Casual Pop Art

“Brilliant bargain!”

First of all you need to understand that those writing terrible reviews of this hotel must have extremely high expectations for such a small nightly rate. I write my review as a person who has experience of staying in 0 star hostels up to 5 star luxury resorts so you can be assured my review is e… more

First of all you need to understand that those writing terrible reviews of this hotel must have extremely high expectations for such a small nightly rate. I write my review as a person who has experience of staying in 0 star hostels up to 5 star luxury resorts so you can be assured my review is entirely fair based on what is to be expected of a 2 star hotel. First of all, the location is perfect. You can book a shuttle bus from Alicante airport and it will drop you off at the bus station that is right outside the hotel. From the hotel you can walk to be on the beach in seconds. You can walk outside the door and you are in old town. There is a restaurant and bars literally right next door and many places within easy walking distance. It is far enough away from the nightlife to still remain quiet, which is great! The first thing we noticed was how friendly the staff were. They all spoke good English, answered any questions we had and were very welcoming. Far friendlier than many hotels I've stayed in previously. The price of this hotel is possibly one of the cheapest I could find in all of Benidorm. Definitely the cheapest room I could find with a sea view and it even included breakfast! The sea view room is definitely worth the upgrade. I can't comment on the other room types however I can say that you receive a good sized balcony and the noise on an evening is very quiet. Minimal cars go past and it's not in the centre of the nightlife so we could sleep with the window open at night too. Breakfast is a buffet with a good variety of choice. Various English breakfast items alongside yogurt, cereal, toast, fruit, pastries and hot drinks all included. I've read reviews saying that the food isn't fit for human consumption? Ridiculous. Last time I checked I'm human and was able to eat the food just fine.. Honestly don't fret about it. The rooms are very basic inside. I have never cared about the interior of my room if I'm honest so it didn't matter to me. I don't spend any time in it anyway. If you want something cosey and romantic, this probably isn't the hotel for you. The beds were comfy and the room is a good size. There was no TV remote but you can still operate the TV from the buttons if you actually want to watch TV on holiday!? We spent most of our time sunbathing outside on the balcony. Shower worked well actually, in fact better than a shower I've previously had in a luxury resort so those complaining about it not working, perhaps you got unlucky with your room? There was no smell in the hotel like people are mentioning, unless perhaps my nostrils don't work? My biggest gripe was that the walls were paper thin. I'm not exaggerating unfortunately. We were woken up at 8am every day by the Spanish guests next door to us talking on the phone. We could hear snoring coming from one of the rooms also. You can hear EVERYTHING. So it felt like there was no privacy. Which is unfortunate. However, I still rate this hotel 5 stars because for the price I would expect everything to be mediocre but the fact that there was only one negative with the hotel, it was worth every penny. I would 100% return to this hotel. If you are worried about bad reviews please bare in mind that we met a lot of guests at breakfast that were repeat customers. I imagine given that the majority of customers visiting Benidorm out of season are pensioners, they may not all be flocking to TripAdvisor to review the place. Or perhaps they want to keep this Benidorms best kept secret ;) Can't wait to return. Any questions feel free to pop me a message! I visited Esmerelda with my partner in February 2020. We paid £100 for 3 nights, sea view and breakfast included. We are in our late 20s and felt the hotel was very welcoming and a perfect location.

less

“Good value accommodation.”

Basic rooms,but clean and tidy.cleaning service every day.food was pleantfull,but do not expect English menu.you are in Spain.if you are wheelchair bound,not accessible. OK if you have limited mobility. Staff very committed to their work.top tip. Bring a non slip bath mat.8 out of 10.