ARQUUS II Ref: 1093 Iberplaya

A nice family holiday stay, with lots of beautiful places around and the sea.

The whole operation felt disorganized, dirty, and focused on getting money. One star feels far too generous for the conditions. They tried to charge a €200 deposit, despite the stated €150, even though the place was in the state it was in when we arrived. Collecting the keys should be straightforward, ideally in the same building. Instead, we had to pick them up at a third address, and the address first given to us was different from where we finally went. We drove all over Salou, wasted ages trying to find impossible parking, carried luggage from the car to the wrong building, and searched through emails for useful information that had never been sent. There was no reception and nobody to ask for help. The apartment was a pigsty. Walls and light switches were blackened and yellowed, with scratches everywhere, and it felt unsanitary. We got one roll of toilet paper, no soap, and sticky, stained dishes. To use anything, we had to wash it with whatever dish soap we had in our bag, then buy paper towels and napkins at the supermarket. Providing a second roll must have been too much trouble. They warned that the deposit might not be returned until the apartment had been checked. Given the terrible condition left by the previous guests, that could be used against us to keep the money. TAKE PHOTOS WHEN YOU ARRIVE. If you need to leave before your booking ends, be careful. They wash their hands of it and keep saying it’s not their responsibility. We had to miss a day for urgent personal reasons, but replies to emails took ages, and they wouldn’t refund a cent. Even a hospital medical certificate wasn’t accepted. A local neighbor had already warned us they were the worst and were collecting bad reviews and complaints. We dealt face-to-face with four employees, including the manager, and the service was poor, just like everything else to do with Rentalmar. I hope this fraudulent dump of a business doesn’t last long.

I’m not usually sensitive to noise, but I woke up every night here. There’s a nightclub just a few meters from the apartment, and evenings get extremely loud. The apartment itself is good quality and spotless, except for a sewer smell that kept coming from the shower. Covering the drain with a wet towel helped.

The air conditioning had been replaced and was clean, and my stay was fine. The place isn’t as bad as people say around here. Great location and good value for the price, really can’t ask for more.