Reina Victoria Mercado

I stayed in a sixth-floor apartment with a huge terrace and lovely views over the Market and city. The place was spotless, fitted out to a really high standard, and housekeeping was excellent. Great spot and location in Alicante. Highly recommend if you're visiting.

We booked about an hour before arriving in Alicante because we needed somewhere to stay. Once in the room, the chemical smell from what seemed like perfume spray, fabric spray or laundry detergent was so strong I could hardly breathe. Changing the bedspread, which smelled worst, didn't solve it. We tried opening the window, but the street noise made that difficult. We were there for just 10 minutes while the sheets were changed, didn't use the room, and left without staying. The hotel is on a very noisy main street, so traffic would make sleeping hard anyway. The manager refused any refund, saying we should have told them we didn't want scented sprays and that this was normal. I don't think it is, since hotels know people can have allergies. I hadn't thought to ask. I was willing to accept even a 50% refund, though we'd booked only an hour before, hadn't stayed, and the room didn't need cleaning, so they could have resold it. They then claimed we'd opened a bottle of wine, but we didn't even see one, let alone open it, as we don't drink. It felt like a false excuse to deny a refund. The worst experience. Don't give them your business.

It's a new, clean apartment in a handy spot, close to everything. The WiFi could be better, and you'll hear loud neighbors clearly.

We only booked one night at first. We asked about a baby bed, but were told it was too late to request one, so the baby had to sleep in our bed. The WiFi barely worked. We added another night because it was my birthday and we wanted to visit another city for a day without booking there, since we were flying out of Alicante afterward. I told the hotel it was my birthday when I asked to extend, but they didn't acknowledge it and only said they'd charge the same card automatically. I figured the service wasn't great, but let it go. That night we went to bed and woke at 3 am to loud sex noises from the neighbors. Then came heavy footsteps in high heels upstairs, loud enough to wake the baby, followed by the jacuzzi. At 3:20 I messaged the hotel that we had to be up at 6 and people were partying and making a lot of noise. They called the neighbors, who only quieted down after 4. We got some sleep, but were exhausted when we got up at 6. I messaged the hotel at 7 to say we'd left. They said they regretted it and would try to improve. We took a bottle of wine that was with the free water, assuming it was free too, especially after that stressful night and on my birthday. They charged us 15 euros for it. The hotel responded quickly, but the communication didn't feel nice. The rooms are poorly insulated, and we regret staying. We weren't happy with the experience.