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Calella de la Costa Hotels and Apartments A - Z Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Ryanair - April 2007 Opinion submitted in April 2007 by : Nick Moore - Blackpool (52,52) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Just returned from 1 week All Inclusive in the Amaika. It was excellent. The hotel is very well appointed and themed on the Titanic. Rooms are big enough and cleaned daily, with all linen also changed. The food for all three meals was of a high standard - and we are quite fussy! It was always hot and the choices varied from Blue Shark to Mexican Chargrilled Veal, to Paella and beef casserole. There were always nice cold salads, and the drinks were all served by waiters. Proper cotton tablecloths and serviettes too. All inclusive drinks were not watered down, but are served in plastic glasses during the day. Paid drinks were also cheap enough - a Port was only 1.10 Euros! Keep an eye open for the manager, who is the spitting image of Basil Fawlty and even shakes hands like him!! A day trip to Barcelona by train is only 6.20 Euros per person return and well worth it. The discounted trip to the Medieval Night was only 12 Euros each and included a meal - with a whole chicken each, followed by a professional flamenco show. It was a really good night out. We will certainly go again - if you want English Food on your holidays, don't go to Spain, stay at home!!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Globespan - Feb/Mar 2007 Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : T + S Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Just returned from a fab mini-break at the Amaika Hotel in Calella. Hotel is large, recently rennovated to a high standard and although the pool is small the beach is only 2 mins walk. Rooms are spacious, cleaned daily with towel changes, fridge, tv, phone and free toiletries. We were lucky enough to have one of the larger balconies although I think there was only 4ish of these above the restaurant. English speaking tv channels were CNN, CBeebies and Cbbc (which switched to BBC3 after 10pm). Restaurant is a good size with a wide choice of salads, fresh rolls, meat & fish dishes, pasta dishes and chips!! Although many have said food is warm not hot, we never found this to be a problem. Drinks are strange, waiter brings first drink to table then you get your own - I think a bar-service would work better. Breakfast included muffins/bread/croissants, cold meats/ cheese, fruit table and of course the cooked brekkie scrambled & fried eggs, bacon, sausage, beans etc. Bar is also a good size however order system can be confusing. Each barman seems to have their own queue which can result in you repeating yourself - one queue would be better. We found the drinks good although you can request international brands (even irn-bru!!) for a small price. Resort of Calella is clean, friendly, busy and with a huge beach perfect for relaxing holidays. Lots of shops, bars, banks, supermarkets and a great train system to take you into Barcelona. We went for the day, only 6euros and 1hour by train (clean spacious train not the rickety things we get here). Trains run every 20mins and you can get on and off at all resorts along the way as ticket is for 5 zones not just destination and back. After a busy day in Barcelona it was good to get back to a relaxing beach resort. Although we went in Feb/ Mar the weather was good, 20/21 degrees most days although one day went up to 24. Nights are a little cooler but still not cold. Overall I would recommend Calella and the Amaika Hotel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: aug 2006 Opinion submitted in February 2007 by : annie _falkirk Resort Rating: Poor Accommodation Rating: Poor My/Our Holiday Review: a went with my son on my first holiday . its was crp the food was the same every day apart from the dinners at nite they were different but still yuk . they only catered for germans . the staff were ignorant no. help wot so ever . they said they had a kids club which was a tolal wast of time. the hotel was clean but 4 the rest of the place it was a black hole the beach was minging they has a kids club on the beach but it was not very good the other children never spoke english n they were very rude to my son. i went home 3 days early cos it was that bad a would not recommend any 1 to go there . unless u want a crp holiday . there is nothing 4 the kids 2 do and its really is a disgusting place . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Independent - AUG 2006 Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Jill Wilson - Manchester (30, 32, 3) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: This hotel was well situated for the beach and for a range of bars, we never ate out due to being all inclusive but there were a selection of bars and restaurants. The resort seemed to us to be very Un-British, which was great, there were lots of different nationalities there and all seemed very friendly. So no row upon row of english breakfast, and English Pubs to go in ( there were some but not in you face) After all you are on Holiday on Spain, we enjoyed experiencing the Spainish holiday. The hotel was very clean and well run, with good entertainment, day and night, for the children. You could use the other 2 sister hotels which were more rowdy british - if thats what you like. Our little boy loved all the disco parties we went to, he made lots of friends and danced and played with the other children, great! The food was good, with a range of meats and veg, my only complaint was the vegetarian food choice wasnt always labelled so I was reluctant to try it in case there was meat in it. Pool was small at the amaika, but was ok, our little boy loved it, but the Olympic and Callela Palace did have a bigger better pools, which you could use and still use your all inclusive cards in also so no problem. Other little moan was that you can only get 2 drinks at a time and there were 3 of us, so would have been better if we could have got us all a drink at once rather than 2 then going back to queue for another. But not a major problem again. Lovely hotel for the money, we would definitely go back to this hotel and use the other hotels for a varied holiday, Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: july 2006 Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Peter Jenkins, Carmarthen, 45,39,15,13 Resort Rating: Below Average Accommodation Rating: Below Average My/Our Holiday Review: We were upgraded to the Amaika and told it was a 4* hotel - we were unable to decide why. The best thing about the hotel was the room which was very spacious, and the excellent cleaning staff who made up the room every day. The reason we went all inclusive was because our 2 teenage daughters like to sunbathe by the pool or swim in the pool all day. This was impossible as for a hotel with approx 250 rooms there is only 1 tiny pool and about 30 loungers to cater for all the guests. In order to reserve a lounger you have to get up and queue until 9am and then get involved in a rugby scrum as guests run to the poolside throwing towels in all directions. We ended up going to the beach every day and spent about 50euros extra each day on hiring sunbeds parasols and buying drinks and snacks - on what was supposed to be an all inclusive holiday. Even if you are able to get poolside every time you want a drink you have to get dressed to go into the bar. The food was average, what was most disappointing was that everything was covered in sauces - some things we had no idea what they were and that was even after tasting them. In other hotels we have been to the food is left plain and bowls of sauce are left out for guests to help themselves to if they want it and I think it would be a good idea if the Amaika did the same. The entertainment was a bit boring - brazilian dancers and magic acts. The resort itself was very disapponing - alongside the beach is a railway, then a road and instead of having shops and hotels and bars along the front there are just closed up apartment blocks. The shops are all on one long street about 2 blocks back and running parallel to the beach. There is nothing to go and see in calella. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Ferris - May 2006 Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Lorraine Woods 45, 41 Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: We travelled by Ryanair and were originally booked into Hotel Calella Palace, but due to refurbishment we were allocated the Hotel Amaika.After rading the reviews we were really worried, but when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised. The hotel was great, we had a smooth check in, the rooms were exceptionally clean, the only downside was the sound insulation between rooms, you can hear every sound. The food was always good with a wide selection of meats and fish and lovely salads.Even the all inclusive alcohol was ok. We did find the pool area a bit cramped so would not like to go there in the Summer when there are loads of children. All in all it was a lovely hotel and we have booked to go back in September. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetwood - April 2006 Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : 40's Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Below Average My/Our Holiday Review: I've just arrived back after a week in Calella booked at the H. Top Amaika Hotel (Costa Brava) and wanted to share my experience. First thing I should say is that thanks to forums similar to this one, I wasn't disappointed as I knew what I was letting myself in for. In particular, the food is not what you would expect from a 4 star hotel. It was generally not hot and tended to be of the cheaper poorer quality type, although there was a good variety and in abundance. (We opted not to go for all inclusive but half board was included.) Again, thanks to reading these forums on the hotel, when I was given the chance on booking to ask for any special request, I immediately asked for a room overlooking the pool on the first floor. The result was that I got a room with an extended balcony with our own sun beds. I reckon there are only about 6-8 of these available so go for it and ask when booking. The pool is small and all sun beds were booked with towels early morning. The staff appeared to do nothing about this problem and I felt sympathy for families with young children who wanted to sit around the pool. Most times the staff were quite polite but the bar seemed to be where problems arose with all inclusive customers and cheap imitation drinks. Half way through the week, my wife and I took the train to Barcelona; a city we love and spent a week last April. We had seen and noted a 2 star hostel on the Ramblas called "mare nostrum and noted it for our son to try. On arriving on the train, we had a look at it inside and ended up staying 3 days. We enjoyed Barcelona so much more in the 2* hostel than in the 4* Amaika, though after walking miles around Barcelona again, it was nice to return to the Amaika for the last 2 days and rest on the balcony in the sun. In short, the Amaika would have been a real let down but that we had read up on it. However, the experience was OK and at around £260 each including flights (Ryanair) and half board, we got what we paid for. 3-4 days in Calella was just about the maximum I would have wanted to stay. Hope this helps someone else and thanks to those who posted to the forums and allowed us to get an insight. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: first choice Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : anne christopher liam25/23/05 Resort Rating: Poor Accommodation Rating: Poor My/Our Holiday Review: the rooms were clean .the food was stinking .the pool was tiny and we went home 3 days early it was total rubbish i would never go there again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: fleetways - 2006 Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : ron scott west lothian Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: This hotel is far superior to the sister hotel we were originally given ,the Olympic. The bigest problem however is that the all inc guests do not know how to handle (a ) themselves and more importantly their children. The concept of all inc is great but to give cards to children under 14 yrs is wrong .The waste and missuse of cards is unbelievable . If the adult and sorry to say the most troublesome were the English had more respect for the very hardworking Spanish then it would be great. This hotel has the most user friendly and hard working staff that I have seen in any other hotel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Teletext - Sept 05 Opinion submitted in Dec 2005 by : Jackie Bennion - 41, 53,22,22,2 Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Average My/Our Holiday Review: We took our 2 year old grandson on holiday and was promised 1st or 2nd floor, when we arrived we were told the only room available was the 6th floor, I was horrified and panicked everytime we were in our room. The hotel staff were friendly but although we were all inclusive for a week (£275.00 each) the drinks were disgusting and I ended up paying out for brand named drinks. Beach was a good 10 or 15 min walk and there were plenty of shops. The only thing that put me off this holiday was the fact that the entertainment was repetitive at night and the food was like being at Butlin's. I would definetley not choose to go back there because there were far too many children there. If you get a chance eat at the sister hotel's (2 nearby) as the food is excellent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Travel Bargains - Aug 05 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Adam Turvey -Northamptonshire Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: We thought the Amaika was fantastic value for money. 12 of us went, ages ranging from 8 to 59 and we all had a great time. The hotel is lovely, really clean and the rooms were nice. We could not fault the food,a good choice and plenty of it. We were "All Inclusive" and the selection of drinks we could have was excellent, the only problem was you can only get 2 drinks at a time which was a bit of a pain as there was so many of us! The entertainment was good with most being professional shows, some nights when the "All Inclusive" finished we went to some bars and discos which are just round the corner and there are loads to choose from, bars that you can sit ouside with music playing or the club discos which are open until 4-5am. (Go to Terismo 35 or the Beach Boys bar - A great laugh!)The beach is fab and we swam in the sea everyday although we kept being alerted of Jellyfish! Its literally just across the road so the Amaika is in an ideal spot for the beach, shops and nightlife. The only fault with the hotel was the pool, its very small and Im surprised a 4star hotel can get away with the pool area being so tiny, you could only fit a few around it, we stuck to the beach. We went on a nice boat trip one day all along the coast of Costa Brava which was really nice. The weather was brilliant, hot every day and the evenings were really warm. We would definately go back to Calella and according to reports from the guests at the other sister hotels, we definately chose the best hotel. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Independent - August 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Dunky & Tracey McDougall, Ann & Stephen Cameron- Glasgow - 33, 33, 58, 18 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: We got a taxi from the airport(Girona)which cost approx 58 euros and took around 30 mins to get to the Amaika. When we arrived the outside of the hotel looked fantastic with lit fountains at the entrance and when we entered the reception we weren't disappointed - it was immaculate. Checking in was easy and it takes minutes to get your ID card for All Inclusive - they let you do that when you've dumped your bags etc. We struck it lucky getting rooms 105 and 106 with 106 having the 25ft long balcony with sun loungers and 105 having the view of round the corner at McDonalds.With two sharing these rooms we had loads of space.They were very clean and as before the towels were changed every day - the air conditioning was a god send!!When we arrived we got snacks at 10.30pm in the dining room which we enjoyed having travelled for so long.The food was good and if you are fussy about the temperature then time if for when the dinner starts (7.30pm)it was hot then. The microwave is handy to heat croissants/rolls in the morning. Plenty of choice for all three courses and also loads of fresh fruit for the healthy option. To be honest we did eat out on the seventh night for a change only because the lads wanted paella. Drinks at the bar were good and generous measures - we had no problem with the staff - they were actually ok - the Jimmy guy has a girlfriend in Aberdeen who loves the "sheepies". He kept calling me "Mary Doll"(Rab C Nesbitt)!! and his catchphrase for the week was "nae bother at aw". The childrens entertainers were great with the weans and we had a giggle watching them do their "Music Man " routine - watch out for the "Oh betty oh thats nice"line. Entertainment for adults at night was good for a hotel the best being the Magic Show where they got my hubby up and whipped a cigarette out his mouth with a whip like thing with a steel ball at the end. They also done some good dancing. Pool was a bit crammed with kids and lilos so we mainly used our room balcony. The resort itself is a bit dated and the pavements were terrible for us as we had my mum in her wheelchair and it was difficult to get up and down the big kerbs - you will need someone strong to push buggies/wheelchairs. The railway line on the beach does waste the look of the place and you need to use the underpass to get from the hotel street to the beach - again it wasn't the easiest for the chair and the disabled toilet on the beach was worse than a T in the Park toilet!! We couldn't even go into it as we were so disgusted!! If you are fit and fancy a walk then go along the beach towards the lighthouse however beware during the day around the corner it appears to be a nudist beach without any signposts (so I'm told!!) Better cleaner views at night-time and the lighthouse really shows its best. Overall - hotel defo four star-would go back to the hotel but not too keen on the resort - tell Jimmy Mary Doll and skinhead guy fae Glasgow are asking for him!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Ryanair - August 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : I & P Kennedy - Scotland (43,42) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: Flew out for a weeks all-inclusive holiday at the Amaika on 27 August with Ryanair, flights hassle-free and on time. Booked hotel online with the Htop Hotels own website, found that it worked out cheaper than Medhotels or any of the other holiday accommodation websites. Our first impressions of the hotel were very favourable, our room on the 6th floor overlooked the pool (just like we had requested when booking). The hotel is rated 4 star and I guess it probably just about deserves its rating. The staff (apart from one or two of the barmen) were efficient and polite, the hotel's reception areas, restaurant, bar, and guest rooms were all of a high standard and were cleaned as thoroughly as I can ever recall having seen on holiday before. Even the sheets on the beds were changed every two days. However the hotel has two things letting it down, namely the pool area and the food. The pool situation is well documented in previous reports. For a hotel with over 300 rooms, 25 sunbeds just isn't enough, but all the hotels in this area seem to have the same problem. We ended up going to the beach (about a two minute walk away) and hiring sun loungers. The beach really is lovely, miles of golden sands although it does shelve steeply at the waters edge. Families with young kids beware! What disappointed us most of all however was the food at the hotel. We consider ourselves to be pretty seasoned travellers having stayed in tourist hotels all over Europe, but the food was not in keeping with the otherwise high standards at the Amaika. What summed things up for us was that the butter portions in the restaurant were rancid when we went to breakfast on our first morning. By the last day nothing had changed. On top of that we found most meat dishes were from poor cuts of pork or poultry. There were however always plenty of seafood and salads available which seemed to appeal to the many Spanish guests at the hotel. In the end we gave up hoping that the quality of evening meals would improve and ended up eating out a few times at cafes and restaurants nearby, which kind of annoys us when we have already paid for food. Two of the other hotels in the Htop chain are just up the hill from the Amaika, and we looked in by both for a drink one evening (all inclusive guests can use their cards at any of the hotels in the chain). The Olympic looked reasonable, but the Osiris looked a bit rough round the edges (both the hotel and the guests!!). Like most visitors to the area we took a trip by train to Barcelona for the day (yes it is only 5 Euros for a return ticket) and had a really enjoyable few hours there shopping. To sum up then, a pretty enjoyable stay as long as you have modest expectations regarding the food and the pool area. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2 Can Travel - Aug 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Webb's - South London (41,40,15,10) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: Booked 6 weeks before departure through Teletext holidays. Was a bit unsure as never booked like this before, but we couldn't have had better service. Flew with Ryan Air. Travel Agent arranged Transfer with Resort Hoppa, and they were there waiting, no problems at all. We were really pleased with the Hotel. It was spotlessly clean, and our room was a great size for the 4 of us. The food was great, only had one night when there wasn't much we liked, but there was still chips. Always found the food hot, and a great choice. As All Inclusive food seemed to be available for most of the day, as snacks were available, when main sittings had closed. Pool area is very small, but is typical of most of the Hotel's in the Area. There are signs to say you cannot reserve your beds with towel's, but no one took any notice and this was the only way of getting a bed. We went down at 8.30 and queued with the other guests. The Pool area opened at 9.00. (Still not too early to get up). Might not need to do this out of peak season. The only other critisism, was that you could not go to the bar, from the pool, to get a drink without getting dressed first, as you had to wear shoes & shirts etc all the time in the hotel. Hotel give you ID cards when you arrive, with you photo on them (taken by the web cam at reception). You use this to get your drinks etc. You can only get 2 drinks per card, at any one time, and you do have to queue at a specific part of the bar - can get a bit of a long queue in peak season, but you just have to accept this is the way they work, as I don't think all guests are All Inclusive. Never had a problem with the Bar Staff though, we found if you were polite & friendly to them, they were the same to you. Hotel laid on entertainment evey night - on the whole not too bad, a couple of ropey nights, but you get that in any hotel. Entertainment Reps Conchi & David were great with the kids, had Mini Disco etc every night for them, and some daytime activities. Callella is nice, as earlier reports said not too 'Blackpool'ect. Is quite built up etc, but I think that is typical of Costa Brava. Recommend taking the Train to Barcelona, cost us around 20 euro's for 4 of us, is about a hour on the train. Had a very enjoyable day there, took the Tourist Bus, and you can hop on and off whenever you like. Great way to see everything. In Conclusion, had a very enjoyable holiday, and if we wanted a last minute cheap holiday, would not hesitate to go back. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: HOLIDAY HOTELS - August 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Dominic Farley 42 Helen 42 James 15 Emma 11 Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: We stayed in this hotel all inclusive in the middle of August and had a lovely time. Food was excelllent people used it from the Olympic as it was in the same group and they said the food there was not as good. Resort had a real Spanish feel to it as there were a lot of Spanish on holiday gave it a really nice feel to the town and beach. Pool area was small but it coped in August so it can cope at anytime. Rooms were very clean and had air con which was nice along with all the extras we even had a toothbrush and razer ,shoe shine [only wore flip flops]and a sewing kit to name a few a seperate shower cubicle and bath. Would we stay there again yes but we would not go back to the same area as we like to try somewhere new and vary our holidays as much as possible. Barcelona £15 on train 1hr all along the coast and 17 stops well worth it as it has a lot of appeal with all its sites too many to mention. For what we paid in total £1000 how can you complain for a family of 4 in mid August We would find it very hard to find a better value holiday than this one with the level of service and accomodation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Last Minute - July 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Wayne Tansley Resort Rating: Poor Accommodation Rating: Below Average My/Our Holiday Review: Despite those reviews on Calella who state that there are NO bars advertising Roast Beef and The Best Cup Of Tea in town, we, unfortunatly found that 95% of the bars did actually advertise these 'services' The Welcome at the Hotel AMAIKA 4**** was cold to say the least even though we were in July, we were placed in room 619 after recieving next to no information about the Hotel, from it's staff, even the basics about finding the restaurant were left out. For those of you whom wish to return to the hotel on Half-Board Give it a miss,In the Restaurant We were asked for our yellow 'card' shown to a table and that was it... no explanation about how the restaurant worked, not even to offer a drink. (we did manage to 'trap' a waiter in the end who took our order after telling that we were NOT entightled to a drink with our meal unless we paid, the order was taken and FORGOTTEN) The food was rubbish both at night and at Breakfast. Choice there was but limited at best yesterdays left-overs.. Our room was so noisy both from inside (left, right and up due to the toilet paper they used for partition walls and ceilings) to the double glazed doors AHEM leading to the Balcony. Lager Louts yes they were there despite what you might have read above, shouting screaming and singing and FIGHTING up to 5am, some would then come back to the Hotel....... for a 4**** Hotel we were disgusted. One thing that i do agree with a couple of people was the cleaniness of the hotel whitch was un-knockable, just a shame that the rest of the Town was not reflected in this way either. We are currently in the process of demanding a refund and will not rest until it has been done. H-Top Hotels customer services is as bad as their Hotels. THINK TWICE BEFORE BOOKING Wayne Tansley P.S if any senior managment of H-Top HOTELS happen to read this then please contact GEORGE at customer services in Barcelona to found out more. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Direct- July 2005 Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Mandie Dean ( 53,43, 33, 13) Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: What else can be said other than we had an EXCELLENT holiday! One of our party is a wheelchair user and the Hotel was very accessible.The local area is fairly wheelchair friendly, although taxi's are not, and neither was the AI Medieviel Night.The beach facilities were very good though,(shingle not sand).The weather when we went was great, so we were glad of the air conditioning! The only thing I could say in a negative way about the actual hotel was that the pool is quite small if you are taking children. *The catering was excellent *The hotel is beautiful *The rooms are clean and bright *The Kids club was always full of kids. I hope this helps! We would definately go again. P.S. It's cheaper if you book direct... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Media Travel - July 2005 Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Tracey Kirby - Stamford Lincolnshire Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: On arrival well impressed, the hotel was very clean and presented. The reception staff was helpful and polite, but as for the bar and restaurant staff that was a different matter. As a few reviewees have quoted a smile here and there or a thank you would not have gone amiss. All inclusive holiday makers are made to queue for their drinks, the pool was so small (it's a good job the beach was just over the road), and there was only 35 sunbeds and with a hotel with 222 room and full while we were there that is not good!!!. The food was often cold, but edible!!! The resort itself is good for shopping and the beaches were clean. Found an excellent pub called "Beach Boys" good company, good entertainment. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: July 2005 Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Mason party (30, 28, 24, 24) Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Hotel Amaika scores EXCELLENT all round. There is simply nothing to fault. The food was partuicularly good, particularly the evening meals and you could fill your plates as many times as you wished. The rooms were very clean and the facilities to a very high standard. We were very lucky with our room and were given room 106. We were amazed when we opened the doors onto the balcony and found how large our balcony was, complete with sun loungers overlooking the pool. All of the staff were very friendly and checking in and out was very simple. We booked this holiday ourself - making our own way from Girona Airport, which cost about 50 euros, and booking our own flights with Ryan Air. We saved ourselves about a £100 by doing it this way and can highly recommend it. You just jump in a taxi and don't have the coach journey, which stops off every 5 minutes. We were in our hotel room 45 minutes after landing! Callela itself is a lovely resort which, despite being a tourist town, has managed to retain its traditional Spanish charm. The town is typically Spanish with little windy streets with a mix of tourist shops and proper Spanish shops and has not allowed to give up its identity to tourism. We spent many hours browsing in many of the traditional shops and found many a bargain! We ate out several evenings and the best meal we had was in a restaurant called Don Castellinos. The food was brilliant and we can highly recommend the champagne sangria. We would definitely go back to Callela - its not a lager lout resort, and there is plenty of nice bars to drink in in the evenings. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Imperial Travel - July 2005 Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : 49, 40, 2 Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: We found the hotel to be comfortable, cosmopolitain(plenty of Spanish, French, Italian, German), and generally the staff helpful, although a smile here and there from the restaurant and bar staff would have been nice. We found the food to be of excellent quality, with good variety and little repetition. It's only downside that it was rarely piping hot. The rooms were spacious enough to accomadate the three of us including a cot with the rooms serviced daily. It's true that the pool area is small but we rarely had trouble finding a sun bed as we usually went down by 9.30am. Although placing of towles on beds is discouraged with signs up, a minority of people do go down early and do this as the rule does not seem to be enforced (that we witnessed). We were fully inclusive but did venture to the beach and other eating places and would recommend one in particular. 'Les Caves' restaurant is one street back running parallel with the railway line walking north 5-10mins from the car underpass to the beach. We found the resort to be child freindly and has several small playground, one in particular on the sea front with a lovely bar nearby. The train to Barcelona is cheap and very easy to use. Would definately return to this resort but would not choose inclusive deal as so many lovely eating places to choose from and we DIDN'T see any ENGLISH SUNDAY LUNCH SIGNS or FISH AND CHIPS. FANTASTIC little place. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetway Travel - June 2005 Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Tony Belmont - South Tyneisde (53, 49, 17) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: Let me first of all say he Amaika Hotel, a member of the H.Top Hotel Chain, is a genuine 4-Star hotel. The interior is said to be designed on the interior of the Titanic. And to a large extent it works!We were all-inclusive. The staff at hotel reception, particularly Gustav, who's from Uruguay, were very welcoming and helpful. As too were the restaurant staff. In fact, this hotel is spoiled only by the attitude of its BAR staff, who for some reason had a condescending attitude to "all-inclusive" guests. They would only serve us if we stood at a small designated part of the bar. And they did so with a begrudging manner. It was most unpleasant and not common among staff at other H.Top hotels we visited during the 14-day holiday. H.Top has a policy of allowing all-inclusive guests to use any other hotel in the group and enjoy full all-inclusive benefits. They even lay on a free bus to take you there and back. The food at all the H.Top hotels we visited was very good Spanish fare, if your expecting pie and chips this is NOT for you! Like the rest of the hotel our room was clean and well equipped. There is a safe, but it costs 17 euros per week with a 20 euro refundable deposit on the key. Worth it for peace of mind. If you travel with Fleetway there are a couple of points to watch out for. They provide transfers from Barcelona airport to your hotel but on reflection I would have used the excellent rail link to coastal resorts north of Barcelona. Our rip to Calella would have cost about £3 return. Weekdays trains run every 15 minutes. We enjoyed Calella which is a fairly quiet resort, but there are plenty of restaurants, lively bars and nightclubs. Oh and loads of shops for such a small town. Whoever decided to site a railway track between the beach and the rest of the town though, deserves a worst planner of the century award! On arrival at Barcelona airport we were told to look our for our coach driver holding a placard bearing our name. This simply did not happen. A hot and sweaty hour and several telephone calls later we found him (completely by luck)waiting outside the airport, no placard, no name, no apology. Our return journey was worse. The bus arrived one hour and fifteen minutes late and the surly driver barged straight past us without a word. We got on the bus and he insisted I got off again to help him load our bags. This I did making it clear I was not a happy traveller. His response, on arrival at Barcelona Airport, was to refuse to unload our bags. He followed this with a very offensive gesture involving his right wrist being squeezed between his inner left elbow. (Try it you'll soon see what I mean.) NO TIP THERE THEN! The Easyjet flight home was on time and uneventful. But I do wish these budget airlines would learn to charge reasonable prices for refreshments on board; £2 for a tiny can of beer and £7.50 for an even smaller bottle of bubbly is a rip off! Drop those prices and you will sell much more and make more profit overall. All in all an enjoyable relaxing holiday; a good well run hotel, a nice quiet resort (Las Americas it is not)within easy reach of Barcelona, (which is a "must see" city, the Nou Camp - home of Barcelona FC - at 10 euros is top notch value, even if you aren't a soccer fan) and many other interesting places. Overall rating 7/10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: med hotels- may2005 Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Theresa & Steve Mcguigan 47,49 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: This hotel is one of the cleanest we have stayed at,great flight over and when shown to our room the balcony was about 25 ft long as we were on the 1st floor over the resturant room 106. The entertaintment was quite good, pool area a bit to small but adequate for us as its not full season yet. Drinks on the all inclusive were very good and loads of choices. The resort a little bit dated and tired now but we still had fun. Now to the down side the food is not 4star I'm sure it was all frozen and packaged. No imagination what so ever. Still we managed to find something every night. They really must improve the food in this hotel, we spoke to people who were staying at one of the other Top Hotel, The Olympic and they thought it was great compared to the food they were getting, their's was really a washout. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Ryan air - May 2005 Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : John Davies ( 45,47) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: Smashing hotel!look a like the Titanic with lovely workers there!we meet nice peolple and it was nice and quiet but lovely weather, not much to do in the town but the train will take you to barcelona in 50 min for only 5.70 ? return ticket and many more trips, only bad thing is the repetitive food that wasn't thaht bad but allways the same. great restaurant down the road called Malibu with nice food and very nice people working there. Nice for a few days break and to relax! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2 Can Travel - May 2005 Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Vanessa Matthews - Hertfordshire (32,41) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Average My/Our Holiday Review: Well having read and researched various sites I think it only fair to post my findings on the hotel amaika. The hotel was very clean and the rooms spacious. The pool area was quite small but adequate during low season I think if you go in August you will be fighting for a space by the pool. The hotel is very well positioned for the beach and numerous bars and restaurants. The hotel puts on entertainment each evening varying from a magic show to disco. The negative points would definitely be the quality of the food as long as you like chips with everything and are not too fussed about the food being warm then this will be just fine. We paid for all inclusive and upon reflection was a waste as we ate out for all meals and paid extra for the drinks we wanted. On the whole a cheap and cheerful break would stay at the hotel again but not on all inclusive --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: imperial travel-april 2005 Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : steve-essex ( 34>5)group of 1o Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: the amaika is a very clean and friendly hotel,we travelled as a large group with varying age groups and we all found something from calella to keep us occupied, whether it was shopping,the beach,or just spending time round the hotel. the station is only 5 min walk and barcelona is an hour on the train approx 7 euro's. the food was excellent and quite varied i would definately go back to this hotel and have recommended to friends. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetway - March 2005 Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Mr. Sellence - Brinklow ( 43 ,40) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: The hotel was excellent ,very clean and efficient, the food we found good and plentifull . The rooms were some of the best equipped we have come across we had'nt of needed to take anything, this was a nice touch. We visited Barcellona by train and found the journey hassle free ,Barcellona was super and really worth visiting. We were blessed by decent weather and we saw the resort in lovelly sunshine,most of the resort was still closed but we still enjoyed our tim and would go back.Santi's bar just down from the train station was very friendly as were most of the catalans. Only gripe which has nothing to do with Spain ,our transfer from the airport took longer than the flight over... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: fleetway travel - march 2005 Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : joanne 40 harry 48 Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: we booked through teletext for a low price and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. the hotel is fantastic themed on the titanic and staff well presented. rooms cleaned daily and towels every day. as everyone says food very much the same every day, but we still found enough to eat, we don't do breakfast so the snacks were fine for when we surfaced from bed. we met a lot of lovely people and laughed from the minute we arrived till the minute we left. great hotel and a lot of scottish people which was great. the resort was quiet as not everywhere was open but most of the shops were open, very clean shopping area. the beach was ok but we didn't have the weather to go there a lot, still we walked along it most days. we were all inclusive so we could use the other hotels in the group and visited the olympic a couple of times and had no problem using our cards. we would go back to the amaika but not with children as it was not child friendly. the kids had no entertainment apart from a disco at night which was for everyone not specifically aimed at kids. the entertainment was ok, although we laughed so much with the company we were in we missed most of it. what else can i say apart form hello to everyone we met there and thanks for making it a great time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetway - March 2005 Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Mr. Sellence - Brinklow 43 ,40 Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Opinion: The hotel is beautifull, clean and well run,the food is o.k. we have had better and have had a lot worse, we were blessed by v. good weather which helped because most of the resort was still closed,we would definately go back to this resort and this hotel, we saw a couple of long faces and a few moans but you will get that anywhere, we took the train to Barcelona which is a georeous city and well worth a trip.Santi's bar is excellent and very cheap in Calella... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: independant march 2005 Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Niz & Michelle (41 & 37) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: Just returned from a 4 night break All Inclusive at the Amaika. Booked it thru teletext holidays. Well worth what we paid.under £250 Resort was extremely quiet but season not started yet. Hotel was fairly full with a range of ages. Hotel is exactly as described,based on Titanic. Staff were very friendly & helpfull. Rooms were excellent, clean spacious and well kept, Air con / Heating in all rooms One of the best hotel showers i have ever had. Always hot and VERY POWERFULL, bath, bidet & sink complete with hairdrier. TV in all rooms with spanish channels & Eurosport. One film on DVD played every day. Towels changed every day if you want! We were on the 2nd floor facing the front of the hotel looking onto the pool area. each room has a balcony. Sauna & Jacuzzi were available but have to be booked in advance(Very Busy) There are two pools,1 for kids,a bit cold at this time of year tho! Nice sheltered poolside area,with seats & sunbeds ( you are not allowed to keep your beds with your towels!) :-) Food was good but a bit repetitive. Breakfast lunch & dinner were all Buffet style Hot & Cold. Dinner time got a bit crowded at times. We are both fussy eaters, (not keen on seafood but love salads)Unfortunatly most salads had tuna or mussels in them. Snacks all day were chips (Cold),streaky bacon, sausages ,2 cold meats & lettuce & Cheese. Shame it didnt get used much tho! Bar area was very good, drinks available from 10am -1am! Entertainment was Ok. Between 9 & 11 On three different nights we had a Fantastic Flamenco show , Great magician and a dull keyboard player! Disco carried on till 1am, our room was 2 floors above but we heard very little. We would return to the Amaika again without a doubt but when its a bit warmer! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: teletext holidays - Feb 2005 Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : helen 42, pat 57 Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: february 8 - 15 2005 hotel was fab, the food was more than excellent. the room was cleaned daily, towels changed daily. children were entertained. night entertainment was good. alot of people we spoke to had come back again. we would go back. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2 Can Travel - Feb 2005 Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Eddie,Elaine,Tom,Vicky,Chris 49,44,19,16,19 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: we travelled to Calella on the first of February and we were pleased with what we got for our money,the all inclusive facilities were good however the bar was understood and the staff weren't very friendly.the dining room was laid out very nice it was just a shame about the food which was very repetitive,fish,pork and chicken every day.the best bar tender was the guy who called everyone jimmy and claimed to be James Bond. Overall it was a good holiday shame about the food. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: sun choice - 2005 Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : Graham Croal 24 Nicola Reid 21 GLASGOW Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: we booked cheap flights from prestwick,got there mix up with transfers had to get a taxi which cost around 55 euros 30 quid and took about 45 mins to and hour from girona airport. We arrived at the Hotel and when you get there it is quite impressive nice marble reception we got to our room which was of average size and spotlessly clean.As it was out of season alot of the shops were closed but alot were open, there are lots of small shops and shoe shops for the ladies. The centre of town is about a 5 to ten min walk from the hotel. Every thing closes early on a sunday so we decided to get the train in to barcelona the train station is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel and it was only about 10 euros for the two us return, the train took over an hour to get there but going to Barcelona really made my holiday and if you get the chance you should grasp it with both hands, Back to the hotel the food was pretty poor but theres always chips and the usual paella and seafood and some fat on a bone maybe i am just being fussy but the reaustaurant was very nice and you could eat no problem if there was a gun pointed at your head but there is plenty of little restaurants and pubs that sell food. also the entertainment was good and the free drinks went down well. 200 ciggies is £20 28 euro and you can bring back 3200 so leave some space in your case. hope this helps. Graham --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Hello Holidays - Ryan Air - 2005 Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Kev, Michelle 43 Chris 12 Elisabeth 11 Resort Rating: Below Average Accommodation Rating: Below Average My/Our Holiday Review: This is a lengthy report and we apologise, but do not book this hotel if you plan to have something for your kids to eat, a sunbed by the pool, smiling cheerful staff and any kids or adult activity. The resort itself is full of the usual shops with little for the kids. There are no cigarette hypermarkets like in other resorts but 4 tabacs (closed Sundays). 200 english cigarettes are about 21 euros (£17.50) down to 15 euros foreign ones. Cigars are 11 euros (£7.15) for 25 Spanish ones. 5 King Edward half coronas are about 3.5 euros (£2.25). THE BOOKING We booked 10 days in advance on Teletext with Hello Holidays and paid £1450 for the 4 of us all inclusive for one week. We asked for email confirmation which didn't arrive. With 1 week to go we rang again and were told everything had been sent including the email we had asked for. We rang again the day before we left and finally they sent the invoice and a load of paperwork, in all about 35 pages we had to print off. It was a good job too as we had to hand over a flight booking sheet at the airport, an arrival coach voucher to resort hoppa to get us to the hotel, a hotel reservation voucher for the hotel and a departure voucher to the coach driver at the resort when we left. We also had to ring the coach company and book our departure coach the day before we left. This all added to the stress of a relaxing family holiday. THE HOTEL Throughout the holiday there was no rep from any company (english or otherwise) at the reps desk. The room was excellent (612 overlooking the pool at the front); I have never seen so many complimentary items in a hotel room. Toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner etc.) The hairdryer is only good for drying Kev's number 2 cut). The girls flowing locks would have taken hours. Michelle said it got very hot and she had to keep putting in down. The safe looks like it is broken, but when you get the key from reception you actually get the lock as well. Chris slept in a chair bed, but he was okay with that. Elisabeth had a z-bed alongside our twins but there was ample room. The only english channels were CNN and Eurosport, plus you can operate it without the remote control. Maid service was excellent and it needed to be as everytime we use the freestanding shower (one in the bath too) water flooded the bathroom. The hotel looks like any other hotel except the receptionists wear shabby looking jackets with naval insignia. There are several TITANIC related pictures on the wall. We couldn't really see the link. Overall, the receptionists are poor although the majority are polite. There is a blonde haired guy who is about 6 foot 4 and speaks good english. He is helpful. The only one who smiles is a dark haired girl who wears glasses, called Sylvie. She is Polish and married to a Spaniard. Nothing was too much trouble for her. She even printed off autoroute directions when we wanted to visit Port Aventura and Andorra, although we decided the latter was too far to travel. One receptionist is surly and downright rude...more of that later. The hotel will change your euro travellers cheques for 2% commission and they insist you show your passport every time. The Bar...what can we say except it was atrocious service. As all inclusive guests were treated to third class service. A small area of the bar on the far left meant that everyone had to queue along the front of the bar, with waiters shoving through to get to the bar themselves. One man would take your order and swipe your all inclusive hotel issued credit card whilst the other would fill your drinks. Plastic glassed for the kids. The alcohol and cola tasted like it had been watered down in some way, especially with half the glass full of ice. The rule was two drinks per person as I found out when I took mine and Chris's card to get a beer and two pops. They served me two drinks and said "now go away and come back later". I asked why and was told 2 drinks only. I asked how far I had to go away and they pointed to a nearby table, so I walked over and put the drinks down and went back to the bar. They waved their hands and said "no go away and come back later". I walked out to the pool and straight back where I was served again. Michelle went to the bar one night at 11.50 and was sent away as the all inclusive bar was closed at midnight. We decided to pay and one Bacardi and coke (proper stuff now we were paying) nearly knocked my head off. All inclusive starts at 10am until midnight...ish. The pool measures about 24 feet by 10 feet and has about a dozen tables, 5 parasols and 24 sunbeds. The maintenance guy locks the access door until 9am, so by 8.30am there is a line of people queuing to get in to reserve their sunbeds. We queued one day, the doors opened at 8.50, the beds were reserved by 8.51 and by 8.52 we were the only ones around the pool. People came back to their sunbeds in dribs and drabs from about 9.30am. One guy (from a country famous for pizza) reserved 2 beds and a parasol for him and his wife. They sat there for 20 minutes from about 10 am, then went away returning about 4pm for half an hour before leaving. The receptionist was not interested although the sign said it was forbidden to reserve sunbeds. First day we didn't get near the pool but went to the beach, 500 yards away and hired 2 beds and a parasol for about £7 for the day. Beware of the sand though, it is like grit sand and the soles of my feet hurt all the next day. We hired a car for 3 days and asked about parking. They said we could have a space in the hotel car park which was locked up. We paid 180 euros (£125) to ABAD the hire company for a nice Peugeot 307 with air conditioning. There is a 400km a day limit on it but that was okay, we went up the coast towards France and another day drove into Barcelona. On the last day we drove to Port Aventura (110 miles there), so we had our moneys worth. Diesel was around 62p a litre. Port Aventura cost £90 but it would have been half price if we had a flier from a hotel, so it is worth checking a local hotel foyer before you go. Plus we had to pay a £5 to park the car! Everything inside was theme park prices. A large coke (half as big again as McDonalds large) was 2.75 euros (£2). On the first day we had the hire car we had driven up the coast and returned tired. When we got back to the hotel we asked for the key, which we were told would be available that evening, was not available. It took ONE HOUR to find a space half a mile away. We finally got a space in the hotel car park at 2am when we got back from Port Aventura. It cost us 9.50 euros for the night. The only time I saw the blonde receptionist smile was when we were leaving and she told us how much the car parking was and "she would retain that amount from the money she was returning from the deposit for the remote and safe key." Hotel Food was continental and diverse to cater for the large number of Spanish, French and Italian guests. It wasn't to our taste and was as follows: Breakfast...Toast or Cereals Unique tasting scrambled eggs, Spanish spicy sausage, leathery ham type bacon half of which was pure fat plus prepacked croissants and cold meats. Lunch...Pasta,Chips,Cold meats,Salads and choice of cooked meat (chicken or pork) Dinner...As lunch. The only thing that changed over the week was the cooked meat at dinner. The kids lived off pasta and chips for a week. Don't ask for a packed lunch unless you like to eat from a delicatessen. All Inclusive snacks consist of what has been left from the previous meal. For example we couldn't face breakfast after having arrived back at the hotel at 2am from Port Aventura, so we went up around noon (around 1 and a half hours before lunch). There was luke warm chips and scrambled egg and some leathery bacon. Half was through some scrambled eggs a chef brought out some salad and some grated cheese. I walked over and put some grated cheesed on top of the eggs intending to melt it in the microwave. The chef went daft waving his arms around. He spoke to someone else and stormed into the kitchen. Two minutes later he returned with trolley full of food and put it between the two buffet bars, still covered so no one could get to it. Then he angrily collect all the serving utensils and slammed them down out of reach behind the counter. There is no waiter service between meals. As you enter the dining room, the sign states that all inclusive cards must be put on the table prior to ordering drinks. It is not necessary, in fact it is a disadvantage as the times we did leave them on display no waiter attended us. We did not put it out and a waiter brought us drinks. Good news, there is a McDonalds over the road but it is more expensive than in the UK. Entertainment was almost non existent. No music by the pool for a starter. Kids club was one Spanish lady when took the kids down a little alley at the rear of the pool to an area under the stairs where there was a small wooden horse on a spring and a dilapidated little tykes house. On one occasion she left half a dozen 5-7 yr olds for 10 minutes and had an argument with a mother on her return. There was a mini disco at night and were treated to a magic show, flamenco and guy playing a portable Hammond type organ. This wasn't all on the same night, this was three different nights entertainment. We went out. Chris was looking forward to the rifle shooting advertised.....he is still looking forward to it. In the resort, all we found was minigolf and 5 ten pin bowling lanes for the kids and a couple of trampolines. Sorry we have droned on, but we checked out the reviews of others before we booked it, in fact Michelle was on the telephone and the rep said there is an offer of 8 nights for the price of 7. In the time it took me to check out reviews on this page, the offer had gone. We were annoyed at the time, but not now....we were ready for home. We are not complainers but sometimes enough is enough. This is the worst holiday we have ever had in Spain and we have had many. I speak the language and we don't go anywhere else as they don't speak Spanish. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: December 2004 Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Sam Johnston - Uckfield (55) Ann Johnston - Uckfield (55) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: We went to the Amaika over Christmas 2004 and found that the Hotel was very clean indeed. It was themed on the Titanic and they have done a very good job of it. The decor in the Dining Room was excellent and the accommodation or the cleanliness can not be faulted. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Lunch the hotel excelled themselves by laying on special waiter service meals and the flow of champagne and wines was excellent. The food at times was a little cold and the choice of meat was a little lacking, however there was always something to eat and they do have to cater for several different Nationalities. I have certainly had a lot worse food elsewhere. At this time of year it is quiet and probably not for children, however from our perspective the shops were excellent and there was quality shops around rather than the usual rubbish that you find in many resorts. It is not a pretty resort as the railway line runs between the hotel and the sea. However it is very useful for going into Barcelona or to other resorts close by and it is very cheap indeed. The Swimming Pool area is small, not that it bothered us at that time of year, however I suspect that during peak season there could be problems. The Bar area was also a little small and the entertainment was pretty dire at times. However, I would certainly return to the hotel, it is an excellent base and can be an ideal quiet relaxing holiday at this time of year or can be used to get out to see other parts of Spain. Do not be put off by other comments, a holiday is after all what you make it and if you want to eat out there is plenty of choice. Possibly better for the slightly older couples rather than people with families. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Complete Travel Services - Dec 2004 Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Ann Johnston - East Sussex (55) Sam Johnston - East Sussex (55) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: We stayed over Christmas 2004 and found the Hotel to be extremely clean and the decor was excellent. The theme of the Titanic worked very well indeed and the Dining Room was impressive. The food is not typically British (nor should you expect it to be) and you can always find something to eat. The Hotel would suit older couples who are happy to find their entertainment outside the hotel, or to relax in quiet surroundings. I would not say it is particularly suitable for children and in Summer the Pool would be very small. It is not a Beach Holiday as the Train Line runs between the hotel and the beach. It is a very functional resort for getting into Barcelona or other resorts close by and the trains are very cheap. For those who like the shops it is excellent in comparison to many other Spanish resorts and has not been spoiled. Very typically Spanish with few tacky shops. If you want a quick getaway and are prepared to have the occasional meal out if you get fed up with the food then go fo it. The Hotel excelled themselves over Christmas and the food the wine and champagne were plentiful. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2 Can travel - Nov 2004 Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : 38, 8, 4 Resort Rating: Below Average Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: I have just read the review below and it could have been the one I intended to write but didn't get time to do. I decided to take the children for a last minute holiday as my husband works abroad and we needed a break. The hotel was very clean and the room was ideal for the 3 of us but would have been crowded with 4 people. The shower cubicle was very small and you get burnt or froze when moving as you hit the lever. The reception staff at the hotel work hard and are really friendly. However the bar staff tend to favour the paying guests rather than the all inclusive ones. They were quite grumpy but were nice as pie after I tipped them one night when quite tipsy. The guy who calls everyone jimmi is a table/chair control freak and wo betide anyone who tries to move a stool to another table. Three women moved their chairs to enable them to watch the entertainment one night. Jimmi bartender dashed up to them and made them move the chairs back to the table - the women missed the rest of the show. Entertainment is pretty poor and the hotel was full of French guests. They got preference for seating in the restaurant etc. I tried to sit at a nice table and was shooed away to the other side of the restaurant as the table was for the French. Callela was probably very nice in the 80s but it looks like there has been no investment for a long time. The shops were full of replica football shirts, cheap souvenirs etc. If you stop for more than a few seconds at a shop you get hassled to buy. When I found that one shop had an item that was 10 Euros dearer than another I pointed it out and the bartering began. This is commonplace apparently in the souvenir shops but not the boutiques. I went on the beach once and it was very dirty and I nearly fainted when I almost stood on a large dead rat on the beach (I have a phobia about rodents). I dashed the kids back to the hotel and we didn't venture there again. The pool area is pleasant and there was enough room for the guests as the hotel wasn't full. It would be a nightmare in summer as the pool is very small (and cold) and there are limited sunbeds. Food was ok, nothing special. Word of warning. Don't leave your plate unattended for a second as the waiters will clear it away. I had to get 3 meals one night as my plate kept getting cleared away (I was only going back for bread, butter or cutlery). The hotel group Top hotels owns other hotels in Callela and you can use any of them. Avoid the OLYMPIA it is like a working mens club but worse with unruly children running reckless and their parents behaving much worse. We enjoyed our stay but I would not recommend it for families or for people looking for a lively holiday. We would not visit Calella again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2 Can Travel - November 2004 Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Annette, Dave, Richard Gillian & 2 Kids! - Desborough - 35, 39, 57, 57, 9, 4 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Average My/Our Holiday Review: Hotel is advertised as 4* We would only give it 3* and that is generous! - The rooms are no way big enough for 4 people - our two children were put - one in a a pull out bed which was ok - and the other in a pull out chair that meant you couldn't get out onto the balcony without moving it, and you nearly broke your neck doing an obstacle course around it to get to the bathroom! Furniture in room was basic (and looks nothing like photos i had seen of the hotel rooms!)seperate shower as well as shower over the bath - only problem was with the seperate shower - every time you moved a part of your body to wash yourself you turned the shower off!!! We also had an evil stench in the bathroom every time someone in a different room flushed the toilet or had a shower! - they covered your room in a really strong air freshener to try and cover up the smell - but that smell also made you gag!!! And if you get the room we had - 101 - you get woken up lots of times during the night with noise from the laundy room opposite - which also has a lift for the workers which is so noisy it keeps you awake!! The food was ok - although we only had paella once and would have liked it on the menu at least every other day! - You got totally fed up of the food by about day 3 and our son aged 9 lived on chips for all meals all week - even he was fed up with them but it was all he liked!(he did try other food but did not like it!) In fact the best meal we had all week was from the chinese restaurant over the road from the Hotel!! - And a number of people from the hotel were in there the same night as us!!! - Don't get me wrong the food was ok but very repetative and the fact that a couple of days running pig cheek was on the menu was enough to put anyone off!! - Also the week we was there (7th-14th November) there was bus loads of french people there and they took over!!- Even the restaurant - Tables were out aside for them with wine and water on them and we tried to sit at a large table as there was 6 of us - and we were told by a waitress that the english had to sit on the other side of the restaurant - which is not fair to say the least! If you are considering going off season with children - DON'T!!! - There is absolutely nothing for them to do!!! - We had to borrow cards from reception to keep them amused the best we could! - They are in desperate need of at least a pool table!!! - The pool is way to small for the size of the hotel - and very cold in November! I don't know how they can advertise the beach in the resort as one of the best in europe! - It was dirty, we had to tell the kids to keep there shoes on to avoid broken glass! - We also found a knife on the beach and a dead rat!!! There is no way we would go back to this hotel with children - maybe when we are retired we may contenplate it - but i doubt it! The best thing about the holiday was a day trip to Barcelona on the train for 5.5 euros each - cheaper for kids! And the route along the coast!! The only thing i could say the hotel has got right is the credit card style cards you get with your photo on for all inclusive! - It is so much better than being tagged with an armband all week!! In general if you like a very quite holiday with nothing to do - i would say book the Amaika but if you have children don't bother!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Freeway October 2004 Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Steve (40) Kathy (39) Resort Rating: Below Average Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: We were originally put in the Olympic Hotel in Calella (please see my review of that beastly place). However, we requested a move after three days and chose the Amaika. Compared to the Olympic this is the last word in luxury, however, this review needs to be made without the Olympic in mind. The reception is a nice bright and airy place and the staff make you feel welcome. A nice touch was the credit card size ID card with your photo on which is your passport to the all inclusive features, which makes a nice change to the nasty wristbands you usually have to wear. The whole place has a nautical theme to it, and I don't mean old fishing nets and lobster pots hanging from any available space but the whole place is decked out as if you were on a cruise liner, I think from the paintings on the wall it is meant to be the Titanic and although I have never been on the real thing I think they have done a reasonable job. The Bedrooms are roomy and bright and very clean, the Air Con is still on in October which is nice and there are nice touches like complementary shower gel, toothbrushes and the like plus a mini bar (unstocked -sadly). The rooms are well sound proofed so noise from your neighbours is of a minimum and a restful night is guaranteed. There are plenty of lifts so waiting was to a minimum and the corridors are again light and airy and continue the nautical theme. The resturant is also tastefully decorated and although the food is not the greastest choice I have been offered it is of good quality. I have used the word good with care, because it is tasty, warm and edible but you can eat better in town, but then that negates the need for All Inclusive. The bar is very spacious and it is possible to get a quiet drink however, there is also the Parisienne Cafe which is extremely quiet. The bar staff seemed friendly enough (especially if you try out your Spanish on them) although there is one guy who I believe is mentioned in other reviews who is very jocular and friendly however being refered to as "Alright Jimmy" and "Bro" does wear a little thin after the dozenth time but what the hell, the guy means well. The hotel boasts a very small swimming pool and in October it was apparent that it was not heated judging by the expletives being voiced by those foolhardy enough to take the plunge, it is however very small, not a problem in the Autumn but it might get crowded in the summer and the pool side seating is also very limited. Having said that I would not recommend this hotel for families at any time of year although it is perfect for couples, both young and old. The resort itself is very "Kiss me Quick" and most of the shops sell an extensive range of "Tat". There are some good resturants and I would highly recommend the family run Brasserie just at the start of the shopping street, who do a very good Paella and are very well priced. The two of us ate there had two courses each and a very good wine and paid about £20. The beach is clean and sandy and you are never far from a beach bar selling inexpensive food and drink. So to sum up: The Hotel is clean and tastefully decorated. The bedrooms are clean and spacious. The food is OK, I have had better, but I have had much worse (see my review of the Olympic).The pool is slightly inadequate for families in the summer. Would I stay here again, I would but only if they moved it to a different resort and I wouldn't bring my kids, they would be bored ridged. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Discount Holidays - October 2004 Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Lee Dickinson - Scotland (27) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: We stayed all inclusive for a week on a last minute holiday through Oakley Travel. The hotel was beautiful and very very clean. Some of the staff were a bit glum but the barman who calls everyone Jimmy was great fun (he called me vodka 7 up all week as I ordered alcohol at 10am on the first morning before I realised everyone else was drinking coffee) This would not be a good place to visit if you are looking for an 18-30 type break as the average age of guest when we stayed was around 40-50.But if you are looking for a quiet relaxing week then its perfect. The excursions were overpriced charging 35 euros each for a trip to Bacellona wnem it cost only 5.5 euros each for a return on the train. The food was OK and well presented I am a very fussy and will not eat any red meat but still managed to get varied meals, although the duck with its head still on was a bit disturbing !! The drinks were cold plentiful and the free pour measures were generous to say the least (hangovers all round). The entertainment was so bad that we went to bed by ten every night (well thats our excuse anyway)but bearing in mind that we visited in october it was probably just out of season. I would not hesitate to go back for a week but I think after two weeks it would get a bit boring. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetway Travel August 2004 Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : C J Hind & Co. 31,29,6,5 Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: I decided to treat my family to a last minute getaway and booked through fleetway travel via last minute.com .The hotel was spotless and our room(7th floor) never suffered from any unwanted smells as other people have mentioned, our room was next to the lift and was ample for the 4 of us and we never heard the lift in operation during our stay. The pool is small with little seating/sunbeds, after looking at other hotels this seemed to be the trend. We stayed on an all inclusive basis and found the food to be edible although rather boring. The all inclusive drinks were fine the local lager being of premium strength, and the spirits being high quality, although the bar staff were as miserable as sin i can only pressume this was because they had all had their personalities removed or they just did not take to the all inclusive guests as they thought that there would be no tips, with attitudes like that certainly not!! They were good with the kids though. Evening entertainment the nights we saw were actually very good and there was a kids club but we go away to spend time as a family and dont dump our kids in these. The hotel seemed to be busy with mainly spaniards which is surely a good sign, and we soon found out why, down the main high street we found some superb restuarants with great atmospheres serving tradtional spanish dishes,drinks and they were very cheap!! The beach is near and was clean it was nice to see plenty of life guards both static and on foot as some days the sea was a little rough. All in all we enjoyed our time here the hotel nothing to get too excited about but on that note nothing really to seriously grumble about! we would definatley go back to Calella. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Fleetway Travel - July 2004 Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Michael, Julie, Sarah & Ben - 43,39,13,12 Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Opinion: We had a fantastic all inclusive holiday here - hotel themed on the Titanic - rooms spacious with air conditioning - cleaned daily - dining area really classy with waiters all in uniform - food choice was great - even my son found something to eat which is a novelty! Pool was a little small with not enough sunbeds but the kiddie rep was brilliant and the kids were well entertained (the cold tap next to the pool was put to good use!) I agree the staff were a little miserable and the evening entertainment could have been better but weather was boiling and the drinks were always available! The beach is only a five minute walk away and there's lots of typical tourist shops close by. Would definitely go back! Hi to Regan (get in touch I've got a lovely photo of you!), Rocia, Andrew, David, Lyn, Luke, Charlotte, Helen, Linda, AnnMarie, Pete, and Jimmy the waiter!! PS don't miss the private sauna, steam room and jacuzzi!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Viva Holidays - May 2004 Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Hazel, Alfie, Andrew, Margaret - County Durham 47, 48, 15, 76 Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Poor My/Our Holiday Review: Well what can I say dont pick the Amika, on first looks very nice, but wait till you get to the room - it stinks, the sewerage smelt terrible. I went and complained they said it had been raining and it would go away, so was that just my room on the 7th floor.In the restaraunt poor Alfie got fish and low and behold he was chewing a fish hook, reported this and the lad came back and said we buy them in frozen so cant do anything about it. Same goes for the food frozen. The pool how hideous for a hotel that size and you couldnt even get a seat.As for entertainment well Im still waiting to see any. One barman nicknamed jimmy always up for a laugh, what a shame they werent all like that.Just up the road though is a travel agent and we all booked to go to Barcelona for the day and I must admit well worth going. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Ryanair - May 2004 Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Colin & Janet Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Like Mark & Carol in an earlier review, we also found the Amaika to be a very nice hotel. The room was clean and spacious, the food nice, loved the glass lifts on the outside of the hotel, we liked the decor(done out like a ship), and thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We would definitely recommend it to anyone. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: SUNSEEKERS APRIL 2004 Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : JOANNA & SHARMIN 25 & 8 Resort Rating: Excellent Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: The Amaika Hotel was great. We went the last week of April. The weather was really nice so that helped a great deal. There wasn't alot of entertainment for children at all,but my daughter didn't mind as she became a pool baby!! The hotel itself was really nice. It was clean and looked very posh. Our room was cleaned everyday, with fresh towels. The rooms were spacious. The food was a bit repetitive, but there was always salad, if you didn't want chips!! The waiters were a bit miserable, and only came alive after midnight (that's when you start paying for drinks). It's only an hour on the train to Catalunya,(Barcelona) where we went down Le Ramblas. It cost 5.70 Euros return, and the station isn't far from the hotel, and it travels down the coast,so the view is good! Hello to the people we met out there!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Alexander Owen - Dundee (44,42,11) Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: We visited the Hotel Amaika in April of this year (2004) - Unfortunately we did not have good weather. Hotel Amika is not a family hotel. Nothing for kids at all - no entertainment whatsoever - my daughter loves swimming and this would have occupied her if we could have got to a seat at the pool on the two good days that we had - the pool area is far too small for a hotel this size. The hotel itself was beautiful no arguments there. The bar staff were dour to say the least - all inclusive holiday makers don't tend to tip do they! - same in the restaurant - daughter ate chips on a roll most days - I know if we want burgers etc go to Blackpool - but the fish was full of bones - the duck still had its head on - beef full of fat and grisle ??????? and the food was always cold. I lived on rolls and green soup - the same soup every day. Not impressed - we holiday twice a year and after the Amika we're staying at home this year. Another thing if you get a pool view you are lucky the view at the other side of the hotel is awful. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Teletext Holidays - April 2004 Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Patrick Tiernan, Pippa Tiernan - Surrey (43, 42) Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: We stayed for 3 nights (15-18/4/04) and were very impressed with the cleanliness of the hotel - room/bathroom spotless. The decor of the recently refurbished hotel was of a very high standard. Food repetitive but edible, and staff very friendly (even the bar staff). Only 5.5 euros return to Barcelona by train from Calella. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Two Can Travel - April 2004 Opinion submitted in Apr 2004 by : Mark & Carol - St. Helens (35,44) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Just got back form a 4 day break at the Hotel Amaika (22/4/03 to 25/4/03)and having read some of the reports here before I went I thought I'd set the record straight. The Amaika is a Top hotel and not just in name, and it is a good quality 4 Star. I think it is the cleanest hotel I've ever stayed in, and I have stayed in lots of hotels. The food was good and there was a reasonable choice, don't let the stories of the Microwave ovens put you off. It is hard to keep food warm for long periods in Hotels, however at the Amaika there is one Microwave near the doors to the kitchem where you can choose to reheat your food if you want it very hot. We stayed AI and the beer and spirits were also very good, not the watered down crap you usually get on AI deals. And if you must have branded spirits and bottle beers you could pay a small suppliment (everything is priced full & AI prices) The only down side there is to the hotel is a small pool area with limited sun beds. We had very hot weather on Sat & Sun and the pool area quickly filled up and that was off season. It's a good sign if locals use a hotel and during our stay there was a lot of locals using the hotel, there was even a wedding on Saturday, the Spanish no how th have a good time! The resort has not changed much, I came about 20 years ago with my parents, I would say it has improved over the years but still kept all of its charm. This was the best value short break weve have ever had and we go for holidays abroad at least 5 weeks every year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Discount holidays April 2004 Opinion submitted in Apr 2004 by : Paul Reilly Glasgow (44, 44, 14, 12 ) Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: This was a last minute AI deal and our first time in Costa Brava. The rooms are excellent, well equiped, very clean and have a bath and separate shower. Our children had their own room and it would have been too cramped if we had not taken this option.The rooms were well perfumed so there may have been a problem with the drains at sometime , but nobody complained. We had 315 and 316. These overlook the pool and have a better view than the rooms at the back of the hotel. The food was very good and offered a number of courses.The hot dishes did vary and were always hot ..... very few people used the micro wave. There was always fish, meat and chicken. We also had smoked salmon, paella, mussels , prawns and lots of salads. These options were available at lunch and evening meals. The dining room was always busy with UK residents and Spanish residents ( adults and children)........ they always returned so they must have found something to eat. I would have been disappointed if a 4 star hotel in Spain was offering pizza and chips or steak pie. People who want this type of option should go to Blackpool and visit McDonalds.. Snacks were avaiable between set meals and offered cold meats, chicken nugget type food and chips. Our children and their friends used this, but we were adequately fed at meal times. Wine ,beer or soft drinks are served at your table. The hotel is very clean and is decorated in a nautical theme.Two saunas and jacuzzi rooms. Staff are very friendly and work very hard. Some of the bar staff could be a bit more friendly and smile, but so could some the clients. One particular barman with a dubious hair piece and frowning expression was asked to smile and have his photo taken on a moblie phone. The request came from a group of Celtic Bhoys who had chipped in a euro each. He obliged, 10 euros was place in the tip box and the phone was passed round to prove that he could smile. So if you want a smile tip the waiters even tho its AI Entertainment is poor, mostly Spanish and nothing for younger chidren. We joined the company of others and had a great time. Our children made friends and kept themselves amused.Tv in the quiet lounge would show videos requested at reception, also availble in your room on channel 17. There are lots of bars offering UK type entertainment and there are arcades and 10 pin bowling nearby. We visited the Alkatras Bar to watch Celtic play V. real and then Livingston. Good bar with good atmosphere........... but not part of the AI deal !!! Calella has a great beach that stretches for miles and has coves at one end for people who like to let it all hang out. some of the buildings along the front are a bit run down and derelict.The resort was swarming with groups of school parties and many of them stayed at the cheaper hotels making them very noisey, Osiris and Olympic We would certainly return to this hotel if the price was right, but the Costa Brava would not be our favourite choice for a summer break and we would not book into any of the so called 3 star hotels. Barcelona is well worth a visit. 5o minutes by train and 17 euros return fo 2 adults and 2 chidren --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Discount Holidays - Feb 2004 Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : Jayne Sledmore - Edinburgh (20, 23) Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: My boyfriend and I took this as an allocated on arrival, all inc deal. The hotel was lovely with nice clean rooms and helpful staff. However, the food was hideous! The food was the let down of this hotel as everything else was very nice. Bear in mind that you will have to pay extra for branded spirits as the all inc deal is just for local spirits which as pretty awful! There is a nice pizza place accross the road though which is really cheap! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: 2cantravel -feb 2004 Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : 25 and 20 Resort Rating: Below Average Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: me and my partner have just come back from hotel amaika its a fantastic hotel apart from: theres a no No smoking bit in the bar, no entertainment during the day if in off season time of year, no games room night time entertainment was for the older couples we found it quite boring there was no games room or any card games to do to keep us occupied the room t.v was all in spanish as well!!!!!!! overall a great looking hotel but not much to offer to younger couples and families. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Sun Choice - 11th Feb - 15th Feb 2004 Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : Sally Mitchell - Skegness (47, 48) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Poor My/Our Holiday Review: Our first impressions of this hotel was WoW, we had been told that the inside was supposed to represent the inside of the Titanic, and it did. The excitement lasted right up until the receptionist asked us to present our wrists and then tagged us with blue version of hospital bands. This was to show that we were AI clients and yes we were expected to keep them on all through our holidays. This was very embarrassing as we toured that area of Spain with our blue bands on our wrists. The bedroom was beautifully laid out and the view was a block of flats, but we were away from the noise on the street so that didnt bother us. But what was that smell? We opened the bathroom door and was hit by a stench of sewage. We went back down to reception who told us the hotel was full and so could not move us but they did send up a maid who poured bleach down the drain. We went for our first dinner and could not believe that the staff were aware that all the food in the buffet was cold, but that is why there is a microwave to heat your food in. Yes, believe it or not, this 4 star hotel serves all its food cold that you heat in a single microwave. I really do not know what a lot of the food was but was told by holiday makers to beware of the soup pot. We kept an eye on it and for the next 3 days the same soup was served up, it was green thats all I know. We went back to our room and the stench was still there. We went back to speak to the manager who refused to talk to us, that night we had to sleep with the balcony door open and it was not warm enough for that. The next day 30 British guests went to speak to the manager who refused to come out of his office. We all filled in complaint forms and took copies of them, all of us were sickened by the state of the food and the stench in our rooms. Being tagged like cattle did not help either. That afternoon the hotel was filled by Spanish holiday makers who had come for the week end by that evening there was quite a few of them demanding that they be moved because of the smell. The pool was so small that I dread to think of the fights that will ensue in the summer as everyone tries to take a dip. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone least of all families as the marble flooring can be dangerous when running around in wet feet. If it wasnt for the Dunkirk spirit found amongst our fellow holiday makers British and Spanish this holiday would have been a disaster. We were in room 325 which has now been renamed 'The Bog Of Eternal Stench' you have been warned!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Discount Holidays - Feb 2004 Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : Mr & Mrs Shepster (30,28) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: Lovely clean hotel. The rooms were cleaned every day and clean towels given. The staff weren't very friendly but carried out any requests. [The bar staff need to learn to at least smile]. The 3 main problems with the hotel are the FOOD, FOOD and FOOD. It was awful!! It was always cold. When we complained about this we were told we could use the microwave to heat up our dinner. Not what you expect from a 4 star hotel. Although we were All Inclusive we dined out each night after suffering a couple of the dinners. There are plenty eating places around and a meal for 2 cost under 15Euros. Another complaint that we had was the lack of ventilation in the bar. If you are Asmatic or hate smoking then you will be unable to sit for long in the bar due to the amount of smoke within. Even a non-smoking section would be appreciated. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Amaika - Calella Operator and Date: Discount Holidays - Date NOt Specified Opinion submitted in Jan 2004 by : Jeff 36 Kim 46 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Excellent My/Our Holiday Review: Having booked the holiday at the last minute (seen on Teletext) with Discount Holidays the price was very good and we were told by the agent that we would be allocated accomodation on arrival, promised at least a 3* and a pool. The flight was with AirScotland flown by Greek Airways, basic flight no meals but snacks served. Arriving in Barcelona on a warm winter afternoon, we were left sitting on a coach for about an hour whilst two passengers tried to locate their luggage, which apparently had not been loaded at Glasgow! The first two coaches had left and when we finally arrved at the hotel the queue for booking in was out the door and along the street! The Hotel Amaika is very impressive. The rooms were spotless and credit to the cleaning staff, who daily made beds, placed clean towels and cleaned the room. The Hotel being fashioned on the Titanic is wonderful, down to the staff wearing uniforms of the era. In the dining room, wearing our all inclusive wrist band, we were shown our eating area. The food was passable, but oh sooooooooo cold, and what you did not eat for lunch you jolly well ate for dinner!I was shown the microwave for heating up my food, and made use of it at all meals every day! At the weekend the hotel had Spanish and Italian guests, mainly families, and they, seated apart from us, got 4* service, with the Maitre'd fawning all over them. The quality of the food also improved over the weekend. The sauna and jacuzzi are bookable, but do it quickly as it soon fills up, one it too cold and the other has a bad drain smell, but it passes the time. There is no indoor pool at this hotel which was disappointing, but there is a municiple pool along the front towards the lighthouse open from 7.30am-23.00pm with 6pm-9pm pool use for schools and swimming clubs. Callela itself is clean nd although out of season the shops were open but not many souvenir shops were open. The beach looked fairly clean but i do wish the people of Callela would clear up after their dogs! The market on Wednesday in Callela is worth a visit. A trip to Barcelona on the train costs 5.50E return, good value, Get off at Barcelona Sants station and from there you can take the city tour bus and hop on and off the bus all day, cost 16E for a day 20E for 2 days. I hope that the questionaire I filled in is read, the reception staff and the dining room staff need to smile, food needs to be served up hot, and please do something about the sauna/jacuzzi rooms. This all said, the holiday, for the price was worth it and the large contingent of Scots had a good time! I think that during the high season the close proximity of neighbouring hotels makes privacy a bit hard to obtain and the size of pool for a hotel of that size a bit small. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Ameice - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: vivaholidays sept 2004 Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : L MacDonald S MacDonald 46 50 Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: Hotel rooms were excellent and very clean and spacious, hotel reception staff not all that helpful, bar staff did not know how to smile only one young man who called us jimmy was great. Food was awful no taste what so ever and all the hot dishes were cold, when complained was told to heat it up in the microwave in corner, somehow a cold fried egg would not taste very good being heated in a micorwave not only that the hygiene issue. Entertainment was boring with not much atmosphere in the bar. The pool was tiny for the size of the hotel which is rated 4* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Balmes - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: Ice Lolly August 2007 Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : P S -Sheffield (59,58,35,32,5,1) Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: stayed at the hotel 7th -17th August 2007 As usual read allthe reviews off the hotel all seemed satisfactory so off we went, me /wife /daughter /husband and two grand children. Good flight Ryan air silly luggage weight amounts. Transfer to hotel approx 50min,coach dropped us off about 150mtres from hotel think it`s the same for all drop offs. Hotel reception very good as were rest of staff we encounted.Hotel is situated in the old part of Calella not far from Pinneda and about 15-20 min walk to the new part where most of the nightlife is,but just down the road is the commercial center with along line of shops and quiet bars. Short walk to the beach made of very fine shingle(no bucket and spade required).as like most of the Costa Brava slope to the water and gets deep quickly with strong pull not reccomended for young non swimmers. Hotel rooms basic we had three beds in ours still suffient room to swing proverbial cat! only one socket that`s in the bathroom.Food basic same menu different days usually only one selection of veg but eddible .Small selection of sweets but plenty of fresh fruit. You have to buy drinks in the restaurant cannot take you own even from the bar.small poolseemed plenty of sunbeds to go around but had to pick the right spot to get sun allday. Entertainment fairbut most nights acts for kids did not start till11pm with amini disco at 9pm. One last thing apparently the hotel is one for north european 18-30 club but they mainly appear about 5pm around the pool and go in about 6pm, never heard much noise from them but could be noisy A good day out is to Barcelona only 6 euros and an hour on the train. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Balmes - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: Sun4u - September 2005 Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : Helen Measures - Leicestershire (35,33) Resort Rating: Average Accommodation Rating: Below Average My/Our Holiday Review: We visited this hotel last September as a last minute break. Thankfully we were only there for 4 nights. I realise that the hotel is only rated a 3* but surely there are still standards that should be met. The hotel staff were not very friendly at all. We were on an all inclusive package and the bar staff were extremely "put out" when we showed our cards to get a drink. We felt guilty for being all inclusive! When we were shown to our room, we nearly went straight back to the airport! At first I thought someone was using our shower but on entering the bathroom I realised it was the apartment next door using their shower. There was a vent above the bath between the two rooms that you could actually see through and hear absolutely everything. It was worse than sharing an apartment with another couple...at least then you'd close the door and block some of the noise out! The room was tiny, dark with rattling shutters and paper thin walls! It was, however, pretty clean. The balcony was tiny and looked onto a very noisy street. The resort was dingy. There was graffiti everywhere. However, there was a much more pleasant side to it. A walk through the shopping street takes you to better area at the other side of the resort. The beach wasn't particularly pleasant. The beach front was very run down, although as it was September some places may have closed for the season. The only highlights of this holiday were our trips into Barcelona on the train. The fare is extremely cheap and Barcelona is well worth a visit...we went twice in four days! I definitely would not go back to this hotel, or this resort. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Balmes - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: Easy jet / Alpharooms - July 2005 5 nights Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Martin 32,35 + 3 Resort Rating: Good Accommodation Rating: Good My/Our Holiday Review: Getting There I flew to Barcelona and got the train to the resort takes 1.5 hours and cost us 8 euros as opposed to 80 euros in a taxi . 10 minute walk with the cases to hotel from Station or plentiful taxis. Booked hotel through Alpharooms worked out very very cheap. Hotel Room. Rooms were clean, air conditioned, serviced regular, telly, dated bathroom. Plenty big enough for three beds. Food Was adequate and always enough choice with 3-4 courses available. Would recommend having a meal out though to break it up. Cheap wine service with meal. Facilities Pool was clean, big enough, childrens play area, plenty of sunbeds, Location Situated in the "quieter end" of town. However a very nice shopping road linked it to the modern end and was a nice walk of an evening stopping at the pavement cafes etc. Resort It is a nice old fashioned resort, not too many english people here. Not suitable for those wanting a rowdy holiday , but ideal for a family or couple etc. I would go back. One downside The beach whilst clean is not very pleasant as it is very pebbly and pretty dangerous getting in and out therefore my child was not allowed in.In addition as the beach runs right along the coast so you have to go under the railway to access the beach. However we had a pram and it was no real problem. Conclusion Resort is good, hotel is good, beach is a letdown. Arrange the holiday yourself and fly to Barcelona --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Balmes - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: (Going Places Direct) Going Places Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : john sharon coventry 46 44 18 18 13 12going back Resort Rating: Very Good Accommodation Rating: Very Good My/Our Holiday Review: great place to stay preety quiet but very relaxing turn right out of hotel just a short walk brings you to an english bar called the red lion great for families paul behind is hillarious found calella better than first thought great if you like shopping will be going back --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hotel Balmes - Calella de la Costa Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - August 2004 Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Nicola Sables - Milton Keynes (5,6,8,27,30, 31,53,59) Resort Rating: Poor Accommodation Rating: Poor My/Our Holiday Review: To get to the Hotel Balmes you have to use an underpass where you have to go down and up a steep ramp which is not wheelchair friendly or cross the busy main road. We found the hotel staff not very helpful with our needs. All the disabled access ramps either had plant pots on them or the doors were closed and table near them. The ramp up to the swimming pool area and the surrounding area were very slippery when wet. S/C rooms were only cleaned once a week this included linen and towel change. The balconies were very small and slopped forward, the beds were uncomfortable creaked when you moved, bathroom doors were frosted glass which weren't very private. Main road was busy and building work at the back of the hotel woke us every morning 07.45 mon-sat. Noise could be heard from other apartments, bright corridor lights on all the time. The resort was very old and had one main street, discos and bar at the far end of calella and a few good eating-places. The beach access wasn't really suitable for those with walking difficulties, very pebbly. I would not rate the hotel Balmes as a 3*, we would not return to this resort but would to Santa Susanna. ----------------------------- |