Gran Hotel Solymar - Calpe, Spain     

We needed a relaxing beach holiday in a comfortable hotel but didn't want to have to drive or taxi to restaurants etc. in the evening. This hotel exactly matched our requirements! We eventually settled on the hotel after many many hours of research moving steadily around the coast of Spain using Google Earth and its links to booking.com. This worked very well and we were able to secure our reservation without a deposit, knowing that we wouldn't have to pay until we checked out at the end of the hoilday. It's been open about a year and dominates this part of Calpe -with its nine floors and black glass exterior. It is right beside the beach and the excellent long meandering traffic-free promenade - so no roads to cross! There is also an 'infinity' type pool with bar; accessed by a tunnel from the hotel. We chose a superior room with a sea veiw and that was exactly what we got. The views from the upper floors facing the Penon d'Ifach were stunning and the large balcony proved a great place to sit, watch and listen to the sounds of the sea. The room (729) was beautifully equipped with a huge comfy bed, fridge, a safe large enough for a laptop and an excellent bathroom with full-on shower and separate bath with shower over. The aircon worked well but required a key to be inserted in its holder - which means that unless you have two keys you return to a hot room which takes some time to cool. The breakfast buffet was very good indeed with a remarkable array of choices to suit all tastes but in July it is worth arriving by about 9 am to avoid the mass of guests who appear by 9.30. Room service was good and reasonably priced and the buffet restaurant, which we sampled once, was well stocked but I'm sure would become tedious on half or full board. The small 'gastonomic' Abiss restaurant was, on the other hand, superb. It was fully booked on the Saturday we arrived so we booked for the following Wednesday. Although we were the only diners, the food, service and wine were impeccable. We had a tasting menu of five courses with several surprise extras courses thrown in. It was a truly 'fine dining' experience so if you try it, don't expect large portions with piles of veg! The balance of the food and the overall quantity was perfect - so much so that we returned for another meal on the following Saturday. This was great too, only spoiled slightly by other guests smoking. I'm writing this within an hour of our third visit to the Abiss on our final night and am looking forward to it very much. Car parking at 9 plus euros a night is a bit of a drawback but it is secure with lift access to the hotel and you seem to get even more discount (7 euros) if you buy a ticket from the car park having first had it stamped by the hotel. So overall this is a splendid hotel to which we will return - it even has a supermarket underneath for those necessary little extras!