Hello Sue, yes I know the area and the hotel.

Ive not been in any rooms so can't comment but the restaurant is laid out nice and the food was good, if not cheap, on the ocassions Ive been.

It is on a main road that I doubt will be over noisy as its not a fast one and not overly busy at night.

The hotel is well situated, only five minutes from a major Supermarket (Uphill) and five minutes from a specialist British one, if the need arises, (Downhill)

There are lots of small shops but no big centres and a trip to Almeria or Murcia would be needed and not worth it.

There are plenty of International type restaurants on the doorstep inc Chinese, American and Argentinian.

If you need a propper English breakfast or decent cup of English tea, then the only Brit bar I know of in the town centre is "Anny's" which can be found on the right, opposite side to the the post office, a mile into town and on the same road as you are on.

The town has lots of typical Spanish bars and restaurants and some specialist seafood ones but I see you are going soon and so many of the latter will be closed for the winter. That is because they earn so much money with their high prices during summer months they can afford to.

Be carefull if ordering from a cooled seafood cabinet and always ask the price first as some Prawns can cost you €130 a kilo and that was three years ago when I got caught out.

The hotel was said recently to have been taken over by a couple for a TV fly on the wall documentary. Just for a week I heard so please ask how it went and maybe you will let us know here when you return, hopefully with a report.

Garrucha is a fishing town and so an hour at the fish auction would be worthwhile which is held in a building next to where the trawlers moor up, at the other end of the port to you. 5pm Monday to Friday I think and there is a viewing platform upstairs or you can take some good photos of giant swordfish and tuna at chained entrances around the building.

There is a new marina being built about a 1/4 mile from you as the crow flys and the thumping is very noisy but I'm hoping the many buildings between you will cushion the sound. Nothing does when I'm at sea fishing and it can be heard for many miles. It's also sent the fish looking for new homes!!

As for sights to see and things to do, I cant think of many unless you fancy a trip to the Alhambre Palace in Granada (2. 1/2 hour drive)
The Nudist beach close by wont be offering much to look at in ths weather and the water Park is closed.

Best wishes for a good trip and if I can help further please ask, John Beachcomber.

Thanks John. 130 euros a kilo for prawns. Blimey. I live near Denia in the Valencian area, and in the supermarkets round here you could buy about 20 kilos for that... I will indeed watch out and very much appreciate the tip off.
Thanks too for the advice re shopping etc, I don't expect we'll be going near the big cities, really its just a weekend away in a different bit of Spain we haven't seen much of yet, and hopefully slightly warmer temperatures at night than we're getting here at present.
I'll certainly post something about the hotel when we return.
Regards,
Sue

Hi Sue, yeah Prawns are cheap here too but not the local "Garrucha Prawn" !!! The price I previously quoted was the raw price charged in some restaurants. I think I saw them in a supermarket for 60 a kilo. Have a good time, John.