Wanted to be sure as possible of a good break after a harrowing year so I read many hundreds of reviews before selecting the Monopol for a two week stay in March, and I am delighted I did! The perfect location and architecture are already well covered so I will move straight on to the negative issues raised in other reviews of which most (though not all) turned out to be unfounded. Like any hotel which never closes its doors the rooms, by necessity, are refurbished on a rotating basis. The room I was given was clearly recently renovated, lovely shower and plenty of storage, basic but attractive furniture and two single beds pushed together. No kettle, limited tv channels and poor in-room wi-fi (free wi-fi works perfectly in the beautiful patio area) but for a 3* hotel a lovely room all round. A special thank you to the cleaning staff who did a wonderful job and made me feel so at home! Despite being close to the old centre, crowd noise was never an issue. The hotel is not really on a main thoroughfare and the excellent street music was never intrusive. The church does chime the quarter hours from 7 am till 11pm but after a couple of days is just seemed to fade into the pleasant ambience. Rooms not facing the church would probably barely hear it. The free breakfast buffet is copious and extensive, but I think even Oliver would decide that one serving was enough. As a Brit I have to say that the bacon was an affront to the pig that provided it, and the sausage (if indeed it could be classed as sausage) an abomination. Plenty of fresh fruit and various cheese and processed meat slices if that’s your thing. Unlimited cereals to top up on as a backstop. Bread is thoughtfully provided stale for easy toasting. Coffee and juice machines are actually quite good, though busy even in the quiet period of my visit. There is a restaurant, the ‘Don Carlos’ which operates in a portion of the hotel and is clearly associated with it, but which the hotel seems reluctant to acknowledge. Understandably perhaps as it is a total tourist trap, leeching off the hotels beautiful location and providing awful, overpriced meals to passing trade (I suspect they probably have the breakfast contract). There are 50 better dining places within a 10 minute walk. But (rant over) I would recommend the Monopol unreservedly as the perfect base for a visit to Puerto de la Cruz for those who are not looking for a 24-hour Ibiza type experience or a luxury spa hotel with hot and cold running flunkies. For £1000 a week more you would perhaps get a better breakfast and probably a kettle, but you would find yourself in a characterless chrome and glass citadel perched high above the town, isolated from the beautiful beach and downtown area by a gruelling 30-minute hike. It is said that location is everything and the best location in Puerto de le Cruz is the Monopol hotel.
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