Hotel Cartago Nova by ALEGRIA

The service was nice, and the room itself was wonderful. There wasn’t a hairdryer, though, and the sound insulation was so poor that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who sleeps lightly.

The staff were much more helpful than I expected. Reception explained things clearly and answered all our questions, and the room was clean and comfortable. I checked carefully and didn’t find any bedbugs. The breakfast buffet was amazing, with pastries, cereal, fruit, pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs in every style, beans and plenty more. I’ve stayed in 4 star hotels with less impressive breakfasts. My son and I booked on the spur of the moment so we could join my daughter and granddaughter, who were staying next door at the Reymar. After booking, I read the reviews and got really anxious about all the complaints, including one about bedbugs. Looking more closely at the photos, though, those turned out to be mosquitos 🙄. A few practical things: take a hairdryer if you can, and keep the balcony door shut as much as possible to keep out mosquitos and heat. The aircon shuts off automatically if the window is open. Close the curtains when you go out, too, since the sun can heat the room like an oven and the aircon isn’t very powerful. I’d bring a small fan that can sit on the bedside locker. There’s no fridge, so bring back cold water for the night. I tried the drinks machine but couldn’t get it working, though maybe I was using it wrong. Be courteous to the staff and they’ll be courteous back. Now go enjoy your holiday!! X

The rooms and halls were roasting, and with only one barely working elevator, getting up there felt like a squeeze. The lift was so tiny only a supermodel could fit comfortably. You have to leave your room key in the wall for anything to work, and they give you just one card, so enjoy sweating all night. The flat shower floor lets water flood the bathroom, and there’s no way to dry it. Towels and a hairdryer each require a €20 deposit. Trying to exchange cash for euros was impossible too, apparently nowhere would do it. The beds were rock hard, and the buffet was nasty. I think I may have food poisoning. I could hear the person next door on the toilet, along with the disco blasting poopy Spanish music. This place was so horribly disappointing I can’t find the words. If you’re an American trying to survive this god-awful country, stay somewhere English is spoken and avoid this hellhole.

The food was tasty, the room was cleaned daily, and the location was good. Still, there were more downsides than positives, and I wouldn’t recommend staying here. We barely slept during our 5 days. There’s a disco under the hotel playing music until 4 in the morning, and groups of children were noisy too. The soundproofing is awful, you hear everything around you. Once at breakfast, staff spoke rudely to us because we hadn’t finished what we took. The room also didn’t look like the photos. Everything was old and needed repairs.