Avid fans of continental freight train operations and the smell of sewage, need apply! Upon arrival we were greeted by the lovely smell, good job we had decided to go out that evening anyway.

It is equidistant from Salou and Cambrils (2 miles either way) but is a pleasant walk along the beach, which is a minute away. The grandiose facade of the hotel is a bit of an anti-climax, as inside the decor is definitely dated, classical late '70's i think.

Definitely don't go to cook! Very limited 4 gas rings, a fridge which when opened, is so close to the door and wall it turns the light switch on and off! Make sandwiches at your peril!

The maids didn't understand English properly, i.e. do not disturb, they only came twice in the week, which I feel is lucky in comparison to other people on here! The floor was gritty on arrival and also bedding was not changed at all, despite complaints.

The pool seems an afterthought, fit into the only place available, and don't wear goggles as you can see the bottom of the pool! I found a battery and many cracked tiles.

Entertainment was funny in a kitsch way, think Phoenix nights meets Butlins, I had a laugh anyway.

Some of the staff were great, the guy from St Helen's a good laugh and Jasper the Dutch barman was amusing. But the Manuel character was definitely the most rude person to work in a hotel, and I can take things with a pinch of salt, I know he offended most people!

Verdict: Alright if you just want somewhere to sleep that isn't a tent, however there are plenty of nice camp-sites with a probable 3 key rating up the road!

Don't bother if you are a family!

Our holiday was booked by my children as a 50th Birthday present for my husband. On booking they were assured that as it was a special gift that the accommodation would be more than acceptable. On arrival at the hotel we were greeted by other people telling us not to get off the coach as it was such a dump but however we thought that perhaps it was just exaggeration.

The entrance to the hotel is just beside the pool and so we had to manoeuvre ourselves and luggage around the large numbers of children playing directly in the entrance. The reception area is dark and very old fashioned, we were asked for a breakage deposit of 60euros before getting the key to what I can only describe as an over sized cupboard.

The Studio apartment consisted of two twin beds, two bunk beds, a bathroom and a kitchen in a cupboard. The room smelt fusty and my husband traced the smell to a mop left in a bucket in the corner of the kitchen which we then moved out onto the balcony. The toilet in the apartment leaked so that when you flushed it water escaped from around the base of the pan, and the shower caused water to leak into the kitchen. The towels were thin grey scraps of fabric that I would hesitate to use as cleaning rags. The decor was just awful, repairs to the furniture had been made using different types of wood and the overall impression was of a very rundown uncared for establishment.

We did complain to the rep and asked to be moved, we did suggest that we were prepared to pay for an upgrade however the rep stated that they had nowhere available and that she would perhaps try to get us another room elsewhere in the hotel but that did not happen. She did tell us that it was only a two star hotel and that facilities were basic but we have stayed in two star hotels before and there is no way that this place should even have a star rating. She then went home and was not back in the resort again during our holiday as she was ill and another rep had taken over. I suppose we should have made more of a fuss but since she had said there was nowhere else for us to go we decided to make the most of a bad lot and chose instead to only use the hotel as somewhere to sleep and spent our days and evenings away from the place.

The hotel was just across the road from the beach and I suppose a nice sea view would have perhaps compensated for the dingy room however our view was of the car park at the side of the hotel and the rubbish, broken furniture, discarded fridges etc and the back of another hotel.

We were fortunate that we did not receive any insect bites but quite a number of people on the second floor were bitten, I do hope that it was just mossies and not something more sinister.

On the morning of our departure the night porter told us that Thompson's will not be using the hotel again (I wonder why?) and that it is going to be sold and the new owners intend to carry out some changes. I think that it would need a major overhaul in order to bring it up to an acceptable standard.

We recently had a lovely stay in the esmerelda.
The apartments were very basic but we paid very liitle to our previous holidays as it was a second time away this year.
although basis the apt was spacious and central to the resort and right across from the beach.

The hotel staff were lovely the bar staff were friendly and great to our kids.

The pool is small however we spent most ouir time at the beach and very kids just swam in the evenings when we headed back to the hotel.

while we were there we had our money stolen by pick pockets at the local bus station in tarragona and felt very silly as the rep had warned us at the welcome meeting. the rep was fantastic and she helped us get a money transfer and assisted us with police reports and made sure that it didnt ruin the rest of the holiday.

The reps and reception staff were very friendly and always on hand to help and they had patience of a saint when it came to dealing with some other guests that had paid peanuts for a late deal and were demanding a move and upgrade.

The bars down the road mucky duck and rugby tavern were a great place to do for an evening meal and it was great to go to the local waterpark and the themepark the kids loved it

will be returning next summer hopefully

Hotel dirty beds only changed twice in 14 days.

Swimming pool small but the children had a good time in it, but were disappointed that they could not have inflatables in the pool.

Most of the staff were very nice and helpful (shame about the reps).

Entertainment not much to talk about but we did meet some very nice people whilst on holiday.

Accommodation not good if you are planning on cooking during your stay kitchen very very small.

When we got to the hotel we had to wait around in the bar as our room wasn't ready (despite it being 6pm). We were offered a drink but later found out we had to pay for it.

We got in the room and one of us had to sleep in bunk beds (not great for a single 25 year old). the bathroom was filthy with chips in the bath, towels weren't changed at all during the week. Also they don't supply toilet roll but luckily we were on ground floor so used bar toilets as refused to buy own loo roll.

Beds weren't cleaned either. Floor gritty on arrival. Kitchen is a closet with gas rings that don't work not that you'd want to cook in there anyway.

Pool tiny. Bar overpriced. Rep no good. Staff rude and even refused our safety deposit back until we removed a bag of rubbish which we'd tied up in the bathroom corner.

Heard the maids laughing all day but what did they actually do? Also decorated like my grans living room in reception with all tacky ornaments. Save your money guys.

This hotel was dirty, smelly and full of dead moggies on the walls.

No toaster, you have to hire it at a cost of 22 euros per 14 days. We had no frying pan, no grille, no oven, the bath/shower does not empty properly.

Please do not go there. It is horrible.

We arrived and proceeded to check in at reception, I glanced into the bar area and was warmly met with a welcome of somebody shouting welcome to faulty towers to which I just laughed off.

When we went to our room I was shocked 2 small bunk beds(for two tall 13 year old girls to sleep in), a kitchen area in a cupboard and 2 small single beds. The smell when we opened the kitchen area was hideous it smelt like rotten eggs and even out in the corridor. The kettle had green mould in and there was tiles missing from the walls.

We were there a week in which the maids came in twice to supposedly clean the apartments and change the bedding, the most they did was change the towels, the bedding was not changed at all!!!!!!

We asked to be moved to another room or another hotel as the girls could not be expected to sleep in such cramped beds, we were told we would have to pay 180 English pounds to be moved to a room in the same apartments with a pullout sofa bed instead of bunk beds to which we declined.

The Thompsons rep to which we complained to several times was uncooperative and lapsadasical not even knowing the price of the local buses.


A word of warning do not got to these apartments they will seriously ruin your holiday.

We arrived as a family of four and booked into our room, to find a)No toilet roll. b)The toilet didn't flush. Not very good with two young children. We complained and the toilet did not get fixed until four days into our holiday. In the meantime we had to put our hands into the cistern to flush the toilet (very nice!)

We went self catering but their was absolutely no way we would have cooked in our kitchens. They were filthy, cutlery dirty. A dog should not have to eat of their plates. Our rooms were not cleaned once in the week we were there and there was a lot of hair in the bath plug hole.

The smell near the lifts almost made you bring your dinner up, and that was allowing for the fact if you could use the lifts, as we could not open the doors on our floor.

Staff most unhelpful and we must have had the worst holiday rep employed by Thomson, if you ever saw her that is.

I reiterate everything that has been said by Bev Bray and Steve Williams. After reading their reports I realised we were there the same week, and had spoken to Bev.

Almost everyone staying there were of the same opinion. Our studio floor was covered in bits of grit etc. A curtain hanging off. The lightbulbs blew the first day, were fixed 2 days later, then went again, so for rest of holiday we had to rely on bathroom light and lights from the street.

The kitchen (when we found it in the cupboard) was awful, with a dirty mop and bucket in the corner, no plug to the sink.

We ate out for every meal as we could not use the crockery, and cutlery etc, we did not even use the kettle.

The toilet did not flush properly, and we had to fill the bucket to flush it.

The maids did not come in to clean and only changed the towels the day before we came home.

There was a smell near the lifts and on the corridor on the fourth floor.

The location was very good, very near to the beach.
The entertainment wasn't too bad, and I must admit we had a good laugh.

We met some lovely people, and that, along with the weather made our holiday. Had this place been in England I think we would have gone straight home.

We did not expect 5 star accomodation, but feel sure for the amount we had paid we should have had a much better place.

The hotel was a dump. It needed a very good clean up.

On arrival we had to pay 60 euros (or 40 English pounds). There was no fan in our room and were told to pay 15 euros for 1 week and they were faulty.

The staff were mostly friendly except for 1 Spanish man who was always clock watching and the old woman who run the place. She could`ve done with a good bath.

The bar shut at midnight but the lights went out at 1.
The games room shut at eight and the pool tables were shut for 10.

The entertainment was always bingo mostly done by the night porter.

You had to take your rubbish out to the big waste bin provided on the main street.

We had a main road very close by and a train track behind the hotel which run constantly for 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

There were frequent salesmen and women flogging cheap and fake tat and the staff never asked them to leave.

Pool was never cleaned and half of the sunloungers were broken and the hotel was falling to bits.

The balcony door was broken. Electrical lights hanging out. Self catering holiday but the kitchen (if you call it that) had just 2 rings and nothing else. Spent 1 full day of holiday cleaning the 1 room apartment which was for 4 people.

The good things about the holiday were we escaped everyday by going out. On day of leaving went with the old women to inspect the room and it was cleaner than when we arrived. Also went so she couldn`t plant things in the room to stop us getting our money back as we`d heard of that happening to other guests.