Hotel Guadalope in Alcaniz

THE BUILDING: The building was nice — it’s a classic older building that has nice views out to the main square. The restaurant downstairs is very nice with good prices.

LOCATION: The location is fantastic for people that are in Alcañiz without a car. It’s right in the center of town within walking distance to almost everything that a tourist would want.

RECEPTION: Checking in was quick and easy. The receptionists were friendly and helpful. They even offered to switch us rooms with the air-conditioning problem (see below), but none of the air-conditioning worked at that point so there was not much that could be done.

AIR CONDITIONING:

The air conditioning did not work in the hotel during a heat wave. It was 30°C in our room so we had to go to a different hotel the second night. The first night was manageable, but the second night was unbearable so we requested a refund for the second night. The hotel agreed to a partial refund.

What the hotel described was that they have swamp coolers instead of traditional air conditioning and when it had been hot out for that long, the swamp coolers simply stopped working. I was not angry with them and understand that there was nothing that the hotel owners could do that night, but it should not have been my responsibility to pay for an air-conditioned room that could not be provided to me. Knowing that there was a heat wave, it was an important enough issue for us that I even sent the hot a message via Booking.com stating that we needed air conditioning and they said that there was.

I’m not going to fight with the hotel over the partial refund rather than the full refund for that night, but I am very disappointed that they are charging us for something that they could not provide.

THE ROOM: The room was nothing special, but it was also fine for being a two-star hotel. We did not expect much given the star level. As I said above, if you want somewhere nicer, the other hotel in town is three or four stars for a very similar price. It has much, much nicer rooms.

THE BATHROOM: The bathroom was small, but it was actually nicer than most Spanish bathrooms because the glass piece encloses the shower area so that you don’t get water all over the place. Also, the water pressure was good.

NOISE: The hotel itself was very quiet. We could not hear the other guests. But like any other main square in Spain, if something is happening out there, it might get quite loud so that is something to take into account.

BREAKFAST: We did not get the breakfast included with our room so we cannot say if it was adequate for the price we paid. But the restaurant on the ground level of the hotel is very good. Even when they were not open yet, the receptionist made us coffee in the restaurant.

PARKING: The hotel does not have on-site parking, but they do mention parking so they must have an arrangement with a parking garage. Honestly, if you have a car, the City of Alcañiz hotel has free parking and it’s a much nicer hotel for a similar price.

SUMMARY: Great location and friendly staff, but this hotel is not a good option in the summer. When you most need the air-conditioning, it does not work. And I think the dealbreaker for us is a customer service item: They did not fully refund the room that second night. We changed to a different hotel room and at the end of the day we paid for one and a half rooms that night… so what I am trying to say with that is that even if it’s not the hotel’s fault, I can see that the customer service is lacking. When they saw that they could not provide what they advertised, and especially specifically stated in an email to us, should’ve provided a full refund. This is like if a restaurant tells you that they are out sandwiches, but they already have your credit card number so they charge you for half a sandwich anyway because they feel like it’s not their fault they didn’t have a sandwich to give you.