Hesperia Del Mar

Advantages: Great location & cheap
Disadvantages: Not that many food places around

...I visited Barcelona this July and stayed at the Hotel Hesperia Del Mar for five nights with 3 other friends and I have to honestly say we all loved it! The hotel price which we got from expedia was one of the most competitive around and we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the hotel, for how cheap the hotel was it was quite nice. It cost for five night my share was 145 so the entire room cost was 290. The hotel reception staff were the highlight of the hotel. They are very friendly, warm and always willing to help! The rooms were standard and offered everything we needed. The bathroom was fully equipped with a shower, toilet, bidet and sink with large mirror. The bedroom consisted of 2 single beds and were comfy. There is air conditioning so we never felt hot and flustered in the room unless we turned it off and forgot to put it...

pepsipin 02.09.2007 (03.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of Hesperia Del Mar, Barcelona

Casa del Balam Hotel, Merida

Advantages: A unique and quaint hotel...
Disadvantages: Lacking a few mod-cons...

...We stayed in this hotel for a few days while on a little tour of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, including visits to Cancun (don't bother), Playa del Carmen & Cozumel (much better) and the amazing ancient Mayan ruins at Uxmal, Chitzen Itza and Tulum. (I'll try and get round to reviewing all these later...) We arrived by taxi from Merida airport (a short journey), having flown in from Cancun, where we had arrived in Mexico the day before, and were delighed with what we found, a massive improvement of the brash touristy-ness of Cancun ! The Casa del Balam Hotel was formerly the family home of Fernando Barbachano Peon, pioneer of Mexican tourism. A blend of Mexican tiles, terracotta and wrought iron, it has a small pool in a walled courtyand, complete with a stone carved fountain and tropical plants, a restaurant and bar, along...

matt_fantastic 13.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Casa del Balam Hotel, Merida

Cafe Del Mar 1

Advantages: Truly Beautiful
Disadvantages: None.

...I was introduced to the cafe del mar series by a friend back in 1995, what a long time ago! I have never been to the famed cafe in Ibiza, but have purchased all the volumes in this series upto Vol 6. I stopped here because the man that puts them togther stopped, there are others and i'm sure they are good, but they won't be as good as this! Jose Padilla is the master mind behind volumes 1-6, he has such a good understanding of music and the way that it can influence moods and feelings and his selections on the cds are outstanding. I will review each of the 6 as I get the time, but here we will deal with the first... There are 12 tracks on the cd, I think you can still by it in the shops but remeber that it is now 10 years old!! This volume mixes tracks by Leftfield, Underworld, A man called adam and others, The penguin cafe...

markfarrow 10.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Cafe Del Mar Ibiza Vol.1 (Compiled By Jose Padilla) - Various Artists

Cafe del mar....Volume 6

Advantages: Oh my, too many to list.
Disadvantages: Absolutly none.

...Jose padilla has done it again, brought such diverse tracks together in harmony to make us lesser mortals feel good about everything. This sadly was to be Jose's last compilation in the cafe del mar series, as i have said before, this is where i stopped buying these cd's. For me no one else could put them together in the same fashion. I started reviewing this series with the first offering and have now jumped to the last, I hope to find the time to review the rest soon, but i have fishy presure at work at the moment (if you read my last review you'll understand!!) So here we are, number six and the last stage of the journey Jose has taken us on. Through the six years these cd's have been produced my musical horizons have been ever deepend, and my mind and soul soothed by the heavenly sounds contained within. I will put the track...

markfarrow 11.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Cafe Del Mar Ibiza Vol.6 (Compiled By Jose Padilla) - Various Artists

Café Del Mar. Wave the sun goodbye...til tomorrow.

Advantages: perfect spot to watch the sunset
Disadvantages: none

...Sitting on the rocks, sipping a drink, the only noise is from the bar behind playing tranquil and serene music, watching the sun slowly disappear below the sea. Its beautiful. A trip to Ibiza isn't complete with out a visit to San Antonios sunset strip in the bay of Calo des Moro. Café del mar was built in the 1980s. Is is now joined by Mambo, Savannah and Kanya at al but Café Del Mar is still the most renowned. Café Del Mar produces its own music and was responsible for starting the chill-out trend with its trademark mellow Baleraric beat. Since 1994 Café Del Mar has been releasing annual chillout albums. For those people who are running low on euros !....you can bring your own drinks and sit on the rocks in front of the café, you can still hear the music. Once the sun has left us, there is usually entertainment in...

randhawa 15.10.2005 · Read review
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Review of Cafe Del Mar & Cafe Mambo

Cafe del mar vaolume 3.

Advantages: Simply fantastic
Disadvantages: none.

...Well i'm back reviewing the Cafe del mar series as promised, this time I am dealing with volume 3. This cd was put together during the summer of 1996, in Ibiza at the Cafe del mar, Which for any one that doesn't know, is a world famous cafe-cum-club known for its chill-out themes and generally having a nice time, relaxing and being relaxed. Its a haven for taking time out at, and many a clubber would have visited here during their stay in Ibiza. As you have come to expect, there is a wide mix of music on these cd's, on this volume though, there is nothing wildly different, the tracks seem to flow into one another, Im not sure if this realy works, all the other compilations have something different on them that wakes you up and makes you sit up and listen, but here there is none of that, you realy could fall to sleep listening to it...

markfarrow 23.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Cafe Del Mar Ibiza Vol.3 (Compiled By Jose Padilla) - Various Artists

The discreet charm of the Casa San Blas

Advantages: A five-star stay?
Disadvantages: ?with just three-star facilities

...simplicity often trumps ritzy ostentation. Attentive service matters, but nothing is nastier than the kind of smarmy obsequiousness that always seems to mask a sneer. And so on. Maybe it's simply down to that indefinable essence known as character or personality. These inconsequential musings are prompted by my trying to pinpoint what it was about the Casa San Blas at Cusco that I liked so much. The hotel is certainly not without its limitations and even its failings, but it's a nevertheless a charming and delightful place to stay. Let's try to summarise what it has to offer. * Location * The Casa San Blas is situated just a few minutes' walk from Cusco's Plaza de Armas (central square), and is therefore convenient for all the main sights of the ancient Inca capital, such as the Qorikancha (Sun Temple), the Cathedral...

torr 23.03.2008 (23.09.2008) · Read review
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Review of Casa San Blas, Cusco

The Casa Batllo - Possibly Gaudi's finest work

Advantages: One of the best examples of Catalan Modernism
Disadvantages: Very expensive

...My husband has a job, which more often than not requires him to work on Christmas day and through most of the Christmas period. Whilst this is the perfect reason to turn down all invitations to spend Christmas with family, it's not the greatest way to celebrate the big day with a 14 hour shift. So last Christmas I decided that we'd have our very own Christmas but just a few days before the rest of the world. And so I booked a long weekend in Barcelona. Our hotel - The Gallery (review already posted many moons ago) was just off the Passeig de Gracia, one of Barcelona's key boulevards where you can find my favourite of the buildings designed by Antonio Gaudi - the almost impossible to pronounce, Casa Batllo. Earlier in the year I had attended a big industry conference in Barcelona and we'd had the conference 'gala' dinner in the Casa...

koshkha 27.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Casa Batlló (Barcelona)

The Mighty Mars Bar

Advantages: Classic chocolate bar
Disadvantages: They changed the nougat filling

...This is perhaps the most classic chocolate bar from my childhood. It has long been my favourite as a kid and I sort of have to say it still is so as not to feel as if I have disowned it (sorry Mars Bar but I have found other favourites - I still love you though!). 'A Mars a day helps you work rest and play' - this was the little catchphrase that was associated with Mars Bar. Funny really; it's like saying a chocolate bar a day is good for you. The slogan has now changed to 'Pleasure you can't measure' which definitely seems more appropriate. A standard Mars bar comes at 58g, about 11cm long and 1.8cm high. You'll pay about 32p for this bar in supermarkets which is well below the norm of 50p. They used to be more expensive but in recent years, the classic nougat and caramel filling has obviously lost its appeal as new and more...

LaceyR26 07.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mars Bar

La Manga, Mar Menor

Advantages: Ideal for sailing or golf enthusiasts
Disadvantages: Journey can be tiresome

...travelling distance, so we looked at alternative flights there too. By being able to travel on any day the flights cost less than 100GBP each. ARRIVAL We hired a car at the airport and drove from Murcia along the Mar Menor, it was a Sunday afternoon, out of season so the roads were fairly quiet. But having said this, we still managed to miss the turning into the development where we were staying. But it was no problem, once you get to the end of La Manga you can't go any further so we just turned around and headed back! THE AREA La Manga is a strip of land which stretches for approx 15 miles and this is the only route you can take to get to Mar Menor. It runs alongside the Mar Menor (inland sea) one side and the Med on the other, making for a very picturesque journey from the airport, once you leave behind the high rise apartment...

inejenn 16.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of La Manga del Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain)