Solymar

“In summer "go native" or don't go at all!”

This is a family hotel, right on the beach with no traffic nearby. Rooms are small, but have good quality air conditioners, recently tastefully re-equiped bathrooms and most rooms have full frontal sea views. Cleaning is properly done on a daily basis, staff are friendly and the hotel is well manag… more

This is a family hotel, right on the beach with no traffic nearby. Rooms are small, but have good quality air conditioners, recently tastefully re-equiped bathrooms and most rooms have full frontal sea views. Cleaning is properly done on a daily basis, staff are friendly and the hotel is well managed, though expensive in the high season. So why do you have to "go native". Well, it's not quiet. This is Andalucia, this is the Province of Huelva. People enjoy life, but noisily! The noise starts in the morning as the first risers and the cleaning and other employees have loud conversations that echo up the stairway and along the corridor. Your Spanish neighbours might even turn on their TV at about 9 am each day, as ours did. The hotel has a decent and, in the season, bustling restaurant that occupies most of the ground floor. At lunchtime people eat inside mainly, to be in the shade. In the evening dinner is taken on the terrace in front of the hotel and overlooking the beach, which is very pleasant. However, Spanish people do not eat early and they certainly do not eat quietly! So if you want to go to bed for a quiet read then sleep before midnight, forget it! We have returned several times to this hotel. Why? It's right on the beach, with just the pedestrian promenade between the hotel and the sea. Opening the curtains in the morning to see all that beach and sea in the wonderful light of Huelva is a daily pleasure. Staying in a hotel and a resort that is not over-run by beer swilling non Spaniards in the summer is a plus. There is a generally friendly atmosphere in the hotel. Also it has a lock up car park, though the approach "road" through the pine trees is interesting. So there you have it. I like it, though I take my ear plugs! Also, the breakfast is still a bit basic. No doubt we'll return again.

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“Very good value”

I was in Isla Cristina for a wedding with my boyfriend. We were looking for somewhere affordable with a sea view. And this is exactly what the Sol y Mar offers. Although the room is certainly basic the bathroom was brand new and the staff were helpful and kind.

“Noisy but ok”

The rooms are not big but ok and cosy. Set in a quiet area but with loads of options for restaurants and bars. Nice staff. We booked our transfers with FATA faroairporttransfersalgarve.com and this company was fantastic. Nice cars with friendly drivers. Recommended