Hotel Marina

“Friendly but unreliable”

I stayed here upon the recommendation of a university professor with whom I had a meeting. He said it was the cheapest, best hotel closest to the university, which is probably true. The best things about the hotel were the price (just over 40 euros) and the friendly staff. Every interaction I had … more

I stayed here upon the recommendation of a university professor with whom I had a meeting. He said it was the cheapest, best hotel closest to the university, which is probably true. The best things about the hotel were the price (just over 40 euros) and the friendly staff. Every interaction I had with them was totally pleasant. I felt quite welcomed. There's a bar attached to the hotel, and it was perfect for coffee, tostada, and fresh-squeezed orange juice in the mornings with a local crowd. My main disappointment is that the hotel overpromises the amenities it offers. There are no ISDN lines in the room, as claimed on the web site. The free wifi worked about 10% of the time, and the staff's reaction was to refer me to a computer in their TV room. (It worked well, though the room was noisy and smoky.) The in-room safe didn't work at all, nor did the two replacements that they brought. They couldn't find an iron I could borrow. The staff didn't know basic things, like where I could buy a telephone card nearby. One night it was really noisy in the hotel and I had trouble sleeping. The next night it was really quiet. Go figure. None of this would matter for a casual traveler. But it made business travel tough. Hotel Marina touts its location in Isla Chica, "in the center of Huelva." While Isla Chica is a busy commercial area, and not a bad one to stay, the real concentration of restaurants and bars is in Huelva's real center, about a 30-minute walk away. All in all, my stay was OK. But given the fact that there are 4-star hotels in downtown Huelva that rent for about 40 euros a night, I might make a different choice next time.

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