we spent 6 nights in this modern, clean and friendly hotel, it is located near the beach and casual eating and drinking institutions. A knowledge of spanish is useful as there is little english spoken, the hotel bar provides adequate snacks for late breakfast and lunch and has a nice balcony for people watching

Great location, about 200m from the beautiful San Juan beach, a few yards to bus stops for getting into Alicante and within 2 mins' walk of several small local restaurants and shops. We stayed with a toddler and a baby and the hotel staff were all friendly and helpful over everything from broken glass on the floor (the toddler.....) to teaching a few useful words in Spanish. Rooms, as has been said by others, were extremely clean, spacious, had sturdy furnishings (perhaps not the latest fashion but in excellent order, no scratches, missing screws or stains here) and were cleaned daily while we were at breakfast. The marble/granite floors and low railings on the balcony were not ideal for young children but I imagine most hotels round here would be similar and we had extra blankets to put on the floor as playmats. Buffet breakfast was plentiful, usual style with cerals, breads, cakes & biscuits, yoghurts, fruits, ham/cheese, a few hot items and juices/teas/coffee. Didn't try the pool as we visited in March but looked decent size and clean. The hotel has a bar/cafe which was good and outdoor terrace and small playground area.

We took a gamble to book this hotel but what a find! Lovely clean, tidy, spacious. Breakfast was lovely, best coffee I have tried! Hotel reception spoke good english and was helpful. Rooms lovely, nice balcony to enjoy sunset. Located in residential part Alicante, which meant it was quite at night. 2 mins from gorgeous beach. Pool was deserted during the day, again fabulous. Huge supermarket, bars, restaurants etc 5 mins walk away. Ideal location for a quite and peaceful hotel. Got taxi from airport 15 euros, but if you have time, get bus from outside airport (E6) to Alicante marina, then bus (21 or 22) to directly outside Hotel. Total journey costs 4 euros. Bargain and you sightsee as well. We looked at other hotels but this one was much more value for money. Book via internet. Because of location you will need to speak a little spanish, take a phrase book, mine was used a lot. But dont be put off, you can always point!

The Castilla is excellent value for money if you're looking for a convenient, clean and modern hotel with friendy and efficient staff. We got a late deal and lthough it was slightly out of the centre of 'shopping' in alicante, the bus service was frequent and reliable and cost less than 1 euro to get into the marina and main shopping area hosting stores such as Zara and Mango. If you want a quiet, clean hotel, on the outskirts of the centre then Castilla is ideal. Be careful with Taxi's from the Airport, we got stung with nearly 40 euros but it should cost 25 max.