H TOP Calella Palace

In fact I had a damn good time... I was looking for a four or five night break for my wife and myself while our son was away on a school trip, so the choice was strictly limited - we could not leave before midday on the Saturday and HAD to be back no later than the next Friday.
I had set a budget of £200 per head and wanted to fly from Stansted ( being most convenient for Norfolk). I found the holiday on "Teletext Holidays" surfing the net , and that I could specify my precise requirements. There were two possible options and after some online research decided on the Hotel Osiris at Calella on the Costa Brava. After a perfect and punctual flight we were slightly delayed at Girona airport waiting for our luggage and failed to meet up with our transport to the hotel. The helpful information desk at the airport 'phoned "resort hoppa" - the minibus operator - on our behalf and we were on our way an hour later.
The hotel seemed clean, efficient and friendly at check in, we received our room keys and were informed that although we had missed the evening meal - it being 9.00 in the evening by now - there would be a snack bar available and we could "help ourselves"
We did - and there was plenty of decent food, salads / bread / fruit / drinks. We had been given paper passes until our proper "identity cards" were available next morning - and these gave us full "all inclusive" amenities. And "all inclusive" means just that - you show your card at the bar and order whatever you want "two drinks per adult" at a time, as often as you want between 10 a.m. & midnight, as much as you care to eat for breakfast / lunch / evening meal - and access to the snack bar at any time between meals... If you wanted to go out for the day and skip lunch a picnic box could be prepared.
The hotel was "lively" with lots of families and entertainment "for the kids" - karaoke and the like.. and quite noisy between 11 pm & 1.00 a.m. when you might be trying to get to sleep !! In fact our only complaint was that there was no "chill out zone" for adults like ourselves ( 50 ish).
Restaurant , pool and bedrooms were all up to the hotels 3 * rating, and the staff and general cleanliness were exemplary. Food was "self service" but frequently refreshed during the two hour "sittings" with variety and local interest. If the hot selections required any reheating a microwave was available - although I never found this necessary.
The town itself was fairly touristy - tacky gift shops etc - but with more "Spanish ness" & multiculturalism than I had found the previous year at a more "upmarket" resort on the Costa del Sol which had been very much ex-pat territory.
The beach at Calella - 10 minutes walk from the hotel -was great for swimming from with quite a steep shelf down to the water - though' perhaps not so good for small children. The general cleanliness of the town left something to be desired, for which dog owners were largely to blame!
Calella proved to be a useful holiday base, as a visit to Barcelona had been on my agenda even during my brief stay.
The local train station was about twenty minutes walk from the hotel with a half hourly service to the city. The forty mile trip took about an hour - stopping at all stations - but clean and quiet (electric). Also amazingly cheap, 11 euros - £7.00 - for two return tickets !
Getting out at "Place de Catalunya" we spent a brilliant day enjoying the street entertainment along "La Rambla" - a pedestrian avenue that leads down to the old harbour - and viewing the city from the roof of the splendid gothic cathedral ( lift available / 4 euro entrance "donation" ! ) Lunch at a local’s cafe off "La Rambla" cost 10 euros per head - £6.50 - including a half carafe of white wine and coffee.
Another cheap day out on the train took us to Blaines along the coast away from Barcelona, where we enjoyed the activity of the Monday seafront market, and a visit to the cliff top botanic gardens of Marimurtra with their amazing collection of cacti.
All told the hotel was good value and the resort a good base for a holiday . Probably not the place you would take the girlfriend you are trying to impress, but ok none the less !!
We had not used them, but there were sauna ,gymnasium , and rooftop Jacuzzis available at the hotel, and also free bike hire.
"Wish we had known" - that the all inclusive identity cards are accepted at other local hotels in the same chain (Top Hotels) - three at Callella - if you fancied getting your drinks at another hotel in the town for a change!

Again, like the previous post (Below) I and my girlfriend stayed at Hotel Osiris. We'd first been there in 2002, allocated on arrival.
First Impressions
First impressions that year were that we'd hit the jackpot, as far as AOC is concerned, as the main foyer is lovely and had air-conditioning. After the usual photographic ID card routine, we headed up to the rooms. Entering the lifts from the foyer you expect the whole hotel to be as nice, but upon the lifts opening it gradually gets worse right up until you eventually get in the rooms. The decor is terrible. At that point I thought we had landed in the ****.
Rooms
The rooms aren't disgusting or anything, just the decor, i.e. colour scheme was dissapointing after expecting it to be like downstairs. Also, no air-conditioning in the rooms. But, it was clean and kept that way everyday by the maids. Clean sheets (if needed) and clean towels would be left each day.

The walls are paper thin as is the sheets of glass on the balcony door, so if you have noisy neighbours stick your ear-plugs in. Probably best stick them in anyway if you end up out back next to that through road. It is no joke, you will not get a good sleep at all.
Food
The buffet is very repe*****ive, pork pork and more pork in some guise or other. Sometimes, there is a special meal e.g. roast beef which the chef carves up for you. This was actually very good. But, the special meal happens rarely if at all. The food is edible (mostly) and kids won't complain about eating chips and hot dogs alot. The salad stuff is always excellent, very fresh.
The drink is of course free as well. The beer available as part of the AI deal is a local variety, which is not bad at all. You also have all spirits and soft drinks free too. The sangria that they make up for you is very good and very lethal!
Service
The service and stuff are excellent. If there was a separate rating for this I'd give them 10/10. All are well dressed and very friendly. Ash trays and glasses are collected continuously throughout the hotel (the sun terrace upstairs, poolside and bar area).
This is a family oriented hotel, which is perfect for young children. The kids entertainment is first class. The entertainment team are exceptional. Evening entertainment for the adults, all provided by the same entertainment team can be a bit repe*****ive for some if you're there for more than 1 week.
The bar areas are very pleasant and air-conditioned. The pools are lovely. The sun terrace on top of the building is excellent, with a minibar and 3 jacuzzis.
Calella
The hotel is probably furtherst from the beach in Calella than any other hotel, but its still only 10 min walk away. The town of Calella is a lovely place to stroll around with many, many shops. Not quite sure what the other guy was saying about Santa Susanna, we drove through that place on the bus and it was way smaller than Calella, it was a suburban town and looked quiet with very few shops. Calella on the other hand has hundreds up pubs and several nightclubs, as well as many places to eat, including McDonalds for the kids. Calella also has a train station which is right on the beach front which takes you along the coast and into Barcelona. And here's a tip, don't take the Barcelona tour by bus. You get no time to youself. Take the train its quicker and you'll get a better look around Barcelona.
Beach
The beach is a pebble beach (small pebbles), but you can still walk on it. It is very nice. There are bar kiosks along the length of the beach which also have toilets.
Calella has many German, Danish and Dutch tourists. Not surprisingly, they occupy all the hotels on the beach front! You'll find 95% of Hotel Osiris are English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish.
We ended up there again in 2003, again it was allocate on arrival. We were actually quite relieved because we knew what to expect. Clean hotel and great service and facilities. What more could you expect from a 3* hotel.