We have just returned from a week at the California appartments in Salou; last minute get away to find some sun and do no cooking for a week. Salou is Blackpool with sun; if you are not British, try to think of the tackiest resort you have ever been to and that will be a good guide. However, we went there knowing what to expect so no great surprises awaited us. The appartments were clean, except for a horrible sofa that smelled! beds were very comfortable and the apartment was a spacious 2 bedroom version with a decent sized balcony; no view as it faced another apartment block over the street. With the exception of the first night, the food in the restaurant was good; plenty of variety, decent quality and you could eat as much as you liked. Excellent breakfast that set us up for the day. On the downside, the streets in the immediate vicinity have a look of inner city decay; a leaking fountain that floods an untidy square, broken paths and some horrible `British Pubs`; ok, the last part is in the eye of the beholder and plenty of people seemed to want to drink British beer all day long and eat British food. There are some good quality hotels in this immediate vicinity too, and I found it surprising that they put up with the couple of streets surrounding them. The sea front area is impressive and very well maintained; it is possible to reach it via nice tree lined streets away from low class establishments. The apartments are noisy at night; in the main this is because they are built in a rectangular shape with an open centre; everywhere is tiled and every noise is amplified; especially when the morons begin to filter back from the bars in the early hours of the morning and take delight in slamming their apartment doors. This was the worst feature of the California in my view; even when someone accidentally let a door go it echoed terribly. We were unfortunate enough to be near the lift shafts, and the winding noise from the lifts was very noticeable. There is a sister hotel over the dual carriageway to the right as you exit the appartments; the road can be crossed safely by pedestrian controlled traffic lights. The hotel has a nice pool area with plenty of sunbeds and a pool bar, if you want that sort of thing; it was nice to cool off there in the early evening. The apartments are popular with visitors from eastern europe, and there were many of them there; no rude Germans I am happy to report! Most people arrived for dinner in smart casual dress, however there just as many who looked (and smelled) as if they had just walked off a hot beach; shorts flipflops and offensive tee shirts being their idea of dressing for dinner; in some cases I wondered if they were used to eating at tables at all, the manners of some were appalling. We found the staff pleasant and had no complaints with the way the hotel was run, however, they do need to impress upon their guests the need to close doors in a considerate manner. If you do go, take a trip along to Cambrils, 10 minutes on the excellent bus service takes you to a classy resort; we would consider staying there for a holiday in future but would not go back to Salou. Take in Tarragona with its nice architecture and Roman remains, which are amongst the best in western Europe.
Room Tip: Unless you are on a budget, don`t stay here; seriously, do yourself a favour and go elsewhere.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
