Hostal Empúries — Hotel in l'Escala

We would like to share our feedback regarding our stay, as we were unfortunately disappointed on several levels – especially given the high price.

When we arrived, a smooth check-in was not possible due to a Wi-Fi outage, which apparently prevented the reception team from accessing their system. We were understanding of the situation and decided to wait at the beach restaurant with a drink. However, considering the room rate, we would have expected a complimentary welcome drink under these circumstances. After about 1.5 hours, we returned to reception and were told that the issue still hadn’t been resolved, but we could be given access to the room without key cards. We accepted this solution. However, when we returned in the evening and tried to check in officially, no one was aware of the previous arrangement. We received no information about the hotel, parking, or other relevant details. The entire process was chaotic and did not meet the expectations we had of a hotel in this category.

The next day, the Wi-Fi in our room was still not working. We were therefore without internet or mobile reception in our room for nearly two days. While not a major issue in itself, it reflected the overall disorganized and unprofessional service we encountered during our stay.

It wasn’t until three days later that we were told breakfast service on the terrace was not actually provided. The terrace is only a few steps from the main breakfast area, and while the staff were visibly present, they were chatting among themselves rather than engaging with guests. For a luxury hotel, this lack of attention and service is unacceptable.

Additionally, many members of the service team did not speak a single word of English. I do not expect staff to speak my native language, but in a hotel of this standard, it is reasonable to expect basic English communication with international guests. This should be a given in hospitality. After several attempts to communicate in broken Spanish, we finally understood that breakfast orders had to be placed inside. A staff member – who was standing at the counter talking to her colleagues – told us we would need to go in and place our order ourselves. As someone with experience in the hospitality industry, I would never have considered it acceptable to tell a guest to relay their order themselves. The proper approach would have been to take the order and pass it along internally.

To make matters worse, we regularly found dirty glasses near the breakfast cava and were served with dirty dishes. Since we were not being waited on, I helped myself to clean tableware. After I asked for a clean glass, the server simply added new ones next to the used ones without removing them. At that point, I lost my appetite.

In addition to the disappointing service, our room had several issues that are simply unacceptable at this price point: mold in the shower, chipped moldings, frayed finishes, and extremely poor water pressure. For someone with long hair, it was nearly impossible to rinse out shampoo properly.

In summary, the experience did not match the cost in any way. We are more than happy to spend money on excellent service, quality experiences, and special places – but in this case, the value simply wasn’t there. We were deeply disappointed and will not return.

To top it off, we sent detailed feedback to the hotel and after two months still have not received any response. Given the experiences we had on-site, this unfortunately did not come...

This hotel could not have a better location. It was right on the beach and just steps away from the archeological site and museum as well. Our room was beautiful and well maintained. The staff was friendly and helpful. We loved our time there.

I have no complaints at all, but a few small suggestions that could have made the room better.

I am not a fan of the rain shower trend. You cannot get your body wet without also getting your hair wet (and vise versa). Usually when there is a rain shower there is also a handheld sprayer with a holder at shower height. Not in our room. Half the nozzles in the rain shower in our room did not work. So it was insufficient. And the handheld sprayer holder was at waist height. So I had to hold the sprayer to do anything useful in the shower above waist height.

The mini fridge is not a mini fridge. It’s a wine fridge. So it is not meant to keep things particularly cold.

There was no real space to hang full-length clothes (like a maxi dress). The closet was half sized and the hangers are the ones that cannot be used outside the closet.

Finally, you will see a lot of reviews complaining about the restaurant. When we first arrived we found it to be similar. We would wait at the stand and no one would acknowledge us. It took a long time for food and drinks to arrive. You were rarely checked back in on. However, later in the week this did not seem as much of a problem. And we just chose to eat elsewhere.

None of these things were bothersome enough to detract from a...

Amazing! 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This place was incredible, from start to finish.

Let me tell you why:

The staff were so friendly, professional and willing to help, be it checking in, checking out, in the spa, in the restaurant or just in general. They couldn’t help but help and with a smile to, which is so important.

The English girl on the checkout was so helpful and made us feel so welcome, despite us turning up looking a bit dishevelled after a long drive through France and into Spain.

They were amazing with the dog and were very happy to have him stay, apparently the owners have dogs this is why, despite that, we have never been to a hotel where they provide a couple of bowls and make the dog feel as welcome as the humans.

The food in the restaurant was sublime, not just for lunch and dinner but breakfast to, how many places do you know that serve every type of meat, cheese, pastry, fruit juice, fruit, smoked salmon and Cava and that’s just to name a fraction of what they do.

The setting is incredible to, nestled in a lovely little cove with walking both left and right of the hotel, cycle paths both directions and if you head to the nearest town you can find lots of amazing restaurants.

I could wax lyrical about this place for days.

I think the only thing for you to do if your reading it, is come try it out for yourself… you won’t be...