Stayed for the New Year Eve in #213 in the hotel. We asked for a room with a view and got a patch of sky and possibility to look at the street over a ledge probably used in summer for patio section of the lower floor. Otherwise we were seeing the wall of the adjacent building. Still privacy was at a good level, as the window position did not allow for anyone peeking in. Strangely, there were 3 sets of curtains, which cleaning staff thought should be always shut and we found them pulled together each time we came back to the room. They were absolutely no worry, apart from the fact that they have been spayed with some sort of air freshener that smelled like insect repellent. Not putrid, but ostentatious.
Generally, the room was pretty small, yet nice and tidy, or at least we managed to keep it tidy with the joint efforts of both us and hotel cleaning staff. They did a great job, indeed, cleaning it, supplying shampoos, toilet paper, making beds, changing towels. They were so eager and enthusiastic in changing towels that they changed my own purple towel in the cleaning frenzy and never replaced it back. I am positive that it stands out among their white clean towels, but hey, such is life. Sometimes you steal something from the minibar, sometimes the minibar steals something from you. Not that we used the minibar, but we were charged €6 for it. We made an objection and they reimbursed them instantly.
Room had a big double bed, king sized, pillows were kind of long and flat, too low for my taste but that is generally the rule for all hotels in Europe. AC was strong and effective, yet quiet and unnoticeable. Room did not contain any traces of cigarette smell, which was indeed very pleasant and I am grateful to the hotel for that.
A drawback is that the room had only one chair, and there were no kettle. Not that there was much place in it where to put a second chair, or a kettle, but still I find it worth noting as we were a couple staying there.
Bathroom was nice. I like the stone tiles, the big sink and mirror, and that red-light heating bulb on the ceiling, the hair drier was also nice addition to the overall comfortability ratio of the bathroom. The only one notion I had spoiling the otherwise joyful experience of taking a shower there was the constant fluctuations in hot water. Sometimes it was too hot, then it goes too cold, then too hot again. I am not a capricious person, and I speak about big amplitude in water temperatures - e.g. water going up to 50C then down to 20C.
Also, someone who was using the bathroom before us, probably thought that the hanging ceiling was a good place to hide valuables and had shifted the overhead panels leaving an unpleasant crack in the ceiling. I noticed it never got fixed. Strange why someone used this as there were a safe deposit box in the wardrobe, I think we were offered €5 for using it.
Probably a good idea is that the hotel allows it being used for free.
All in all - pretty enjoyable nice hotel where you can comfortably, and yet not overly expensive, crash for the night. Location is next to perfect, and close to the Xativa metro stop and 25 min away from the airport.
- Catalonia Excelsior Valencia
- Catalonia Excelsior Hotel Valencia
