A friend and I stayed at the Marina Palace ( also JM Santa Pola) for 3 nights in June. The hotel is spotlessly clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We arrived really early and were able to leave our bags securely so we could go and explore.
The main road was rather scary to get across, would not advise trying to leg it between vehicles dressed in your beach flip flops!!!
There is a handy supermarket on the way to the beach for your supplies or there are lots of little shops in the town itself.
The market on Saturday is worth a look, its huge.
The hotel was very quiet in the evenings and so we only ate there once, the night there were other people in the restaurant!! It was ok, nothing special. Breakfast was fairly good for a continental style, it kept us going anyway.
There is also an irish bar, its actually very nice and not too tacky ! The night we were there they had put on enterainment. It was very entertaining but not in the way they wanted it to be ! We could not stop giggling at the cheesey crooners, think eurovision and pop idol wannabe's !!
Overall a great hotel, but beware if you cant walk far or if you have young children and no car. Its a good 25 minutes to the beach.

I booked this hotel as it had an indoor pool, however when we arrived i found out as it is part of the spar you had to be 12 and over to use it, my children are 8 nd 2 and were very upset.
The hotel is nice and clean and the staff very friendly, there was mini golf and tennis, however they closed the outdoor pool the day we were leaving (18 oct)> We did dine in the restaurant just once and our food was under cooked, a few other guests complained of this also. The hotel is on a hill and to get to the town or beach on foot you had to cross a busy main road with no footpaths. The town itself is typically spanish and prices are cheaper than than the costas. Beach was nice with lots of little paly areas for the children, only drawback was that it was 25 mins walk. There is building work going on opposite the hotel,however this did not disturb us. I would not recommend the hotel for the elderly (unless you have a car) or for those with young families- great for couples or for those that just want a quiet break and get some sun.

We decided on here as a short break away for my Birthday, Friday to Monday. The hotel was close to the airport (10mins) and only 2hrs flying time from the UK. When we arrived at the Marina Palace we were not disappointed, it is a 3 star but I would definitely rate it at the top end of 3 star. This is an ideal hotel for getting away from it all and just chilling around the pool. All we wanted to do is get some sun and go out for nice meals and a few drinks in the evening. The town of Santa Pola was 20mins max. walk from the hotel. The staff were very friendly although they didn't speak very good English so be warned! I would go back again without any question.