We booked our week's stay in this hotel as part of a package deal with Thomas Cook largely on the basis of the reviews on Trip Advisor.

Rooms: large and airy, spotlessly clean, with a large balcony, air conditioning, and a fridge and safety deposit box available for a small fee. Bathroom was nicely decorated and spacious.

Pool: a good size, clean and manned by a lifeguard. Plenty of sunloungers available.

Food: the breakfasts were very good, with the usual fry up items available but also pancakes or omelettes and a really good variety of fresh fruit. The coffee was from a machine and could have been a bit nicer but that is a very small niggle! Evening meals were OK - I must admit that as a vegetarian I did struggle some nights and ended up with a plate of chips and salad, but my boyfriend enjoyed the food and the choices available. You pay for drinks, they are quite expensive but a bottle of mineral water was quite reasonable for us to share every night.

Hotel layout/surroundings: its really nicely decorated inside with lovely cool air conditioning. The dining room was smaller than I expected and some nights when we were in the corner it was a bit of a struggle to get through, but on the whole it was fine. There is a big leisure/entertainment room with a bar, pool table and internet access. I know there is also a fitness suite downstairs but we didn't get the chance to check this out.

Staff: top notch, everyone we met was extremely helpful, polite and friendly. Quick check in and reception staff helped us with numerous questions such as the best place to exchange money, where to get a bus to a certain place, etc.

Location: in the "quieter" part of town this is about a 15 minute walk to the beach and a little bit longer to the main "strip" where all the bars and restaurants are, yet there is a main street with plenty of amenities just a stroll away. Quiet at night but close enough to the action.

We really enjoyed our stay at the California Palace and would have no hesitation in recommending it to other travellers.

My husband and I have just returned for 1 week at this hotel. We booked it for a late break just to have a rest. We got the rest but the hotel was not what I had expected. Four star in Spain is not four star in England and I forgot that. Hotel was clean and tidy but to me not much else. Food was very basic, not much choice and at times just luke warm. The food did improve towards the end of the week as more guests arrived but this is not what I expect from 4 star. Rooms ok, clean and tidy. Rooms cleaned every day so what more can you ask.
Our rooms was on the front of the hotel and at times you could hear the traffic. Looking out you were looking onto residential buildings so not a nice view. There are a few bars beside the hotel but not a lot. Prices vary but on the whole 2.50 euro for a pint. Cocktails about 6 euro. Paella about 12 euro per person so not cheap. It is a long walk to the beach and then an even longer walk to the entertainment if you want a lot to choice from.

All in all a break but not somewhere I would rush back to.We got out of it what we wanted peace and quiet most of the time. Weather was good so cant complain as it was the second last week of the season.

My partner & I have recently returned from a 5 night break at this hotel as a "last minute" cheap holiday. The hotel is very modern & the rooms spacious - the beds are a bit hard but thats nothing unusual. The staff were very pleasant at reception & booking in was quick. The pool area was very nice with a jacuzzi section in the main pool, plenty of sunbeds (not the most comfortable unfortunately) & parasols. Thats the pluses - now the slight minuses......
The drinks at the hotel are very expensive, much better to try the selection of bars in the area for beer at 1.50 euro & generous spirit & mixer abt 5 euro. The food was generally pretty good but not 4* - no carvery or speciality dishes & not always as hot as it could have been but there was a microwave to give it a quick "ding". We felt that it was maybe because the season was coming to an end & most people seemed to be on a "cheapy" break. The entertainment at night was very poor & badly attended - probably due to the cost of the drinks!! If the hotel improved on the "minuses" it would be very good, especially for those wanting a quieter holiday away from the main hustle & bustle of the new town. Overall we had a lovely holiday, the weather was fab, and altho its a 10 minute walk to the beach & prom its all on the flat so no prob and worth the stroll. Salou itself is lovely, the prom is beautiful & there seems to be something for everyone. We obviously had good value for money as it was a last minute deal.

Me and my boyfriend stayed in this hotel after we found a good package holiday deal with Thomas Cook. Which was great because Thomas Cook has it's own holiday rep who you can find most days around the hotel if you need any help (they'll tell you anything you need to know), and they will also give you a list of trips that they offer (like to Barcelona, local bars, activitys, etc...) which you do have to pay for if you want go on them but all the prices are listed with the trips.

The location is nice and quiet - it's about a 10 minute walk to the beach and about 5 minutes away from the train station if you wanted to get a train to Barcelona. Personally I found the centre of town to be to loud and you get a lot of people trying to get you to go into their restaurants and bars, so this is ideally located if you want to avoid all that (the main stretch from the hotel to the beach doesn't have a single place that harrases you to come in).

We had a room that looked over the pool and our balcony was a good size, so we spent a lot of nights sitting out on it with some fruit and sangria. The room was cleaned every day and the air con worked instantly (it was alot better than all the other hotels I have stayed in in Salou) which means you don't have to worry about being too hot at night. Like most hotels in Salou there is a fridge but you have to pay for it (I think it was €3 a day).

When we were looking up reviews about this hotel we found alot of people mention the beds are really firm. Me and my boyfriend did not find this a problem at all, we did not have a problem sleeeping in the slightest, the beds really are not as bad as they are made out to be (however, we are a young couple so other people might have different opinions on this).

MOST IMPORTANTLY - THE FOOD:
When we stayed there we paid for half board. It sounded like a great idea, because we thought we were going to save money eating breakfast and our evening meals in the hotel. The hotel even said you could swap your evening meal for lunch if you were planning on eating out and said they would even make you a kind of take out picnic basket if you were going to be out for the day (24 hour notice is required). The breakfast is fine, it's a buffet of normal breakfast things like bacon, egg, sausage, toast, pancakes, fruit, cereal, pastries, etc... and all drinks are free - they have a tea/coffee machine and a fruit juice despenser. I never tried the lunch so I have no opinion of this, but if you want to eat your evening meal there then the food is horrible - it is bland and completly caters for the tourists so you can get chips and lasagne and buffet food like that - there was a few things like cold sardines and anchovies that you wouldn't find in a normal buffet but they were not nice at all. All I had when i had the evening meal was fruit because the rest of the food was just horrible - I probably sound really fussy, that's not the case - the food is just really bad and doesn't serve any local dishes. You also have to pay for the drinks - I don't remember them being expensive, but I also don't remember them being cheap either.

Overall, I would definitely stay in this hotel again, and I would get it as part of the Thomas Cook package holiday if I could afford it. I just wouldn't pay for half-board or all inclusive, breakfast wasn't too bad so I would look at getting it as a bed and breakfast deal.
I would have given the hotel 5 stars if it wasn't for the food letting it down