Hotel 8 al Mar

The beach view was outstanding. I walked down to the rocky shore and got some amazing shots of the big waves and birds diving for fish. I’ve attached a couple of photos from my balcony. As a senior woman traveling alone from New York City, I felt completely safe. The staff were delightful and so helpful, and my room was spacious, clean, and peaceful. Breakfast was excellent too. I didn’t use the sauna or have dinner at the restaurant. I’d gladly come back and highly recommend it. Thanks to the staff!

The hot tub was included, and we could book a time and stay for an hour or two without an extra charge. The water was around 35-36 °C, not the 38.5 °C they’d mentioned. We actually liked the cooler temperature, though they said they couldn’t lower it when we asked. The rooms are nice and spacious, but I’d ask for a lower-level one. The roof of the lower rooms stretches out so far that it partly blocks the view from every room upstairs, as you can see in the photos. We had an OK-ish stay, but wouldn’t return. They market this as a unique boutique experience, yet it felt more like a B&B with just a few rooms, three staff members, limited services, and guests mostly left to themselves. The hotel often seemed empty in an abandoned way. We only saw about three staff the whole time, two at the restaurant and one at reception. The restaurant and lounge hours were very limited: 1:30 to 4 pm, then 7 to 11:30 pm, and it was closed all day Sunday. When it closed, the bar and restaurant shut completely and the two restaurant staff left for hours. There wasn’t even coffee available on Sunday, or any drinks, vending machine, or other service. We arrived Saturday at 3 pm, so food service had already ended at 3 and we had only an hour for drinks. We’d planned to relax in the lounge with the view, so we asked to buy beers and soda water to have later. The staff were helpful and agreed, but they didn’t have a cooler to keep them cold, and it felt ridiculous to have to arrange this ourselves. We’d read about breakfast being brought to the room, but hadn’t realized it was the only option because the restaurant wasn’t open then. It sounds nice, but there’s no comfortable table or chairs, so we had to squeeze all the plates onto the little room table. They wouldn’t serve it outside, and if you need salt or another plate of something, you have to message on WhatsApp. It was inconvenient and uncomfortable.

The concept and service were great, and the clean rooms have amazing views. The food was really good, and the bar, restaurant, and terrace are incredible. We booked the “all inclusive” option, though that description is a bit misleading. It covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but each person has to choose one dish, and the selection is quite limited. 4/5 stars.

There are just 8 bedrooms, which gives the hotel its boutique feel. Every room looks out toward the sea, and breakfast comes in a basket to your room at whatever time you choose. The restaurant serves very good food at reasonable prices.