Albatros Apartments – Salou – Costa Dorada

I write this review in response to others I read before travelling. I was apprehensive before we went, having read negative reviews about the Albatros apartments but I had nothing to worry about! The Albatros represents very good value for money in my opinion. It is as clean as can be expected, basic but comfortable & while the tiles in the bathroom & kitchen are not the ones I would choose, they certainly did not spoil my holiday! They’re clean but ugly, so no big deal. The kitchen could have done with a few more utensils & a microwave would have been handy, but again, no big deal.

The Albatros is not at the top of a steep hill. Yes, there are steep steps dpwn to the nearest beach. but if you come out of the hotel & turn left there is a smaller beach to be found about 400 yards away that is gorgeous & as it shelves, it is calmer, lovely for little ones & easier to just walk onto with a pushchair.
We found the location of the Albatros to be perfect; it was away from all the hustle & bustle of the centre, but the centre was so easily accessed too, being about 2 minutes walk away, or an hour away, depending on how many shops you browsed in along the way!

The land train stops just outside the door & there is a bus stop across the road to take you to Cambrils, Tarragona, Barcelona or anywhere else you may want to go, with buses every few minutes. Trains run to Barcelona & its 11 euro return fare. If you are planning to explore Tarragona, I would advise you to get information before you go as all the Tourist Information offices were closed & apparently do not open until the high season.

The Bistro downstairs is very good value for meals, 3.75 for a full cooked breakfast including orange juice or coffee. Half a chicken & chips with salad for 8.50, local lager 1 euro a pint. When you book in you are given a card which entitles you to 10% off meals at the Bistro. There is a Liverpudlian man who runs the Bistro in the day, he knows the area well, speaks fluent Spanish & he is the one to ask for information, he is lovely.

The Supermarket at the Albatros is as reasonable as any other & cheaper than a lot, so we tended to use it daily. All Staff I came into contact with were very nice, very helpful.vThe entertainment is ok if you like karaoke, bingo & Tom Jones impersonators. We did not join in much, but did at the end & the kids had great fun, and I had too much of the local grog to care about the lack of culture I was exposing my kids to, It was great!!