Hotel Santemar, best from best

Advantages: BEST HOTEL!!! Next to Casino and beach!!!
Disadvantages: little pit too far from city central

...I was so exciting foe holiday. Even it was only mini brake it was our (my and my partner's) first ever holiday together. I was working as airhostess and very often flight to this destination. Always love those flights so I wanted to get myself to ground and explore Santander. I book hotel using spanish hotel's web page called Spain bookings, http://hotels.spain-bookings.com and found this lovely hotel. I never belive that we could have money to this hotel as it look so posh but I got it from excellent price for our 3 day brake. 3 nights where only 75 pound!!! Normal price per night is 65 £ and up. It was off season time, march 2006. I book flight fom Ryanair web page. Flight from Stansted to Santander was only 1hrs 20min. And my return tickets cost only 35 pounds.Brittany ferrys from Plymouth goes to Santander as well but...

Winterangel76 31.01.2007 (19.02.2007) · Read review
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Review of Santemar Hotel, Santander

Plymouth - Santander

Advantages: saves lots of driving in France
Disadvantages: poor on board facilities

...We travelled on the pride of the fleet ' Val de Loire ' from Plymouth to Santander in September 1998, took the car on board and had an outside cabin booked.. Brittany ferries took two lots of money out of my bank account and by way of compensation they gave my £60 in dining room vouchers for the outward and return journeys ( £15 each per sitting) which was welcome althouhg it did not compensate us fully for the damage they had caused and sadly we left it too long to really take it any further.. The Cabins we felt were very small for a 24 hour crossing but adequate for a cross channel ferry ( 4 - 6 hours ).. The food was excellent in the dining room but the cafeteria wasn't as good. entertainment was thin on the ground and facilities on board left a lot to be desired, we felt that the Val de Loire was a lovely ship but more...

Dalesman 21.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Brittany Ferries

Crossing to Santander on the Pont Aven

Advantages: For me, living in the South West, it is the most convienient option
Disadvantages: For me, living in the South West, it is the only convienient option

...Brittany Ferries have spent around £100 million pounds on their new flagship, Pont Aven. It entered service between Plymouth, Roscoff and Santander in Spring 2004 and quickly developed engine problems which lead to crossings being cancelled for a couple of weeks. The ship was restricted to running at reduced speed for the remainder of the season, and so the first years operation was by no means trouble free. I was lucky enough to travel to Roscoff from Plymouth last year on Pont Aven before the problems developed, and have recently returned from a trip to Santander. It is good to report that the problems have now been sorted out and and there are no operational snags to detract from the very pleasurable experience afforded by this ship. The first thing that a regular traveller with Brittany Ferries will notice is that this ship is...

cwestern 24.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of Brittany Ferries

Mini Cruise to Santander (Spain)

Advantages: Cheap booze, cheap fags, good entertainment, swimming pool
Disadvantages: Bars have no late licence, Pool not open long enough

...items at reduced prices. Many items can be bought at Spainish prices. Cinemas: There are 2 cinemas on the ship playing the latest films. About 90 passengers can use these at one time. Casino: The casino area is more of an amusement arcade. The usualy slot machines, dancing games and air hockey tables are in here. Childrens Playroom: Speaks for itself really. Departures: The Pont-Aven sails from Plymouth twice a week on either a Wednesday or a Sunday and from Santander (Spain) on a Monday or Thursday. Each crossing takes about 20hrs each way. Prices: Prices start at about £285 each way for 2 people with a car. There are numerous breaks and offers available also....

Danno2006 20.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries Plymouth to Santander

Advantages: Reaches the destination on time
Disadvantages: Very uncomfortable journey if travelling with toddlers and luggage

...We have travelled from Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries on several occasions. The service has always been punctual and the staff on board helpful. The cabins are quite unconfortable and very, very small. They are probably okay for passengers with no luggage. But if you have to carry luggage into your cabin you will struggle to move. If you have to use a cot you will have no floor space. With regards to children Brittany Ferries provide cots for children up to 12months of age. After that, and until they are old enough to sleep in a bed without falling off the edge, they have to either sleep in a bed with a parent (the beds are very narrow), sleep on the floor or the family will have to provide their own travel cot. The food is terrible. Apparently, the a la carte restaurant is very good. However, there are big...

rebrui 23.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Brittany Ferries

Abbey service pre Santander 10/10, post 0/10

Advantages: cheap loan rates at 7.9% no need for payment protection
Disadvantages: customer service, conflicting advice, don't return calls

...I have banked with Abbey for a number of years, in fact I indirectly became an Abbey customer after their merger with N & P in the early 1990s. Over this time I have had numerous personal loans with the organisation and found the application process, staff and payments to be first class. I have said 'found them to be helpful and first class' instead of 'always found' because recently I have been trying to obtain a personal loan to purchase a new car and it has proved frustrating and has exposed the level of incompetance currently flowing through Abbey following the takeover by Spainish banking giant Santander. My story started on 2nd August 2008, I visited www.abbey.com in the same way I always had done in the past when making online applications and commenced the process. The online application form is really easy and is done in...

reallyhandsomeharry 14.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Abbey Loans

Plymouth to Santander Crossing

Advantages: Relaxing 24 hours
Disadvantages: Quite expensive

...This is the fourth time I use the Plymouth to Santander crossing. I travel to the south of Spain and it saves having to drive the whole lenght of France. The ferry takes 24 hours and I always look forward to that day as an opportunity to relax. I usually have to travel during the peak period and I know that the ferry, the Val de Loire, is going to be very full and busy. Nevertheless, I am always happily surprised to find that, even with so many people on board, it is still possible to relax and enjoy oneself. However, I strongly feel that it is ensential to have booked a cabin. The cabin allows you to escape the crowd and to shower, read, sleep in peace. I find the facilities on board more than adequate. The Cave sells mostly wines, spirits, chocolates and specialities and manages to organise wine testing sessions. The perfum...

cp 07.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Brittany Ferries

Unacceptable Service

Advantages: None Apparent
Disadvantages: Service slow and grossly inefficient

...Santander/Alliance & Leicester are the most incompetent and unresponsive organization I have ever encountered. They are incapable of handling simple processes like change of address, share sales, or transfers between accounts without making a series of basic errors. Communication between our local branch and the various parts of Alliance & Leicester head offices is hit and miss, to say the least. Their Complaints Procedure and "Customer Service" are a sick joke. I am still waiting after more than six weeks to find out how they managed to "misplace" £40,000 by transferring it from an ISA to an account they had closed (against my express wishes). I am also still waiting for interest due from three months ago. As GIROBANK it was very good, but each successive takeover has resulted in worsening the level of service. My father, my...

mcmlxiii 26.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alliance & Leicester

Easy online with A&L

Advantages: Easy account management, helpful staff including in branch, good interest rates
Disadvantages: None known

...Alliance & Leicester, under Santander's wing, have been better than we ever expected of a bank. We opened a current account in my wiife's name in about 2004 originally, as this was required when arranging a most competitive A&L remortgage, and have had her salary paid into it since. Although we've only needed to make half-a-dozen calls, we've always had a fast and effective response; which is so refreshing after nightmare problems with HSBC (but that's another story!) It is very easy to monitor in- and out-goings by logging into A&L's website. Transfers to our (former) joint current account with Cahoot are simple and quick; so no need to set up all the household's direct debits again. We also enjoy the benefit of a local A&L branch where the staff are positively helpful; and keen to provide a good competitive service. Now our...

Flash123 25.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Alliance & Leicester Online Banking

Poor insecure online banking. Unhelpful staff.

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Security and stability issues with online banking. Disorganized company.

...Santander, but showing Spanish messages in a UK system just shows the system is not well tested before releasing to the public. Now onto security. Abbey requires you to enter a username (which is strangely called Internet ID) and password (which is called Security Number, NOT password. Password in Abbey refers to something else!) It's all confusing but worst of all, your Security Number can only be 8-digit numbers! This is a MAJOR SECURITY FLAW of any system. Not only is a fixed 8-digit number a difficult number to make up and remember for the average user, having a fixed-length password means it makes it much easier for hackers to break into the system. It is much more difficult for hackers to guess if the password had a variable length and were made up of numbers AND letters. This makes the online banking a very difficult to use, yet unsecure...

yt8019 24.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Abbey