We stayed at the Tryp El Caballo Blanco in March 2004 and again in November 2005.

The hotel has a large free carpark with an entrance directly into the lobby. The wide sandy beach of Valdelagrana is approximately half a mile away at the end of a leafy avenue.

The centre of El Puerto de Santa Maria with its bullring, cathedral, vaporetto type ferry to and from Cadiz, etc is a short drive or taxi ride away. It is here in El Puerto de Santa Maria that you will find the Bodega Osborne whose giant black Bull "Toro Bravo" silhouettes grace many a hilltop throughout the length and breadth of Spain.

We saw several chestnut sellers with their braziers, piles of chestnuts and freshly roasted chestnuts for sale, and not at exorbitant London prices either.

Cadiz is a longer drive away in the other direction with remains of a Roman theatre, part of the old city walls, cathedral, quaint and narrow streets, ferry to the Canary Islands, promontory, bay and almost impossible parking. Fortunately for us the city survived Sir Francis Drake's singeing.

[Just a little further on is the original San Fernando and yes, there is a train that goes there! but the one we saw wasn't the last.]

The rooms we have had, and which we prefer for the time of year, were on the upper floor, and in the main building. There is a short flight of stairs but no lift. The rooms are very clean (I think that the rooms away from the main building may be larger?) with a geranium surrounded balcony, or a terrace if on the ground floor. The one we were allocated contained a remote controlled television, a minibar which actually functioned, a single armchair and a circular occasional table as well as an upright chair and long desk-type table, a standard lamp as well as a table lamp in addition to the bedside lamp, while the bathroom had a good hairdryer,a bidet, a bathtub with shower and lots of hot water and a tray of toiletries. In the summer the rooms around the outdoor pool in the Caballo Blanco's spacious grounds with green lawns, pine trees and shrubs might be nice.

The furniture did appear to be a little dated with glass topped tables (but probably more easily cleaned and therefore more hygienic than wood!), although bearing in mind that arriving here very tired on a relatively cold day after the previous night spent at a 5 star Melia Gran Luxe might produce a somewhat jaundiced view! We had sat outside on the balcony there, as indeed we had done the first time we stayed at the Caballo Blanco in March 2004.

Unluckily for us on this November day the whole of Spain experienced unusual and harsh weather, with heavy snowfalls in the north blocking mountain passes, and this time the dual airconditioning/heating unit would not warm our room beyond 17 to 18 degrees Centigrade. A request to Reception for 3 more blankets resulted in the blankets (clean and in their plastic storage bags)arriving in the room within less than 4 minutes of our asking for them .....

The hotel staff are very friendly - and they will smile too - and efficient, with any request eliciting almost instantaneous results.

We will probably visit the Tryp Caballo Blanco again but I wish the heating was better.

I have very mixed feelings about this hotel. I have stayed in a lot of Tryp/Sol/Melia hotels, and so I sort of feel like I understand this hotel. It started off life as a Sol resort hotel in the 1960's, and a few years ago, rather than updating it to Sol resort standards, they just made it into a Tryp instead, the standard for business travellers in Spain. The staff are great, and generally very efficient and friendly. The pool is large and clean, though very cold, even in mid-summer. The rooms are very dated, though they are large and clean; I can imagine that in the mid-seventies, visitors were very impressed, however, you need to update places like this. It was probably forgotten because of the emergence of a busy main road in front of the hotel.

Food is very good, very cheap too. Drinks are cheap and the mini-bar is cheap too. We went and had a look at the hotel before staying there as we were in Jerez for a week beforehand, and because it was so dated, we were going to cancel our stay, but the staff were very friendly on the phone so we changed our minds. One word of warning - there is no lift, so, with a baby, we had to drag the buggy up some difficult stairs. They did move us a few hours later though to a ground floor room which opened out on to the patio.

It is a short distance to the beach, but the beach is across a very very busy road, and the better beach is a short drive away (said to be one of the best beaches in Spain, though there's no one there enjoying the beach, so you get odd looks when you go and lie out).

The town, El Puerto de Santa Maria, is nice, but there is little to do there, and you need a car at El Caballo Blanco to get anywhere. There are a few Bodegas around, and the little town is quaint, but the hotel is a trek from both of these (though they have a courtesy bus which will drop you at either). You are sort of equidistant from Cadiz and Jerez, and both of these are better for dining and for doing things, though the hotel is fine if all you want to do is laze by the pool. People are also very friendly and chatty there. The pool is not deserted, but not hugely busy either, so you can always get a sun lounger and parasol. There are usually a few young families, a few young couples and a few middle aged and older couples by the pool. The hotel rooms overlook the pool and there are some family units built around the pool where there are also some swings and slides, etc as well as a very small and shallow child pool. I hear there are also some children's activities in the peak period too - I didn't see these. Service from the bar is good around the pool.

We enjoyed it, but we wouldn't go back as there are better places elsewhere. If I wanted to stay in El Puerto de Santa Maria again, I would choose one of the better placed hotels. Go there if you want a laid back stay by the pool with goof food and drink, but beware of the dated rooms.

This place was talked up on the site that we booked it through in the UK as a 'first class modern hotel'. Well, I was disappointed.

The rooms are large enough and clean enough, but certainly nothing special. The rooms are laid out, chalet style, around a large grassy area with a fair sized pool, which could prove useful for famililes. Indeed, I'd say the nature of the palce makes it more family oriented. Each room also has its own little patio area to hang out on and listen to the crickets late at night.

The main problem with my stay was the air-conditioning. It barely produced enough cold air to feel even if you put your hand directly over the vent!! And in July in Andalucia, you need air-conditioning! As we were only staying one night en-route to the coast, we couldn't be bothered to kick up a fuss, but it led to a difficult night's sleep.

The saving grace for this hotel was the buffet breakfast which is one of the best I've had anywhere.

This isn't a terribly cheap hotel for the region and I think it was a bit overpriced at around £60.00 a night.