Hotel Balneario San Nicolás

The room and service were good, and the mountain views were lovely. Some breakfast items weren’t what I’d hoped for, but the place was okay overall. The toilet seat was uncomfortable.

We left the three-hour Circuito Termal V.I.P. feeling anything but relaxed. I was halfway through my massage when I was told yet again that I needed to move to a different bath. Getting into it meant climbing three steps while slipping around, which seemed dangerous for anyone less mobile. Earlier, we’d been told to do one thing, then rudely redirected somewhere else over and over. When we were entering a pool, the assistant was told by her supervisor to remove us, and we were moved to another cubicle. We also had to ask for towels after being hosed down before entering. At the start, we were asked to buy swimming caps, which was okay, but at the end they refused my request for a small towel, so I left with wet hair. My husband and I had received this as a gift, so I initially felt I shouldn’t complain, but I have to say how it went. I’d thought about using the facilities regularly, but that won’t happen now. If this is what the V.I.P. treatment is like, I can’t imagine the less expensive options.

The staff were nice and friendly, but the buffet was mediocre at best, the rooms looked dated, and there was basically no air conditioning. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel. It’s a spa hotel, though I didn’t use the spa, just stayed at the hotel. The other positive reviews seem to come from elderly Spanish guests who don’t know what a modern hotel should be like.

We hired a car because the hotel is quite far out, in Alhama, about 25 minutes from Almeria and 30 from the beach. I didn’t use or see the spa. For a cheap hotel, it was a good stay: the room was spacious and clean, with the twin beds we requested, a shower cubicle, towels, TV, hairdryer, and air conditioning. There was no safe. Breakfast was included, but the Wi-Fi barely worked and seemed to be switched off at times. Breakfast had a coffee machine with nice coffee, juice from a machine, rolls for toast, jam, spread, cold hard-boiled eggs, a limited cereal selection, scrambled eggs, and something like bacon. Staff.