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.