Hotel Blaucel - Blanes
Operator and Date: Independet Arrangements - September 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Andy Lowin - Hertfordshire (41, 30, 18, 10, 8, 2)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We pieced together our holiday to Blanes. Flights with Ryanair to Girona and booked a private shuttle to and from the Airport through shuttledirect com both of whom were excellent and on time.
We were originally going to stay at the sister hotel, the Blaumar next door but as the difference was only a few pounds a night we went for the 4* Blaucel instead booking through Hotelopia. Upon checking in there was entertainment in progress and the whole place had a lively atmosphere, as we didnt check in until 11pm the hotel had saved a cold meal for us in the dining room which although we didnt eat much of it we thought was a nice touch.
The rooms at the Blaucel are very modern and are absolutely spotless with full maid service daily. Satellite TV was provided but there are only 2 channels in English - BBC World and Eurosport. This i can only assume is for the benefit of other guests. When we stayed there was only one other English party in the hotel and the clientele was a mix of French, Spanish, Dutch and Russian visitors. Lovely pool and terrace area to with an indoor pool and spa which was appreciated as the outdoor pool was not heated and a bit chilly. We booked Half-Board and i must admit my family are quite fussy with food and we did struggle to eat well in the hotel. Some nights were fine but other nights the kids ended up with rice and chips for dinner. All the food is show cooking and if you are willing to try it is not bad with lots of fish, pork, veal etc. Nightly entertainment in the bar was either a local singer or dancers with the flamenco show on Sunday the highlight of the week.
Around the hotel are a couple of restaurants and 2 supermarkets which we used for lunch buying baguettes to have on the beach plus a few small gift shops. A road train also stops outside the hotel every 30 mins and runs right down to the other end of the resort. Next door is a small funfair for the kids with dodgems, bouncy castles etc. Even though our rooms overlooked this there was no problem with noise as it shut at 11pm.
The beach at this end of the resort (S'abanell) is quite coarse and there were quite a few jellyfish in the sea, but was fine and safe for the kids.
The main town of Blanes is about 15 mins stroll along the beach and there are a few beachfront restaurants and we spent an afternoon in the old town shopping.
I would recommend taking the 'dofijet' boat which stops on the beach and runs up and down the coast to Tossa De Mar at one end and Santa Susanna at the other, great scenery and we had a day in Lloret. Also you can take the train from Blanes straight to Barcelona (32 Euro rtn for 6 of us) and takes about an hour, make sure you get off at the Placa de Cataluna in Barcelona as there are about 5 stations.
Overall i think the resort and hotel would be more suited to couples who are looking for a peaceful holiday, but we thoroughly enjoyed our week here.
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Hotel Blaumar - Blanes
Operator and Date: Fly Globspan - July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Bob Fordie - Edinburgh 2 boys 17 4 adults 40s
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Where do you start.
Blanes is a nice resort, larger than I thought it was but not really my cup of tea, we chose it for the two boys both 17 becauce it had a bit of life about it.
Firstly there were very few people in the resort who were British which is not a minus point for the older ones in the party but for the boys it didn't make things easy the resort is made up of mostly Dutch campers).
There were load of amenities and plenty of good eating places especially el Goucho who do a mean plater of ribs for 10 euros a head or all you can eat for 12 euros.
The boats that came up to the beach are a must, we visited as far as Tossa del Mar in one direction and Santa Suzanna in the other both nice resorts with Tossa being the best of a pretty average choice, if I were to go back to this part of Spain Tossa would be the resort of choice.
As for the hotel Blaumar - the food was at best poor at worst bloody dangerous.
My wife and I and the boys ate breakfast every morning but were extremely picky about our choice, there were some strange combinations available mostly reheats from the night before (and i'm not a particluarly picky eater). The evening meal was tried twice, on the second occasion the chef was carving from a large leg of pork and when I looked at the joint it was raw in the middle and he was trying to carve round it. We ate out after that.
If you returned home after 10.30pm you couldn't get a coffee in the bar which didn't affect me but my wife enjoyed a coffee before going up to the room. One of the other hotels in the area The Beverley Park were a lot friendlier and it had a bit nightlife.
In the hotel very few of the staff spoke English which was even more of a hinderance at the reception and our Spanish was limited, but we tried, which was more than they did.
The hotel was the poor relation to the Hotel Blaucel across the road.
If you returned back to the hotel later than 1.00am you found the front doors locked and when you spoke into the intercom for entry you were told to enter through the hotel Blaucel which had an underground tunnel linking the Blaumar.
We were the only British guests in the hotel which was full of Dutch, Spanish, French and Russian holidaymakers and none were particularly friendly.
On our last night the fire alarm sounded at 5.00am and when I got to the ground floor with the other guests we found the doors all locked from the outside. The night porter entered throuh the main door and immediately went up the lift without telling anyone the cause of the alarm.
One of the Spanish guests went through the tunnel and stopped the local police who took the porter to task but unfortunately I coud'nt understand a word, but one of the Spanish guests who spoke a little English and with my limited Spanish I was able to understand what was going on.
The pool was OK but most of the guests were using the Hotel Blaucel facilities.
When it came to our pick-up coach we were given the wrong times and had to force the reception desk to contact the coach company to change the uplift time.
The plus point of the hotel were the cleaners the room was spotless even if it was a bit run down - the were the only members of staff who received a large tip.
I'm sorry if this is a bit long-winded but i would avoind this hotel and spend the additonal funds and go the the Blaucel but you would be better off in Majorca where the people are friendlier.
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Camping La Masia - Blanes
Operator and Date: Siesta. August 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Family of four - East Sussex
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We booked a three week stay at La Masia and left after 10 days. This is the first time we had to book a holiday in peak season and it simply didn't suit us. It was very busy - I can understand why there weren't many English on the site. There was obvious preferential treatment at the site bars and restaurant for the locals, which we found quite rude.
We didn't expect much (for a late booking) in the lowest grade caravan on offer by Siesta and we didn't get much. We've stayed with Siblu, Keycamp and Eurocamp this year at various european sites and by comparison this caravan should really have retired a long while ago.
The Siesta reps however were very helpful and on our arrival swiftly attended to the empty gas bottle and fridge that we couldn't get to work and fixed the radio and gas hob.
The site was kept clean, constantly being swept etc. The kids liked the pool areas although they do lack lifeguard surveillance. Watch your kids if they're young - older kids "bombing" can be quite dangerous.
The sandy beaches at Blanes were busy. There are various water sports, boat trips etc on offer which we didn't take advantage of, due to coming home early. There were some nice bars and restaurants along the front near the harbour although we only visited one due to the fact we ended up boycotting the places owned by the locals cos we were so fed up with their rudeness.
When we travel abroad we like to sample the local restaurants and eat the local food but surprised ourselves because for the first time ever, we ended up in the local "Irish" pub Cowleys and next to it the Tropicana - they were english and were polite to us!!
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Camping La Masia - Blanes
Operator and Date: Siesta Holidays - July 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : 13, 15, 36, 39
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our first time with Siesta - for the first 2 weeks of our holiday we stayed in a deluxe 8 lodge at Sanguli in Salou. The accommodation was excellent! We have travelled to many resorts in Costa Brava/Daurada with different operators and this was certainly the best mobile home we have ever stayed in. I would certainly recommend this accommodation.
Now onto our short stay at La Masia in an Executive 6 Lodge.
We realised the accommodation would not be of the same standard as the 'deluxe' but we didn't think there would be such a massive difference. Having stayed with Keycamp, Haven, Eurosites and Eurocamp in various grades of mobile home, We all agreed that the Siesta executive 6 was the worst standard we have ever stayed in.
The smell in the main bedroom was awful - had to scrub everything down and spray half a bottle of perfume.
The main bathroom smelt of sewage.
Bathroom and second bedroom smelt of stale cigarette smoke.
Air con unit kept soaking the sofa and if it wasn't doing that it was launching out ice cubes!
A tree had grown into the side of the mobile home, so every time it moved it scrapped the mobile home which made a lot of noise, it had also damaged the guttering and the roof of the mobile.
The whole mobile just looked extremely tired - mossie nets didn't work, light fittings in the bathrooms were very rusty. If you are going to use the pillows supplied - don't take off the pillow case you might get a shock, some of them are well used!
Couldn't turn the taps off fully in the bathroom - or the shower, so they were running all the time - Could be quite annoying at night. The whole mobile was simply very tired and tatty looking. I don't think it warrants the name 'Executive'.
I could write much more but all I'm going to say is we booked to stay at La Masia for a week and actually stayed for 4 days and we certainly wouldn't go back there.
The centre of Blanes is very nice - tried a few different restaurants, the best one we found was Buggy's this was on the promenade in Blanes.
Even though the beach is a man made beach it was nice - no good for children who want to build sandcastles though and it goes deep really quickly.
Great for older teenagers though, lots of water sports and if you are Dutch you'd really feel at home.
I will add that the reps on both sites were great, very friendly and helpful.
I'm not suprised that there aren't any other British companies located at La Masia it wasn't anywhere near the standard of Sanguli, Cypsela or El Delphin Verde.
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Camping La Masia - Blanes
Operator and Date: Siesta Sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : Micheal Barnes-Carlise (38,39,10,11)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
First time to resort and campsite,2 fantastic weeks,everything clean,great pools,siesta reps always on hand and helpful.Never found the old town until we went to the irish bar(all mad)Our kids had the time of their lives at Marineland,use the bus system to go to Lloret and Tossa de mar cheap and reliable.Other places to visit,The Brit bar,great fillet steaks and the Tropicana for bacon sandwiches,Matts bar made a great Sangria.You must visit barcelona the boys loved the footy stadium,all in all this was a great holiday seeing as we booked at the last minute,hope to come back but not sure if it will be as good second time around.
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Camping La Masia - Blanes
Operator and Date: Siesta - July 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Judith Laydon - West Yorkshire (38, 11, 9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We can only echo what the Hughes Family from Hartlepool (our neighbours!) have to say about the resort and the camp site. Never having been on this type of holiday before, we were pleasantly surprised with the journey to Spain which was much better than we expected.
La Masia was very big - a good 10 minutes walk to the shops and exit but only 2 minutes from the pool. Every one was friendly and the Siesta Reps were excellent.
Blanes was very clean with plenty of good places to eat. Crawley's Irish Bar and the Tropicana were well worth a visit.
All in all, this was an excellent holiday, we shall certainly go back one day. Hello to Jill, Peter, Erica, Alison, Sally, Ann, Chris, Louise, Joe and Michelle!
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Camping La Masia - Blanes
Operator and Date: Siesta July 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Hughes Family Hartlepool 43 36 15 10 7
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived in the resort on a hot sunny afternoon after a very good journey. Having never travelled by coach before we were pleasently surprised at how comfortable and relaxing it had been. Our hostess Dianne worked very hard throughout the journey keeping every one supplied with food and drinks on a very regular basis,we had regular stops enroute and i can honestly say that i have no complaints at all about the trip.
On arrival we didnt even have to carry our luggage it was taken to the Siesta area by van.On the walk through the site we were escorted by rep Emma who was very informative about the site. LaMasia is a large campsite with two good pools supermarket bakery and bars and is generally very clean.It has a predominatly Dutch and Spanish clientele and we found most people to be very friendly.
The resort is lovely with a good clean beach, plenty of shops and places to eat.We would recommened The Tropicana and the excellent Hong Kong chinese. Try the Irish bar on an evening it has a friendly atmosphere and reasonable prices.
All in all a very good family holiday.Alison says hello to Jude Olivia & Nathaniel and Ann Chris Louise Joe & Michelle from Glasgow
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Camping Solmar - Blanes
Operator and Date: harry shaw travel - 2006
Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : steve - rotherham
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
A fantastic time was had by all. Harry Shaw certainly know how to treat you on long hauls. 23 hours on the coach, but plenty to do and a bit of a kip on the way. we enjoyed the staff on board the coach. shaun and lynne (dippy) were extremely helpful. we were offered food and drink on a regular basis, and the adults had a coffee with a 'little something'in!! - tia maria i think. the accomodation is basic but clean and the pool is out of this world. very nicely landscaped. a clean site with 'fit'' faye and ''energetic' emma , two reps who we got to know very well. MMMMMMmmmmmmm!!!!GO TO CAN MIGUEL'S RESTAURANT. IT IS A MUST. HEAD TO THE HARBOUR. THEY HAVE AN OUTSIDE EATING AREA. HELPFUL WAITERS ETC...GOOD VALUE. HE LIKES THE ENGLISH!!! HE ALSO DOES MAGIC FOR THE KIDS.
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Camping Solmar - Blanes
Operator and Date: club cantabrica - aug/sep 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : jackson - derby (43, 35, 12, 5 )
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
after a 30 hr journey (including 2 broken down coaches) we arrived mid afternoon at our resort. staff were efficient and helpful and we were quickly shown around camp and to our accomodation. we were lucky as we booked just a couple of days before departure to be allocated a platinum lodge which can fit up to 9 people. as we were only a family of 4 we had plenty of room but were glad we werent in the smaller lodges as they looked very cramped.
campsite was ok and pool was by far its best feature but got a lttle too full by mid morning leaving you squashed side by side in regimented rows of sunbeds with less than the thickness of a slice of ham between you.
a bar near the entrance provides evening entertainment but a lttle boring and no atmosphere (a couple of nights is enough)
childrens park also a bit disappointing ( you could fit it in a small lodge)
resort itself was lovely both the old town in the north and the camping side in the south and travel around the costa brava was easy with a local bus and ferry service and a very efficient train system making it easy to visit all other resorts (lloret,tossa, santa suzanna etc.) and barcelona.
all in all a good holiday (as we booked last minute) we paid just over £600 for a family of 4 but would of been disapointed had we paid full price.
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El Sorral Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: ferris - september 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : morris (56, 34, 35, 21, 18, 12)
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
The holiday was horrible we got there at 11 o'clock am and did'nt get into the apartment's till 3 o'clock pm.When we got into the aparments we got in the shower and went to a near by pub which we knew well beacuse we have been before. A few days into the holiday we went to marine land it was fun when we got back to the apartment we had been broken into.
When we went to the reception (in the hotel next door as our apartment did not have a reception) we were given a map and told to go to the police station.
We spent the next 3 days in there. We were tod to go back at 6 o'clock pm to make a statement the sain it would only take an hour three members of our party stayed behind and waited for us to come back so we could go out for something to eat. We got in 3 hours later. our rep did nothing to help we had a few euros between us to live on and we went self catering. the whole holiday was a disaster.
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Hotel Esplendid - Blanes
Operator and Date: Ryanair - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : George Walker - Colwyn Bay (51,46,29,22,21,21,15,13,9,6,68,69
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were a large family group flying independantly with Ryanair from Liverpool. Firstly, I must praise Ryanair for excellant flights which only cost £3.99 each! Be warned, however, 15kg means 15kg luggage allowance - with 7 Euros per kilo over and you do not get your passport back until you have paid it.
The Esplendid is very definately not for your average Brit. It does not sell alchohol and whilst it is fine for kids, it does not have much to offer adults. Sport provision is, however, very good and the food, whilst not the most varied, is fairly good quality and plentiful. The public area and bedrooms are quite basic (but clean) and the surrounding area is a bit tatty.
Having said this, we had good time, the staff were friendly and there are plenty of bars around. There are even positive advantages in being alchohol free - there was no rowdyness and we didn't spend much (we had our own tipple on the balcony).
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Europa Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: Two Can Travel - 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Manjit Dosanjh (55, 63)
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
For the price, it was a very nice and welcoming complex. The staff were the best feature of the hotel. They were very helpful and friendly. The place was kept very clean indeed. The towels were changed every other day and you had to take out the rubbish yourself. The retain a deposit to make sure that you do but, hey, it was very reasonably priced.
The location of the apartments is nothing special - you wouldn't go for the view. We weren't interested in the entertainment as we do quite a bit of walking and are generally knackered by the end of the day. It can be noisy into the early hours of the morning unless your apartment faces away from the pool.
There may be a building site opposite block 'C' in teh near future so check before you go.
Blanes is a quiet rather than exciting place to go. It doesn't have a lot to do.
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Lotus / Europa Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: 2 can travel - oct 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : 29, 35
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
me and my husband went to blanes for 2 weeks and sadly were looking forward to comming home.
the apartments are ok but it all depends where your aparment is situated in the complex. the room they gave us was overlooking a dusty road with waistland and how it was laid out it felt like a prison! there was no way i could have stayed there for 2 weeks! my husband went to the reception and we swapped rooms so we were over looking the pool. the appartments are laid out different making some feel like prisons and some like what you would expect.
we found the staff at the europa to be very helpful.
Although the aparments could be better they are very well equipt with plates knives, kettle, coffee maker, microwave, cheese grater, scissors ect.
our bedding was changed once while we were there and clean towels every 4 days.
1 toilet roll and bin liner per week.
you have to clean your own appartment, a bucket, mop and brush is supplied and you have to take your rubbish out to the bins.
when staying in blanes resort the europa makes you feel your in the top 10 of the best places to stay!
the resort is small, dirty and pretty much depressing with nothing to do. after visiting the botanical gardens and taking boat trips up and down the coast there isnt much else to do.
there is a market everyday but its for fresh fruit and veg only. evey monday there is a market selling everything from shoes to tin openers.
I read the reviews before going. kd's bar has got a wine bar feel but it is clean.
i wouldnt eat in another place because the chefs looked too scruffy and didnt want to take the chance to come down with food poisoning!!
for anyone wanting to be entertained on holiday forget going here! after 6 days we had to hire a car, £190 for 6 days. we went to all the resorts from tossa de mar to barcelona and things didnt get any better, there was still nothing to do!
the marineland was closed, we went to the gran palace (flamenco show)which was full of pensioners! ha ha I think its the older generations nightclub. we did enjoy going on the medevil night. both were in lorret de mar.
we dont want wild holidays but you need to have the option of entertainment while you are away. i think anyone with children should avoid blanes/ costa brava.
we shall not be returning ever!! :)
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Europa Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: 2Can Travel - Sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : natasha - mark (19,21)
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Well upon finding this holiday i decided that i would come on here and check out what people thought of it.Alot of people had given this hotel a bad review, although there were a few that had given it good reviews. So I thought oh well we'd give it a go. It was my partner and myselves first holiday abroad.
We went in september for both our birthdays. All I can say is that if your in two minds about going to the Europa apartments then I'd have to say you would be stupid if you didn't,especially if you are getting a good deal. the apartments were clean and tidy. The staff were really helpful and friendly no matter what time of day. We had maid service twice in the week we stayed, but when i read on this website people had said they didn't get any. they changed our towels and brought more toilet roll. Blanes is a lovely quiet resort. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants to eat at every night. KD's just round the corner from the apartment is a must. Its nicely decorated friendly staff, it was like home from home. We went on the coastal train journey to barcelona one day. Its cheap enough to do yourself.although i would check before you go as i think we went on a public holiday and half the shops were shut!I wouldn't recommend barcelona. It's too big to do in one day, the shopkeepers wont leave you alone and it was a bit of a let down.
The water park in Lloret de mar is a must!it was a fun day out as we went in september it was nice and quiet so we managed to get a few goes on all the slides.monday market in blanes was a bit of a let down, they sell lots of fake handbags and tatty clothes that the locals are after. As we were a young couple you would think we wanted lots of nightlife but we're not like that, blanes was perfect quiet but not to quiet. also the restaurant Buggy on the seafront at the bottom end was really nice a bit more classy than the rest! a nice relaxing holiday and dont be put off about what the other people have said about the apartments, remember you only use it as a base!
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Europa Hotel - Blanes
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- August 2004
Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Elspeth Derby - Newcastle (23,24,28)
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Well, where shall i start? all i can basically say id DO NOT GO THERE!, theres nothing fot the kids, nothing for the adults, but if youre looking for a really boring holiday where you want to have nothing to do, this is your paradise!
The rep was uncontactable at all times, or when he decided to show up, her was in a hurry, not really listening to your concerns, the reception staff were useless, thery only spoke spanish, which, when its a holiday resort, is silly.
The 2 good things about this resort was the KD's abr just down the road and the Brittania bar both english ownership. But dont eat at the brittania, the kitchen is dirty, the chef doesn't was his hands, but kd's now thats another matter, try their chiken curry and chips meal, it was gorgeous, the only thing making our holiday worthwhile. back to the hotel, the maid services were once a fortnight, and the rooms are generally dirty. Thats all i want to say about it, please don't waste your money, just dont go.
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Europa Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: private - 2004
Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : edwards 46, 45, 17, 14, 13
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
blanes is a great resort, plenty to do for families though less attractive for the very young.
Europa aparments are ok but you get what you pay for.
Clean, sufficient.
Noisey bar area at nights but things to do.
Food in the complex leaves a great deal to be desired.
just around the corner is KD's and The Drunken Bull, both eating houses.
Both reccomended.
beach is clean but drops steeply to be deep for young kids.
Ideal resort to connect to all places of intrest on the costa brava.
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La Masia Holiday Park - Blanes
Operator and Date: SIESTA MAY06
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Tracy brennan 28
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Are ex lodge was really nice had all mod cons but only small. as we had 8 in are party we were quite cramped.there was no nite life just abar which served food. if you want nite life theres an irish bar just outside which is great for the kids. the pool was good and theres apool side bar and ashop on site with reasonable prices.
overall there isnt much to do on the site nothing for the kids. but go to blanes shops and markets which we all enjoyed.
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Hote Marski - Blanes
Operator and Date: Independant - 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Ann & Brian - Leeds 58,62
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
The rooms were clean and recently decorated and we thought that we had found a reasonable hotel. Then we went into the diningroom and discouvered that about 150 people were fitted into the space for 50! The food was terrible with most of it cold the service was non existant and the breakfast were appauling ie. sugarpuffs which must have been in the bowl for weeks as they could not be separated!
I am glad we went independantly as we left after 2 days
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Muntanya - Mar Apartments - Blanes
Operator and Date: Independant - Sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Craig Avery - Midlands ( 63,57,34,32,12,3 )
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We booked this holiday through go2spain co uk and flights via Ryanair. Ryanair is a cheap no frills airline but for £170 return for 6 people can't really fault them except for the fact you don't get a seat number and it's a free for all when the plane starts boarding so be quick if you want to sit together.Arrived at Gerona airport and took a taxi to the resort. Cost 70 Euros for 6 people and luggage, not too bad. We returned to the airport seperately at diffenrent times and a local taxi cost 40 Euros each.
On arrival 1st impressions were not too bad but we were told we could not have the room till 2pm despite our booking saying 12pm and we were also asked for a 100 Euro deposit for the room key. We were not told about this prior to going and despite it not really effecting us if you budget for your holiday this is a massive chunk out of it especially as you don't get it back till you leave. Also these apartments are no good for the less mobile, they are situated on a hill with the most toughest incline/decline going up or down, BE WARNED.
The rooms are basic but adequate considering we paid £112 for a week. You only get the ritz if you pay for the ritz. They are described as self catering with air conditioning and satelite TV. There is no air conditioning, no kettle or toaster, and your kitchen consists of 2 rings, fridge and sink. If you want a TV it's 20 Euros for the week. There is no maid service or cleaning service you have to do this yourself, if you want clean sheets and towels you have to get them yourself from reception. Also be very careful of the patio and window blinds. My dads collapsed without warning nearly taking his head off and ours would not go back up after dropping it down. My advice would be to just leave them alone. Eventually we were both moved to other apartments.
The pool area was nice with the sun on it all day and the cafe there is reasonable serving nice food and the cheapest price for local beer at only 1.90 euro a pint.
The resort was very quiet probably due to end of season with no entertainment in the evening.
If you walk to the bottom of the hill towards the sea and go left you will come to the town centre within 5 minutes. Here you will find the local shops and the typical spanish sea front cafes and restaurants. However if you go right and walk down the side streets you will find 2 english bars, The Brit and KD's. Both of these are excellent for food but the Brit comes top for us. They are slightly cheaper for food and drink and serve a nice menu.
All in all if you pay cheap you get cheap so we can't really complain and the apartments were adequate for what we wanted. The 2 ladies who run the place were very helpful and friendly but speak no english so it helps to know some spanish which we did.
My biggest appraisal has to be the local health authority. My son was taken very ill and the state doctor and state hospital were fantastic. I could not praise them enough and some ways they made our NHS look pathetic.
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Hotel PiMar - Blanes
Operator and Date: Ferris Coachs - Sept 2005
Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Judy & Alec Hunt Colchester ( 55,57, )
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
September 2005. We have just come back from our holiday in Blanes, the resort is very good, not alot to do but was really nice for us as we wanted a quiet holiday, not very much to do for the young one's though, the Hotel was brillant, very clean & friendy staff,the rooftop pool & area is well maintained, the buffet style food was good with plenty to choose from, overhall we had a brillant holiday, & would recommend it to others. We were also very lucky with the weather, out of 14 days we had one cloudy day, but still warm & a showery day.
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Hotel PiMar - Blanes
Operator and Date: Globespan - July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : L Mc - 29
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
My husband and I chose the Pi-Mar as it is located right on the sea front and in between the old and new towns in Blanes, giving you easy access to both. The other hotels in Blanes are mainly down the end of the new town, which means you have a bit of a walk to get to the shops of the old town.
If you're a beach lover, the location is perfect. You cross the road at the front of the hotel and you're there. However, there can be a bit of noise from the road, but mainly during the day, when we were out anyway. We e-mailed a couple of weeks before we went to request a sea view and I'm glad we did. We had a look in one of the rooms at the back and you are basically looking at a wall. The hotel only has a small rooftop pool, but we were so close to the beach, we never used it.
The Pi-Mar was not an expensive hotel, so we didn't expect much in the way of good food. I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised. There was always a good choice, from pasta to steaks, and it tasted great, but, like most European hotels, not much for vegetarians. The dining room is not huge, so there is a queuing system, which means you may have to stand and wait a while. You are also given a set time for dinner, either 7 or 8 o'clock, so if you like the flexibility of being able to eat anytime between 7 and 9, this won't suit.
The staff were friendly and all spoke good English, or at least enough to get by. Try to learn a few words of Spanish or Catalan, though. One of the waiters told my husband he really appreciated that he was making an effort, to the point that he greeted my husband with a cheer every time he walked into the bar!
This is the second time I've been to Blanes and it has become much quieter as a resort. When I went 10 years ago it was full of Italians, Dutch, French, etc, which was one of the things I liked about it. It wasn't a typically British resort. These days it seems to be more of a place for Spanish and Catalans (many from Barcelona who have apartments by the beach)or large groups of Dutch teenagers.
There's lots for young families - a good beach which is never too busy, playgrounds and, when we were there in July, a children's fair. There's not much more than that, though. Entertainment is only in the hotels and it's the same acts that move about the hotels. The Pi-Mar was actually one of the busiest places at night. The bar has an outside area, where you can people watch and which looks out to the sea, so this was actually quite a nice place to sit. Another nice bar is K.D.'s in the new town. It's owned by an English guy and there are English and Scottish people working in it, but it's not marketed as a British bar, so we met Canadians, Dutch, Germans,etc there. It's a little bit more expensive than some of the other bars (although still cheaper than home), but this is because they use British ingredients for the food and the wine is a lot nicer that the paint stripper some of the other bars sell - we felt it was worth the little bit more.
If you just want a quiet beach holiday, Blanes is perfect - it's also easy to get to Girona or Barcelona if you want to do some sightseeing. All in all, we had a nice holiday. The Pi-Mar is excellent value for money in a good location.
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Hotel PiMar - Blanes
Operator and Date: ferris travel - 2004
Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : evans,( 36,35.12.12,13,15.)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The pi-mar is a good hotel right on the beach.
Food is very european so if you like your egg and chips.watch out!
We found a bar called the Drunken Bull and woiuld reccomened it to one and all.
the food is some of the best in any english bar and the prices are reasonable.There are cheaper places and more expensive places but for value for money..the best.
Alot of good places to eat and drink all over the resort and nice to see not all english, but a mixture of spanish and dutch. the locals made us very welcome and love the kids.
All in all Blanes is a nice place and worth a holiday visit. we will go again.
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Private Rental Apartment - Blanes
Operator and Date: private/independent - 2005
Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : adrian evens38, 35, 15, 12, 10
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have been to Blanes before and thought a re-visit would be interesting.
the resort has grown since last visit ( 5 yrs ) and is a large town.
The sea front is an attractive long beachfront with plenty to see and various bars and restaraunts.
The town of Blanes is to the left of the resort and is a wonderful old spanish town.
The tourist area of Los pinos is in the main a tacky and cheap looking area with many cheap and tacky places.
The places to visit for value for money food and drink catering for the english are The drunken bull ( first class ), kds ( friendly and fair ) Mats bogega ( value for money ). Places to avoid the irish bar ( cheap and dirty ) the tropicana ( horrible food ) Annies dutch bar ( rip-off and dirty )
Spanish places to visit...
San Antonio.
Buggys
Capitel.
A nice reort but when its busy its a bit tacky by the campings, full of noisy discos and bars and dutch kids.
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Solmar - Blanes
Operator and Date: Cantabrica - August 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Allen 28, 25
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Blanes is a nice town with everything you could want although it is a little quiet for teenagers, however it does have a somewhat outdated and run down feel. Food is o.k and reasonably priced but it si not as nice as in other resorts in Spain.
The campsite is fairly small and shaded, most staff are nice but the reasin I would NEVER go back is the swimming pool situation, true we were there mid season but there were people waiting at the gate at 10am for it to open and then running to the sunbeds, most disappeared then to return later, I found this a nightmare and put me off the whole holiday. Having said that sea is only a little way up the road and was nice but suddenly gets very deep so my partner who is a little nervous would not go there, beach too gets very busy.
Overall an o.k holiday but would never go to Solmar or Blanes again.
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Hotel Stella Maris - Blanes
Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - Sept 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : brian baty 33 paul draper 39
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
where do i start?
we arrived on an allocation on arrival holiday, when landed at Gerona airport we where greeted by our rep who told us we where staying at lloret de mar ! great start we thought we arrived at blanes STELLA MARIS hotel where we were NOT greeted nicely at all!
we arrived early afternoon and made our way to our room and unpacked our things in a remake from a a seventys porn film you get the type i mean!! a room thats it we coudnt both go out on the balcony together so we had to view the pool one at a time due to it being 2 foot wide and looking very old and worn!!
when we went for our dinner it was the most discusting stuff i have ever seen it looked like a child had been to the kitchen to make it there was rice covered in cheese and oil wall paper paste soup meat dishes that looked like pedigree chum all of this was not even luke warm it was cold.........
we both surived the night on ice cream great start to our holliday
breakfast next day well i just simply got up and waked out then went to find our rep at our welcome meeting who said this was the first complaint they had ever had.... i think the other guests must of simply died due to the squallid conditions in food.
we when i say we that was 12 guests all met for our meeting to sold trips to go on unfortunatly the rep never even got the chance we all wanted moved to somewhere that catered for normal people like hot food.....
we eventually got moved to a fantastic hotel at the cost of 48 euros extra per room!!!! best money i have ever spent we ended up at the hotel MONTIPLAYER IN MALGRAT so go there now and descover our tales of joy or if you cant be bothered just have safety in knowing it is a truely fantastic hotel with eadible food very edible it was amazing .........
our stay was the week of 3rd of sept 04
and finally we were asured by airtours resort staff they wouldnt be no longer any guests going to this hotel in the event of hearing this hotel when your booking or taking a late deal simply get out your purse and pay 48 euros at the airport and save your self the hassel and the hospital bills for food poisioning all in all most deffinatly a HOTEL FROM HELL....
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Hotel Stella Maris - Blanes
Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours AUGUST 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Edwards - nuneaton (53,34,33,6)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
We booked a late deal through Airtours and went with a completely open mind. We sort of hoped that having a child, we might be put somewhere family-orientated. How wrong could we be! We arrived in the early hours of sunday morning and could not believe the noise. We were smack bang in the middle of club district on a main road where the traffic was non-stop,24 hours a day. People were screaming and shouting all night. It was also the main residential area of Blanes. It was the same all holiday and we had hardly any sleep.
The Hotel was ok but very basic. The rooms had no air-con and were sweltering. There were no activities at all except for the pool. Nothing for our little girl whatsoever, but she loved the pool(at which you could always get a sunbed. Shock!). The bar was quite good. Lots of locals but very friendly and they made a fuss of our daughter who was in her element dancing with them.
The worst thing had to be the food, no choice at all and never hot. We had the same soup nearly every night which was green and not too sure what flavour.
We made the best of a bad thing and had a laugh but will not be returning! The beach and the front were nice though.