Великая Испания Greater Spain

We rested in Spain in the city of Salou at the Golden Port Salou & SPA 4 * hotel in the period from 21.07. 2012 to 03.08. 2012
There were three of us (me, mother, 65 years old, son, 11 years old). Every time after a trip, I conscientiously sit down and write reviews about the country and the hotel in order to give you the fullest possible account of the rest.
Rested with a tour. operator Natalie Tour. We flew with Transaero Airlines, no comments. The flight from Yekaterinburg to Barcelona took 6 hours 20 minutes, and the return journey took 5 hours 30 minutes.

THE COUNTRY. And so, Spain is a wonderful country that surprised me with its cleanest beaches (for some reason I expected that it would be dirty on municipal beaches, but in reality everything is different), hospitable Spaniards who always smile. I was surprised by the beautiful chic promenade with palm trees in the city of Salou, along which you can walk along the beach with pleasure.

The city of Salou is completely filled with shops, boutiques that sell cheap clothes, shoes, toys, jewelry, souvenirs, etc.
These shops are located at every turn. Trains drive around the city (4 lines of direction), in which you can enjoy a sightseeing ride around the city of Salou in different directions and see the city (you can also get to PortAventura), cost: adults -3 euros, children - 1.5 euros.
In Barcelona, ​ ​ the stores are more “civilized”, but they do not differ from ours: ZARA, SISLY, MANGO, BERSHKA, etc. In Barcelona, ​ ​ not far from Plaza Catalunya, there is a street where all these brands are located at every step on both sides (as in Yekaterinburg Weiner Street, only longer).

HOTEL. The hotel is decent both externally and internally. The territory is very small, there is nowhere to walk. There are 2 small pools and 1 tiny one for kids on site. The indoor pool is located next to the SPA (there is also a free jacuzzi). We did not swim in the pools and did not sunbathe near the pools, because we are not lovers of pools - we prefer the sea.
Every morning, before the pool opens (and the pool opens at 08 am), a crowd gathered in the hotel lobby to take the sunbeds. The hotel has 7 floors, on the ground floor there is a reception, a restaurant, toilets, a seating area, a bar and a stage for evening programs. From the hotel there is direct access to the footpath and the roadway. The hotel is located in a quiet residential area, and still the Spanish youth could be heard sometimes at night. The hotel is clean and small. Near the hotel there are bars, restaurants and supermarkets (if you leave the hotel and turn right).
On my next trip to Spain, I would not choose this hotel again, not because it is bad (the hotel is wonderful), but because it is far from the sea. In Salou, there are many hotels on the first line, for example, a good Las Vegas 4 * hotel, I liked it more.

ROOM. The room is small (I think all the rooms in this hotel are small).

The room has everything you need: an electric kettle, two tea pairs, tea-coffee-sugar-cream every day, 2 single beds, a sofa (folds out for a child), a table, a chair, a mirror with a bedside table; on the balcony: plastic table and 2 chairs, clothes dryer; in the hallway: built-in wardrobe, safe; in the bathroom: hair dryer, bath, bidet, soap-shampoo-body cream are laid down only on the first day of arrival and are not reported in the future (as it turned out - it is according to the hotel's instructions) towels are changed but not every day.
Surprisingly, there are no beach towels in this hotel, they are simply not provided, keep in mind.
We lived on the sixth floor and the view from the balcony was not the pool. The view was not bad, on the residential sector and on a small green grove, the road did not interfere, because it was aside from the balcony. In general, there are 3 views from the hotel: the pool, the road and the neighboring hotel, and the private sector with a small piece of green trees.
At first we wanted to change the view of the pool, but then we changed our minds, because we decided that the pool would be noisy. And they did it right. Because in the evening it was nice to look at the green grove with a glass of Sangria)))).

NUTRITION. We took breakfast + dinner.
Buffet. Breakfast: monotonous, but hearty. We didn’t mess with the food at all, we liked everything. Basically, for breakfast they gave scrambled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, fruits, croissants, cookies, yogurt, etc. Drinks are free: champagne, juices, tea, coffee.
Dinner: fish day on Mondays, on this day they gave shrimp, mussels and all kinds of fish. And on ordinary days, dinners were very rich and tasty, we liked everything (there was fish, chicken, meat and fruits, etc. ).
If you come to the hotel restaurant at the peak of its attendance, then you will be taken to a free table in the restaurant.
Would have dined twice in a cafe in Salou - 3 hot dishes cost 19 euros (kebab with green salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, fried eggs with 2 sausages and french fries).


BEACH. Walk to the beach about 15 minutes. City beach, a lot of people (about 40% of Russians). The beach is very clean. The sea is very beautiful and clean, sometimes wavy, shallow near the shore. We came to the beach at about 11 am and always found a place (you can come to the beach at any time of the day and you will always find a place). We bought two mats and sunbathed on them (1 mat cost 3.50 euros). The rental of sunbeds surprised me - 1 sunbed with an umbrella costs 10 euros.
On the beach you can rent a catamaran (1 hour costs 12-14 euros), there are water activities: a banana, a parachute, etc.
We mostly sunbathed on the central large beach. But one morning we shone on a tour of the promenade and walked along all the beaches of Salou. It is very conveniently invented that throughout the entire coast of the city.
Salou stretches along the promenade or bridge, along which you can pleasantly stroll. If you face the sea, then on the left side there are 3 more beaches (one small, the second is very small and the third is medium) and you can sunbathe and swim everywhere.
In the water near the shore, sometimes fish from small ones to fish about 40 cm long swam, these fish are nondescript and difficult to notice in the sea.

TOURS. Excursions were partly taken from Natalie Tour, and partly from Bus Plana (Bus Plana is located near the hotel). On all excursions there are Russian guides who constantly tell something. Excursion Plana is much cheaper, and if you buy several excursions from Plana, then starting from the second excursion you will be given pleasant discounts.
Comparison of some prices for excursions (Natalie-Tour and Bus Plana): 1) zoo - at Natalie's vzr. 45 euros, reb. 35.5 euros; at Plana adult. 34.95 euros, reb. 29.95 euros. 2) Panoramic Barcelona - Natalie vzr. 45 euros, reb. 34.50 euros; at Plana adult. 24.95 euros, reb. 22.95 euros.
3) Montserrat + Vina Torres - Natalie has an adult. 47.50 euros, reb. 37 euros; at Plana adult. 29.95 euros, reb. 24.95 euros. 4) Port Aventura Park costs the same.
And so our excursions that we visited:
1. Port Aventura amusement park.

In March 2012, the second roller coaster was opened, which is the highest and fastest in Europe (speed reaches up to 130 km/h). We walked in the park for 1 day, the second did not take. A good park, but the queues for each attraction are very annoying: in order to ride, for example, in a canoe for 10 minutes, we stood in line for about an hour, and so every time. You can buy express tickets that give you the right to go through a special queue (VIP) and not stand in line for a long time, but these tickets are decent, we didn’t take them. I liked everything, the child and mother were happy.
2. City of Taragona.
Small historic town near the city of Salou. The bus took us to the city, we got out and walked around the city on foot with a Russian guide.
The tour is for half a day. We looked at the narrow streets of the old city, saw the archaeological excavations of the Roman circus and the Roman theater. In this city, we did not manage to eat, because you speak English poorly, and there was no menu in Russian - we were left hungry, because they did not understand us at the restaurant. I recommend taking the tour.
3. Zoo in Barcelona.
We liked the large well-groomed zoo. Lots of animals and birds. A train (paid) goes around the zoo, which will take you around most of the zoo. We visited the dolphin show, there is also a fur seal show. The zoo has large enclosures for animals. We saw: flamingos, penguins, rhino, reptiles, hippopotamus, giraffes, elephants, etc. After visiting the zoo, you will have 2 hours of free time in the city of Barcelona (you can go shopping).
4. Montserrat + Torres wines.
It's a miracle! From the city of Salou to go about two hours.
We were brought to a small town, we transferred to an electric train and we were taken up to the mountains. We went up by train for 700 km. along the bald mountains (the spectacle is not for the faint of heart). And before us appeared huge "bald" mountains, in which the monastery of Montserrat was built. On the territory of the monastery there is a park where you can walk with pleasure. The monastery itself is very beautiful. Many people come to this monastery to ask for the fulfillment of desires from the "Black Madonna". To get to her, you need to stand in line for about an hour and ask her for the fulfillment of your desire, and whoever does not want to stand in line, you can write a desire in a special book. They say that most wishes come true and people come here again to thank the Mother of God.

On the territory of the monastery there is a small market where farmers sell honey and goat or sheep cheese - this delicacy touches! ! !
I recommend taking the tour.
On the same excursion we visited the Torros winery. Here you can buy wine.
5. Panoramic Barcelona.
We visited the Familia Sagrada. Wow! ! ! ! This is magic. They say that when the temple is built, it will be the eighth wonder of the world. On this tour you will have about four hours of free time (we walked along La Rambla, we wanted to see living statues, but unfortunately we did not see any. On the same street there is a market where you can buy fruits, vegetables, oriental sweets , cheeses, meat, fish, etc. We also visited Park Gü ell.

Spain is a wonderful country, we bought plenty and looked at the country! ! ! Have a good rest.