Hotel Eurostars Arenas de Pinto

We picked this hotel as a place to stop on our drive from Spain's north coast to the south, hoping to eat and sleep. At check-in, though, we were told the restaurant was closed for the evening. The receptionist looked embarrassed, especially with the restaurant menu sitting prominently on the reception desk. After a long drive, being directed to the Nassica shopping centre a kilometre away was not what we wanted. The lobby machine for snacks and drinks was also out of order. The hotel had our email and phone number, and could have warned us about its maintenance or staffing issues and offered a refund. It didn't. They'd already taken payment 48 hours earlier, so cancelling and finding somewhere else wasn't really an option. There were some good points: our room was clean and comfortable, and breakfast was very good. But that didn't make up for the noise or the closed restaurant. We could hear constant traffic in the room, perhaps because of poor construction, plus lorries driving over a metal ramp in the garage opposite the entrance. The area was terrible. We couldn't understand why this hotel chain chose to open here after our good stays at other Eurostars four-star properties. We won't stay at this hotel again, and we'll be much more cautious about booking another Eurostars.

The rooms were clean and well equipped, and the location was good. Staff were friendly, too. But during our stay the lobby smelled strongly of dirty drain water. The door locks were broken or not working, and breakfast was very disorganized, with tables, juice, and glasses all unavailable.

The staff were outstanding, from reception to housekeeping, and helpful throughout. I can't see why this place is rated so highly or given four stars. Maybe it's because the executive rooms have individual parking garages. Breakfast was the worst part. There were no vegetables apart from grated tomatoes, and the oven-baked mix they served now and then wasn't good. If you like pastries, there are very good baked goods. For a savory or meat breakfast, though, after five nights I was still having a ham and grated tomato sandwich every day. The location isn't great either, near the Madrid city dump. Each morning, the smell of gas from the dump spread around the whole place, so you'd better keep the windows closed.

The location is great, close to the warner parks. But the rooms felt much older than I expected and were clean but in poor condition. The AC in one room didn't work properly, and the music in the corridor was too loud.