We were at Camp de Mar eight years ago, but staying at the hotel over the road. We called into the Thomson Gold Grupotel then , so were broadly familiar. The very good reviews and mention of refurbishment persuaded us to give it a try this time.
We knew there was no parking nearby, so offloaded our bags and searched out a space in a nearby carpark – much busier than eight years ago!
The reception area was clean and spacious, but was still the same style from some decades ago. Similarly, our room was furnished in heavy cherrywood furniture popular in the 80’s. However the bathroom was now a modern shower room with glass double basin.
We tried the poolside Snackbar – OK in an emergency or just too lazy to go elsewhere. We found out later that the hotel had another cafe which was more civilised with greater choice.
WiFi was seldom available in our room, and reception in public areas seemed to be haphazard. Quite frustrating having to repeatedly enter logon details, and finding it seldom worked.
The room was equipped with a kettle – a simple thing quite rare on the continent. The safe was payable, even though we are increasingly finding these are free, although mainly in City hotels.
Our first evening meal (usual buffet style) lacked choice for first course but was fair quality, and the wine was fine and not expensive. The clientele...We were at Camp de Mar eight years ago, but staying at the hotel over the road. We called into the Thomson Gold Grupotel then , so were broadly familiar. The very good reviews and mention of refurbishment persuaded us to give it a try this time.
We knew there was no parking nearby, so offloaded our bags and searched out a space in a nearby carpark – much busier than eight years ago!
The reception area was clean and spacious, but was still the same style from some decades ago. Similarly, our room was furnished in heavy cherrywood furniture popular in the 80’s. However the bathroom was now a modern shower room with glass double basin.
We tried the poolside Snackbar – OK in an emergency or just too lazy to go elsewhere. We found out later that the hotel had another cafe which was more civilised with greater choice.
WiFi was seldom available in our room, and reception in public areas seemed to be haphazard. Quite frustrating having to repeatedly enter logon details, and finding it seldom worked.
The room was equipped with a kettle – a simple thing quite rare on the continent. The safe was payable, even though we are increasingly finding these are free, although mainly in City hotels.
Our first evening meal (usual buffet style) lacked choice for first course but was fair quality, and the wine was fine and not expensive. The clientele seemed to be at the upper end of the usual Thomson Gold age range.
We popped over to the neighbouring hotel where we had stayed eight years previous, and saw that it had been carefully refurbished and was quite modern and impressive. This seemed to be aimed more to the Tui German clients. We were feeling envious with a feeling of slight disappointment in our choice.
However as the days progressed the food got better and better, the Thomson entertainment team were good and a couple of the outside entertainers were excellent [and a couple not]. The average age of the guests seemed to get younger and everything came together so that the dated decor and frustrating WiFi were probably the only downsides.
Regarding the food,, many similar hotels manage to produce tasteless cardboard offerings even with their show cooking, but here it was almost always excellent. Particular mention must go to the deserts, which were possibly the best of any similar hotel, and the specials such as the sushi evening where the display was outstanding. I was particularly impressed to find gazpacho available every evening, and salmon, prawns and caviar appearing several times. Nearing the end of the season, some hotels skimp on their offerings, but this was not the case here.More
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