Fra Mare Thalasso Spa

The outdoor pool was our family’s favorite, and the hotel was clean with a nice setting. We liked the bar for smoothies and food, and the parking area was large enough for hotel guests and people heading to the nearby beach, though mosquitoes made the beach hard to enjoy. Our room was small, especially with a toddler’s crib, but had what we needed; the refrigerator was in the hallway. Breakfast and dinner were solid overall, although one dinner was poor and the next was excellent. The spa area itself was lovely, but the treatments felt more like those at a rehabilitation center than a spa. We had a good stay, keeping in mind this is a three-star hotel, so our expectations weren’t the same as for a four- or five-star place.

We rented bikes and reached the Promenaadi in about 15 minutes. The hotel was clean and the beach was nice, though the spa water felt cooler than I’d imagined. The buffet salads were the same for all three days.

Being next to the beach was a plus, and the outdoor pool gave us a nice view. The pools didn’t look very clean to me, so I just enjoyed the scenery from outside. It was crowded, with hardly a chair available for sitting or sunbathing. Breakfast was nice, and dinner was also an option. The room wasn’t the best, but overall it was a good place.

After trying all the hotels in Haapsalu over the last few years, I found this one the worst by far. The rooms get boiling hot, and the restaurant seemed to be run by kids. It needs major refurbishment, both in its technical condition and its strategy.