Hotel Las Atalayas

The bed was the only thing that was even halfway decent. I wouldn’t recommend staying here, and I definitely wouldn’t come back. Most of my reviews are positive or offer constructive criticism, but I haven’t stayed somewhere this bad since a cockroach-infested hostel in NYC. There was nobody around for check-in or check-out. The rooms are so noisy that I could hear the person next door using the bathroom or doing anything else, as well as children running around. The floor was dirty, there were receipts left lying about, and the towels smelled bad. I didn’t even take a shower. There were shaving hairs in the bathroom that clearly weren’t ours.

The woman who cleaned the rooms was kind, which stood out. Getting there was a hassle, though: the road was bumpy and the signs were poor, and reception was shut, so we were sent around looking for the person with our key. At night, the refrigerator kept making noise and disturbed our sleep. The bathroom was very damp, even the toilet bowl stayed wet, and the plumbing smelled bad. Only warm water came out, so we couldn’t use cold water. The TV remote didn’t work, and the room was dim, with awkwardly placed light switches.

The only good thing was the pool. The restaurant was closed, and there was never anyone at reception. The walls between rooms might as well have been paper. The guest next door talked all night, from when we arrived at 4:00 PM until we left the next day at 10:00 AM. He must have been a very talkative lunatic.

We came across the place by chance while heading to Madrid, and it was such a good stay that we’ll make it a regular stop on our trips. It seems to be run by a couple, with personal service around the clock. The room was very clean, and being away from town made it completely peaceful. We stayed in for dinner and had sea bass and sirloin steak. Both were outstanding quality and very reasonably priced.