Hipotels Gran Conil & Spa

Good things: 1. Great Staff - genuinely friendly and helpful as well as professional 2. Rooms - spotlessly clean as a result of good housekeeping - particularly the bathrooms 3. Food - very good, both breakfast and the buffet dinner, albeit that it is clearly oriented to certain clientele (see comments below). Sadly, there is little in the way of genuine Spanish food. We walked into town for that!!

Not so good things: 1. Rooms - looking a bit ‘tired’ e.g. poor quality (cheap) furniture and fittings that are showing noticeable signs of ‘wear and tear’; some beds are already ‘saggy’, although generally the mattresses are too soft N.B. interestingly the sofa beds in our room were better to sleep on! No kettle in the room, although booking.com listing says there should be. However, if you are nice to the staff, they will get one for you at no extra cost. There is a bar fridge but no ice making facility. The bar staff will very kindly provide that for you without cost (but of course you have to know that you can ask and that they will gladly provide same). 2. Clientele - this hotel, which we should probably have realized beforehand, is on the “package tour” list. In November, it clearly attracts ‘older’ retired Germans on the half board package! For most of our week there, we hardly heard Spanish spoken except by the staff!! It did not make the buffet breakfast a particularly interesting experience; and whilst we tried the buffet dinner on the first night, that was enough ... and not because of the food!! 3. Rules - apparently(?) according to the ‘not so cheerful’ restaurant manager you are not allowed to wear open shoes - flip flops, sandals and the like - in the restaurant. However, nowhere is there a sign that says so! Nor is there any information about this rule provided elsewhere. Guaranteed to cause embarrassment, if not offense! P.S. We complied by returning to our room and changing our shoes. 4. Weather - yes, we knew there was a risk! November is definitely not beach weather and forget the outdoor pool ... it is not heated! The indoor pool was clearly a godsend!! Extras things (literally!): Too often in this well presented four star resort hotel you are expected to pay extra for things that should be included. Again, just dumb, almost petty and certainly not something to facilitate good customer relations. e.g. 1. Extra fee of 2.

Close to beach

Thin walls. Too much noise from other rooms. Had to pay extra to use the security box

Helpful and friendly staff; good buffet breakfast and dinner; good swimming pools outdoor and indoor; pleasant pool bar; good location with sea views

only two English language channels on a bedroom TV with more than 60 channels was a disappointment; the soap in the bathroom was insufficient