Defi need a car to stay here. Room really nice (3 person superior) with jacuzzi on balcony and stunning views but absolutely no self-catering facilities - had to ask 4 times just for a kettle, then had to round up my own cups. This hotel has lovely clean facilities, nicely furnished rooms and lobbies etc along with helpful staff but you sort of get the feeling it is run on a shoe string -eg. no late night room service, no cafe food at certain times of day, gym not open until 10am then shuts for siesta time, gym indoor pool additional expensive charge, often only 1 lift operative, no on site supermarket, no wi-fi and no english tv in rooms despite advertising both of these. We paid approx £1500 RO for 2 weeks in August for a family of 3 so were happy with everything at that, however the same room is advertised at £3500 for same period and I would not pay that.

I was very disappointed with my stay at this hotel as I was expecting a 5 star standard beacuse i was paying 5 star prices. The food was disgusting and overly expensive. The breakfast buffet was of a very low standard. The restaurant staff were far too rushed to provide a decent service. Breakfast was served in a room with no sea veiw and we were not allowed bring the food outside. We were promised a room with a sea view when we booked but instead had a view of a roundabout. The location is beside the sea which is lovely however it is very isolated. It cost €12 in a taxi each way into Altea town. There are no amenities around the hotel so we had to go to Altea every evening for dinner as the food in this hotel was so unappetising. There was a 50 minute queue for reception to check out when we were leaving. Certainly not the standard you would expect from a 5 star. However the bedroom and en suite were spacious and very nice.

Altea Hills is a large development on the hillside above Altea, about 5-10 minutes drive away. Pierre et Vacances seem to have recently taken over a hotel that had been an SH and previously a Melia. We booked through the Pierre et Vacances site, which offered availability of rooms in the hotel or in the Jardines de Altea, supposedly 500m away. We chose the latter so can't comment too much on the hotel itself.

Maybe for a marksman it would be 500m. For someone in a car it is another 5-10 drive up a steep winding hill. The parking space (singular not plural even for apartments that sleep 4-8 adults, as I understand it) that we were allocated was literally impossible to fit a normal car into. The guy on reception spoke to me in English when he saw my passport despite me speaking to him in fluent Spanish.

The apartment was brand new and furnished to a very high standard with dishwasher, washing machine, oven, microwave and fridge freezer all brand new. There is a sea view, but it is a triangle of sea down the valley and a fair way away. The balcony was spacious with nice furniture, but not great with a toddler who had the potential to climb on chairs to get over the railing (we had requested a garden rather than balcony on the website but it appears they don't exist).

Essentially Residencial Jardines is a new housing block and Pierre et Vacances seem to have bought or rented some of the flats. There was absolutely no sign of Pierre et Vacances involvement with the apartment, no phone or brochures or anything. The outdoor swimming pool looked nice, but the surrounding area might be quite small at peak times. We were not allowed in the indoor simming pool at the hotel without paying €6. There is a small children's play area but most disappointing to me was the lack of communal space. Considering it is called Altea Gardens, I expected areas in which to walk or play with the children. The reality was a long drive followed by an automatic gate into an underground car park and a lift straight up to the apartment.

Altea was nice and there are lots of lovely towns in the area such as Calpe and Javea.

We took our two girls to this hotel (age 6 and 2) and found the rooms were not only clean, but quite large. We had a nice modern bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and a lovely terrace with views of the sea. The pools were lagoon style with waterfalls in between and a nice water slide in the baby pool area. They had a nice daycare for kids 4 yrs and up, and the person in charge spent a lot of time playing games with the kids as well as supervising them with arts and crafts. It was as if our 6 year old was not even with us! They also have a fantastic buffet (one of the best I've ever had), and the hotel seemed practically empty, even though it was clean and truly beautiful. There were areas where we sometimes sat and had a picnic on the grounds and hardly saw anyone walk by. If you have kids or if you are a couple who wants peace and quiet, this is a great place. Since Altea's beach has a lot of rocks, we were quite content to just hang-out by the pool. There are some nice side trips you can take from here as well via car. Highly recommend this hotel!!