My girlfriend and I have recently returned from a 10-night break at this hotel and we paid £290 each for an all-inclusive package there, with transfers to and from Bournemouth with Ryanair. On this subject, all I can say is familiarise yourself with your luggage allowances (particularly the interesting rule that allows only 15kg to be carried in a suitcase, but 10kg can be taken in hand luggage, with excess baggage charged at extortionate rates). Perfect for a holiday..not. That's low-cost airlines for you.

Anyway, with regards to the holiday itself, if we had paid any more than £290 each, we would have felt a little aggrieved, since the food at the hotel is not that great. Nothing there that will make you ill or anything, but it's very much the case that "you get what you pay for". I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to eating abroad, but the frequent traveller especially will understand what I mean by anaemic-looking sausages, chops that make ribs look meaty and blachmange-type desserts that look like they've been ready-digested! However, this is no reflection on the friendly staff in the restaurant who work really hard and are always chirpy. Shame their chef let's them down..

Many 'shorts' were local drinks, not the real McCoy. However, the beer on tap and in bottles is San Miguel, which was a nice surprise. Plus, you can get hot dogs / burgers and tubs of ice cream to snack on round the pool during the day if breakfast and lunch have provided insufficient nutrition. The pool itself appeared to be well-maintained on a daily basis and the time of year which we went (which included some great weather to boot) did not infringe on our ability to get a sun lounger. The hotel supposedly operates a 'no-reserve' policy for sunbeds which seemed to be well adhered to in general.

The hotel bar was nice enough, and made a pleasant setting (both inside and out) to have a few drinks. The entertainment of an evening was generally inoffensive, a Smith-and-Jones style 'Bontempi organist' a few nights, a good flamenco night, quizzes and karaoke, so you shouldn't get too bored. We tended to do our own thing a bit more, especially on the eating-out front. We can highly recommend a Chinese restaurant off the main strip which serves up an absolute pile of lovely food with a drink for a more than reasonable fee. Take the side road beside the Burger King nearer the bus station, walk up past The Sportsman bar (good for live sports), then left at the end, and it sits there on the left-hand side.

The rooms were cleaned daily and the maids worked really hard, so they're well worth their tip. Much like most of the resort, the rooms themselves were reminiscent of the 1970's, when the apartments were probably built, but they were comfy enough. I had e-mailed ahead, though, to secure a double-bedded room with a sea view, but arrived to be given a choice of either a double-bedded room or a room with a sea-view. This, for us, was indicative of the kind of service that most of those working on the front desk provided.

There were exceptions, of course, but many of the receptionists were usually in a side room for 15 minutes at a time discussing God knows what, with no bell on the front desk to grab their attention. Don't get me wrong, these people are talented linguists (there were a mixture of French, Germans, Italians, English, Belgians and Spanish staying there) but their customer service skills bordered on complacent and downright rude at times. One chap would not even call our travel agents to find out our pick up details until I convinced him that I had been promised this would be done for us by the hotel, him saying that we obliged to pay for the call ourselves.

As for the resort, we found it to be quite a nice place, particularly with the weather allowing us to explore. The beach is rough sand and there are a number of boats which embark from there to various points along the Costa Brava coastline. We opted for a yellow boat with an underwater viewing platform which went to Tossa de Mar, a lovely former fishing village going North along the coast. It has a fort there which is good to walk up and into the ancient village that sits up there. Nice food there at 'Tapa A Tapa' bar.

Back in Lloret, there is also a mock fort which makes a home for someone these days at one end of the promenade, and a swanky bar in the hills at the other end. In between you'll find all the booths for the boat trip, a tourist train trip up into the hills and a number of bars, one of which served me the largest beer I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on - and that was a medium! Backing onto this is a grid of tourist shops selling the usual cheap tat and a plethora of restaurants, bars and cafes. Somewhat out of place, there is actually a quaint little church slap-bang in the middle of it all.

We also ventured into Barcelona a couple of times. Once was to watch the football team play at the impressive Nou Camp (tickets + transfers around £40 per person), whilst the second was actually a day-trip. You catch a bus from Lloret bus station to Blanes station, where there is a train direct into Barcelona (Placa Catalunya). Takes about 2 hours all told and the transport is all well coordinated. Well worth a visit is the El Chiquito's tapas bar on Las Ramblas. Follow this all the way down to the picturesque port and have a drink at the boat moored over by the history museum if you get time.

Anyway, much of the above may sound negative, but we actually had a nice relaxing break there and would thoroughly recommend it for a perfect getaway for a bit of well-deserved rest and relaxation, especially at these prices.

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Hotel Guitart Central Park Resort and Spa - Lloret De Mar

Operator and Date: Travel Republic May 2007