted. Maids were in everyday which was good; corridors were very grubby until late afternoon when the maids hoovered.
There were seven break-inns in the week that we were there.
Food was acceptable only for adults. The choice and availability for children was unacceptable, had to go to McDonalds to feed my daughter as chicken nuggets was only provided one night out of seven. If you went down for your dinner at 6.30pm you had to wait in a very big queue.
Found resort dirty and very residential, very Spanish orientated, walked into shop, and was followed about.
I am glad I only paid £569 for the break as that was all it was worth!

This was the first time my 19th month old daughter and I have been to Spain. My wife came to this hotel 10 years ago the first time she went Spain and because it was fine back then we decided to give it a try. Plus it was reasonably priced.
So we thought!
The room was very basic. We booked a room a double bed and a cot. We ended up with two singles and when pushed together one was higher than the other and one sank in the middle.
We mentioned this to the Thomson reps and they said they will get someone to sort the bed out. A maintenance guy just turns the slats in the base of the bed over, which did no use at all. As for the cot it was all metal and rusty in places. My little girl would not even sit in it never mind sleep in it.
The food was terrible too. It was either cold or overcooked. Chips every night. Not much for little ones to eat. As for little ones, there are only 5 highchairs - only 1 decent one. One of the highchairs collapsed. If you’re staying here with a youngster your best of feeding them in their pram.
The pool was an OK size and the snack bar at the side of the pool was fine.
The most worrying part of our holiday was the robberies that were taking place. Some robberies were done from beside the pool and some from the rooms. Make sure you get a safe and keep your safe key and room key on you at all times.
As for the reps they were friendly enough. But regarding the problems there was not a lot they could do as there was many people complaining.
The resort itself was OK. There was one main shopping street with loads of shops and there is a couple of markets each week. There is a little trolley train that stops right outside the hotel and takes you round the area for a very small fee.

Calella: This is not a sandy beach and dangerous for children. Very sharp, very small shingle that really hurts your feet. My little boy’s feet were raw, and sandals/jelly shoes didn’t help as it went through the holes.
There is a very dangerous very steep drop a couple of feet into the sea. A bit of a building site in general, but I imagine they were trying to get ready for the high season.
Some nice bars, restaurants and boutiques - but you have to hunt for them. Ask the locals. The trolley train that stops outside the hotel was very cheap and convenient. Watch your bags - see next paragraph.
Hotel:
The hotel was clean but was very dated - they had tried to update the decor but obviously on a tight budget, the bar area reminded us of the local British Legion.
The pool area was small and so packed with sunbeds you whacked your legs trying to get to the pool. The children’s pool was still too deep for my two year old and was accessed by steep steps.
The entertainment was dire - can’t say any more than that. The food was just horrific. You go to Spain to sample Spanish food - if I had wanted chips every night and bad meat I would have gone to Butlins.
We ate out every night; there are some lovely Spanish restaurants in Calella with great tapas. Breakfast was a little safer - but still chips!
Staff were nice enough - we were surprised at how many were English. Reps were useless.
People’s bags were being stolen from the dining room and pool area and one couple had their room broken into - twice! Not once did the rep warn the other guests or give advice on what do.
Thomson/Skytours:
Great flights. Watch your luggage allowance. Infants do not have a luggage allowance (how ridiculous is that! most of our stuff was our son's!) As Thomson didn’t issue us with tickets (lost in the post-twice) we had to collect them from the airport.
Your allowance is on these tickets (great if you have already packed and are at the airport). The Thomsonfly allowance is different from the amount that you will find on the Gatwick airport website. They didn’t mention a thing going out, but crucified us coming home, 9 Euros per extra kilo!
How anyone can visit this place more than once is totally beyond me.

I'm a single parent, and holidays don’t come cheap!! But this was reasonably priced, so splashed out for two weeks.
OH MY GOD!! What a fab holiday! Absolutely loved it. Going again in July 07, can’t wait. Nothing to fault, even the other families were nice... the children were well behaved with lovely manners, and with smiling parents! (I live on and island just off the UK, and I'm not used to seeing people or how different they are from us - no offense but I've heard about this 'streetwise' thing and it scares me silly!)
Food was great with lots of choice, even odd things to try like Russian salad (yum) and unpronounceable things that were worth the go! Lots of fresh fruit and veg choices, which helped keep the weight down, only thing to remember was to take money into restaurant for water!
Staff were really pleasant and couldn’t help out enough, they are very quick to spot a potential problem and sort it.

Great holiday - only paid £395 for 2 adults + 1 child half board. The hotel was quite busy as it was school holidays.
A couple of times we queued up for the restaurant to be allocated a table but we didn't have to wait long. The food was good and plenty of choice - came back a good few pounds heavier! The pool is quite small for the size of the hotel but there is plenty of sun beds. We prefer the beach and this is only a 5 minute walk away.
Calella is a nice resort with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. I would definitely go back.