To try and answer in turn

1. Try the Cye Holiday centre. Stayed there a few years back. Close enough to centre to be handy, but far enough away as to be reasonable quiet. Still plenty of enterainment within a short distance (and at the apartments itself)

2. Very much so

3. No worries at all should be fine

4. Don't know who uses the Cye now (be careful - there are the Cye Apartments in the Centre of Salou - not the same as Cye Holiday centre)

Scoop

Thanks for that information. I have had a quick look at the apartments and they look good, First Choice have them in their brochure so I will price it up and see. I am also going to see about booking it DIY, it might be cheaper with there being so many of us.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks again

Sue x

Hi,
I have been to Salou 3 times, when I was 14,15 & 17. I went with my brother who is 3 years younger than me along with may parents and grandparents. Each time we stayed at the Hotel Calypso which was fantastic. The hotel is only available with Thomson and is a Superfamily hotel so there is loads for the kids to do. They also have inter-connecting rooms so you can be close to your family. There used to be a tennis court & 5-a-side football pitch but the brochure says this has now been changed to a second swimming pool. The hotel has also been re-furbished since I last went there. There were lots of pool tables and a large games room which had a soft play area. There was always entertainment for the family and in the restaurant there was also a separate section for the kids. There were 3 bars/disco rooms & the staff were always friendly and helpful - they even sent us Christmas cards! The food was good, always lots to choose from & I am a very fussy eater!

The resort itself is great! Plenty of pubs & clubs, some of them for families, there is a small fairground opposite the hotel with trampolines, bucking broncho, soft play etc. I recommend going to Port Aventura theme park, although maybe not suitable for a young baby. One tip though, save the Dragon Khan til last - everything else seems tame in comparison! I would recommend buying your Port Aventura tickets from a local travel agent rether than the tour operator - much cheaper. If you have never been to Salou before, be careful at the zebra crossings, drivers do not stop for pedestrians & the pavements are quite slippery too. The beach is clean & very large although can get busy in the summer. There is a lot of choice for cafe's/restaurants, even a McDonalds, although I preferred Picnic's Pizza, right opposite the beach!

If you want to go on trips, Barcelona was good. You get to go to the zoo, Nou Camp Barcelona FC & free time for shopping. I haven't been to the water park yet, I'm hoping to go this year.

I am now 23 and am going back to Salou in June with my boyfriend. Unfortunately Thomson do not fly to Salou from Bristol anymore so we are going with Direct Holidays and staying at the Delfin Park, otherwise I would go back to the Calypso again.

Hope this is useful to you, If you have any other questions, please ask.

That's great information, thank you so much for your help.

We have decided to book Albatros Apartments, reviews seem quite good and we got a good price from Thomsons.....£1475 for 3 adults, 2 kids (15,14) and an infant, flying from Manchester, self catering. I am going to take my internet deal to the high street tomorrow and see if I can so a bit of bantering, any suggestions?

Thanks again for your help, Salou sounds great.

Sue x

Hi Sue! You took the time to reply to my questions on Paphos, Cyprus, so when I looked at your other posts and saw this, I thought that I would try to help you!

We visited Salou 3 years ago, and stayed at the Catalunya Park which is to be avoided at all costs (look at the reviews and you will see why, everything bad said about them is true, in fact some of the reviews look tame in comparison to our experience there!) So thank goodness you haven't booked to go there!

Port Aventura is really fab! We stayed from early morning to close, and could have easily returned again. You will love it. We too, would like to visit the large waterpark one day, it looks great.

We took the train to Barcelona one day. Great day, but it can get a bit confusing when it gets to the underground bit. I was totally confused but we managed to work it out eventually, and then we were fine. We only had a day there, we could easily have spent longer. I can vividly remember the train coming home was very tiring because we had to stand the whole way home, no men giving up their seats for woman and children, I'm afraid (so pretty much like home then!)

I will try to find out if your apartments are near to where we were staying. We had just a short walk over waste ground to a lovely little cove, which was mainly used by locals. We went into the main part of Salou only a couple of times because it was quite a hike - do you know how close you are? Salou seems to be a big place.

All in all, it was a good holiday, apart from the accommodation! We ate at the same restaurant every night - Sun and Moon - just across the road from our apartments.

I shall grill my husband when he gets home from work and post if there is anything else which may be of use to you.

Cheers!

Fi

Fi,

Thank you so much for your help, it is really appreciated.

We have never been to Salou before so not sure where abouts we are, in comparison to the theme park but not too worried, we don't mind walking. I know it is right at the end of the resort and near a couple of nice coves. The only problem we may have is that one of the coves near us has a lot of steps leading down to it and this year we are taking a 7 month old with us so that might be a bit of a chore but I am sure we will manage. My children are 17,15 & 14 so they are big enough to lend a hand.

Once again thanks for any other information you have.

Take care.

Sue xx

Sorry I haven't replied sooner. We cannot find out if you are staying in the same part as us but my husband remembers a cove between us and the main area of Salou (by the main area I mean by the fountain, etc.) which did have a lot of steps leading down to it. To get to our cove we had to go through a green fenced off area, down a sloping walkway and then when you came to a little cafe down a few steps which were a bit haphazard but worth it for the lovely beach. We never used the main beach but it looked fine.

I would say that the do it yourself journey to Barcelona was very tiring, but a good day, we could have done with longer. We made our way down through the main part (The Ramblers) watch out for pick-pockets though, I believe they are rife.

Do go to Port Aventura, it is great for all ages, and if I went again, I would have at least two days there plus at least one day at the Waterpark. The buses back were plentiful I seem to remember, even late at night.

Have you seen these reviews?

http://www.holidaywatchdog.com/10431-Salou-Albatross_Apartments-Holiday-Review.html

Sorry I can't give you any more information. To be honest with you, we really didn't have a good time in Salou, nothing to do with the place, it was great, but our accommodation was so awful, we were just desparate to get home again.

Cheers!

Fi

Hi Sue, I've never stayed at the Albatros aptms but love the beach there. Last summer we stayed at El Paso and when we wanted to spend the day at the beach, booked a taxi and asked them to take us to the Albatros.

The access to the beach has really improved over recent years. Although there are still lots of steps there is now a new road and you don't have to go cross country to arrive at the beach!

I have stayed at the Negressco Princess and you will see the hotel jutting out of the headland and we use one of the coves towards this hotel - lovely

Have a great time

Starryx

Thank you so much for your replies.

Starry, that's good to hear, should be easier with the pushchair etc. We intend to go to the main area as we like lively area's but it will be so nice to sit and relax on the beach at the cove too, wish I was there now. I just hope the weather will be warm enough in May.

Fi, you have been more than helpful. Your right about Barcelona, we have been there too and like you, had a great day dispite travelling by train and tube, we did eventually find it and went to Nou camp. We are also going to get 14 day theme-park tickets, currently £48, bargain, that will keep the teenagers entertained.

Can't wait now, chatting on here and talking about it makes me even more excited so thank you....I know I'm sad

Thanks again

Sue x

Sue,

First, you are so NOT sad, without this site we would not be able to have such well-informed holidays. I always do lots of homework before going on holiday, I think being forewarned about anything is very important, you can then avoid any nasties and have a great time.

Had you wanted to know details about any of our other holidays, I could have written a book about the good, the bad (and the ugly!) unfortunately our one to Salou was in the latter group! You can have a good time pretty much anywhere but if the accommodation is bad you are in trouble.

What a bargain getting those passes to Port Aventura! I would consider that when we go again, which I am sure we will.

I became the neurotic that I am holiday-wise after my experiences at our Salou accommodation. Since then, touch wood, we have had lovely holidays (unless you count two years' ago when our safety deposit box was removed from the wall of our room and wheeled out in one of our suitcases). Knowing simple things like the best beach to use, the nicest restaurants, and the trips to avoid, can save you a lot of time, and money! It is easy to waste several days trying to find these things out, and worse still finding out after you have paid out money.

I would never again book simply by looking at the picture and details in the brochure. They are always going to look good aren't they?

You must leave a post after you have been in the hotel reviews, I know that I will.

I am just about to have another look on the website for our apartments, being excited about going is all part of the holiday I think, especially when you have spent so much money on it. You need to get your money's worth!

Cheers!

Fi

What a couple of cracking post.. This is what HT is all about holiday enjoyment and the passing on of experience and knowledge to others who may not be experienced travelers or limited in their knowledge of a given resort

thank you both

wizard

Thank you Wizard!

Your comments were very kind.

Piglet 63

Wizard,

Thanks for your kind words, your right, this is what it is all about and long may it continue.

I'm glad it's not just me that spends ages searching and confirming my desicion before booking and it's all thanks to this great website and the fantastic people on it. I even search for friends and family who are not on line, maybe I should start charging (just kidding).

Your right Fi, when it comes to the apartments/hotel though, we stayed in Santa Susanna and had our accomodation changed at the last moment, that did spoil our holiday, all that research as well, never mind, we just tried to make the most of it.

Thanks again for all your comments and lets hope this site continues for a very long time.

Sue x

reading the post here and noticed scoop said be careful as there is cye apartments in middle of salou are they ok as we have booked them for july