Mar Bella Hotel

“ The hotel was basic but clean and relatively comfortable. We went on an all inclusive deal where food and drink was consumed at the nearby Tossa Beach Hotel; the food was ok and both accomodation and food was good value for money.

I would definately stay there again at the price we paid.

“ Top Tip: To avoid high prices of drinks at the cafes/bars near the beach, we filled a small cool bag with ice kindly provided to us by the hotel and purchased bottles of water and soft drinks at the nearby supermarket which was much cheaper when going to the beach during the daytime.

“ I think for the price we paid I couldn't ask for much more. Yes, we were dropped off at the main road, about 2 min walk from the hotel, but the driver gave us proper directions where to go. Great location, very central, everything is close by. No lift in the hotel is quite a minus, I don't mind a bit of exercise but with the heavy luggage them steep stone steps are less fun and also that's why
I think it's not really suitable for older people. The building is old and has great acoustics, but we didn't come here to listen to others to be honest..
Extremely friendly staff, well at least they were to us (family of 2). We even got a room with a balcony and one extra bed at no extra charge, which was a very pleasant surprise. The room had only one built-in wardrobe, one little bedside table and a dressing table - pretty basic. I did not expect (unlike some) to find a fridge, air con or hair dryer in the room as it still is a 1* hotel! And that's stated in hotels description as well. Rooms get cleaned spotlessly, beds made and towels changed daily. As the hotel is located right in the middle of town you should expect some noise, especially over the weekend, but it really didn't bother us too much as we slept like babies after long, hot & very active days :) No ants in our room whatsoever. TV- only Spanish channels and you'd have to pay 30 Euro deposit for the remote control.
Food was quite good, we were eating same stuff as people who paid for 4* holidays at Tossa Beach/Centre hotel, much better and more variety at weekends though - when there's mostly Spanish clientèle.. Again, very friendly and helpful service & staff.
Me and my young daughter fell in love with Tossa de Mar, it's quite small yet absolutely charming place with lots to do and to see (without spending a fortune), if you care. It does get very busy with tourists in August, so next time I might consider some other month for travel. Will definitely be coming back and hopefully be able to get another good deal at Mar Bella, the beauty of Tossa and good experiences pay well off for the lack of some 'luxuries'.

P.S. We are coming back in June 2012!

“ Top Tip: There is a lot to do. Do some homework on the internet before going ;) The balconies ARE connected to each other. Glass bottom boat trip highly recommended as well as trip to the Lighthouse at night time. We also had brilliant time taking homeless doggies for a walk from the dog shelter on the other side of the town.

“ Hotel very clean and central. Be careful when selecting your room though as our economy room only had a window that opened into a light-well and facing directly into the room opposite. This meant no fresh air or light as shutters had to be kept closed for privacy and security as we were on the ground floor. Using the Tossa Beach and Centre hotels for food and drinks worked well. The swimming pools are really small but the beach is lovely and close by.

“ We thought we had booked a room with a balcony and air coditioning. We arrived and were put in a very small room with 1 double and 2 single beds for a family of 4. The room had no aircontioning which was never sated on your website at the time of booking and there was no bacony. There was a small window that opened up that looked onto a brick wall. The room was clean but it was not suitable for a family of 4. I complained and was shown I only requested a balcony and had not insited at the time of booking. We subsequently had to pay an extra 200 Euros to move to a room with a balcony. The room we were given was adequate. it had 4 single beds and a balcony. No airconditioning but it was cold anyway so was never missed. The bathroom was very small but was fine apart from the smell of the drains which was there 24 hours a day and also the infestation of ants which overtook our bathroom. After complaining again the hotel sprayed our room and then it was fine. The staff were not a great help & just sat there on there own laptops surfing the internet. The hotel is in a good position but it is very noisy with other customers & the surrounding streets. You need to eat, drink & use the pool at the sister hotel which is just a minute away but the food is honestly terrible! Breakfast, lunch & dinner - it all tastes the same. You will need to bring extra £, because ou will need to eat out quite a lot because of the food.

“ Top Tip: Travel Republic needs to advertise this hotel truthfully and ask the customer the correct questions from the outset. Until these issued are resolved, I would not use Travel Republic again. Extemely dissapointed.