Towards the middle of May I flew into Reus Airport, Catalonia, with my extended family group who range in age from two to 76. For some of us it was our first foreign holiday for over three years, so we were really looking forward to it. We stayed at the H10 Salou Princess in Salou. This seemed a good option as it is very central and on paper certainly seemed to suit our needs.
The exterior of the hotel is impressive with a gentle slope up to the automatic doors making it suitable for buggies, wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Of our party, the two year old is in a buggy, another uses a walking stick – and a mobility scooter for longer journeys – and a couple of us have mobility issues. The gentle slope & automatic doors therefore made it ideal for all of us.
The reception area on the ground floor was bright, airy and spacious. There was always a lovely fresh smell in the air. The reception area leads into ‘Caesars Bar’ which is a large bar and entertainment area. From here you can go a smaller more traditional style pub (the ‘Sports Legends Tavern’ which takes the form of ‘a genuine English pub’) if you fancied a change! Also on the ground floor was the ‘Tarraco Restaurant’, a large pool area & pool bar. Checking in was fairly stress free and the reception staff were friendly and helpful. Our rooms weren’t ready as we arrived early but we were able to sit by the pool and ordered food from the poolside bar. The food was very nice and fairly reasonably priced so a good option if you don’t want to go anywher
e else. Once we were allocated our rooms we went to the lifts. They were a bit small but we managed to squeeze everything in and make it to the fifth floor where all of our rooms were. I’ll be completely honest and say that the rooms were a bit of a disappointment. My husband and I shared a room with our son who is autistic and it was literally three single beds crammed together with no space in between and very little room to walk past to the balcony. There was a fixed dressing table with one chair and a small fridge. We had to sit on the bed to let each other walk past which was not ideal. Thankfully the balcony was a reasonable size and we could sit out there and have a drink and watch the world go by!
The décor was quite tired and the rooms definitely needed a refresh, however I will say that the rooms were very clean and the maids came in every day. We opted for half board, so breakfast and dinner suited us. The dining area was quite large and bright. However, at breakfast only three drinks machines were available and sometimes there were long queues and at peak times they often ran out of cups. The dining area consisted of both buffet and slow cooking areas.
There was certainly a lot of choice with the food and it was really good. The vegetarian choices were hit and miss at times as one day there would be lots to choose from and the next day not so much. I’m happy to say we didn’t starve though! Water had to be paid for with a small bottle costing €1.90 and a large bottle was €2.60. The staff were efficient but one of the restaurant managers was quite strict and often shouted at them which we thought was a little unprofessional.
The pool area was really nice, with lots of sunbeds available. There was a large pool with a waterfall and a small children’s pool. There was an upper deck with a fairly large jacuzzi and they also had large beds called ‘banquettes’ that could be hired out for the day, for the true sun lovers. Our grandson loved the small play area which was just the right size for a toddler. It was beside the entertainment area for outdoor games. The pool bar was quite large and sold the usual assortment of drinks and ice lollies as well as snacks during the day. They played great 80s music which was fab for people of a certain age just like us! There was a particularly grumpy bar man so we tried to avoid him in favour of the nicer one. The Animation team were really lovely and the kiddies disco in the evening was a firm favourite with our grandson, he loved it and their mascot Daisy!
However, the adult entertainment was hit and miss. Mostly it was enjoyable especially the contortionists and the Brazilian Dancers, but the Abba tribute was a definite no from us!
The Salou Princess is very well situated. It’s close to shops, restaurants & bars. The beautiful beach is just a few minutes’ walk away. There is also a tourist train that stops outside the hotel and will take you on a tour of Salou for €6. Be warned though it is not for you if you get travel sick or suffer with a bad back. Some of the speed bumps are quite high and definitely don’t sit at the back if you can avoid it.
Otherwise it’s a fab way to see the sights and get your bearings. The Bus Plana service is excellent with stops near the hotel and along the front. You can buy a multi-Journey ticket for under €10 which gives you 10 journeys. The bus goes to Reus, Tarragona and Cambrils. It’s well worth it as it can be used by all your group so is a cheap way to get around. The hotel is also close to the theme park at Portaventura, Ferrari Land and the water park, which wasn’t open when we were there. Salou is definitely a holiday destination with something for everyone.
Our family group all did their own thing during the day and met up in the evening to share our experiences. We all agreed that the Salou Princess is a good hotel though perhaps it falls just a little short of the four star status (although, to be fair, we’re still not too sure if a Spanish four star hotel would equate to a British one). Despite this, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the holiday. The weather was lovely & sunny (although we did have some rain on a couple of evenings) and we had a great time. The hotel was clean as a whistle. I hate litter & was particularly impressed by the cleanliness of the surrounding local areas, beach & municipal park. I’d definitely like to visit the general area again as I want to spend more time exploring other areas of Salou as well as the old town areas of Reus and Cambrils. You can find out more about the H10 Salou Princess here
Reviewed by Margaret Field
