I returned yesterday from this trip after a week of mixed fortunes for me.
I arrived at East Midlands early on the morning of 2nd May, and had to wait ages to be able to do the bag drop off with Ryan Air. Fortunately I ran into two fellow JY travellers and we chatted whilst we were waiting and proceeded through security together. No sign during over a hour of waiting of any J.Y rep.
The flight would have been fine, but sadly I ended up injured through red hot tea falling into my lap, and had to be assisted by Ryan Air staff, who did the best for me that they could under the circumstances, but this meant sitting in pain in soaking wet jeans during the rest of the flight. We got to Barcelona Airport, but again no sign of JY representation. We were met instead by a charming mini bus driver with very minimal English, and driven to the hotel in Callela. On arrival, again no JY representation, but we were given a note from Damian our TM who was due to arrive far later in the evening with the party from Gatwick and assisted to our rooms.
I was very impressed with the hotel. I had a nice room on the second floor, albeit opposite some noisy building work, but with a side view of the sea. 2 single beds joined into one, but comfortable, and everything in it you would need. Nice deep bath with powerful shower over, and plenty of hot water. You do, if you wish to, pay for the room safe, but there is a fridge which you can use free of charge to keep drinks cold in. Minimal toiletries, so I would advise taking your own. It can get a little noisy but noise was kept to a minimum at night and traffic noise wasn't too bad after about 11pm at night. The staff are all so friendly and most of them speak decent English, and are very friendly. You are always met with a smile, and a word. The bar service is excellent, and you choose to pay as you go, or put the bill onto your room and pay at the end of the holiday. The food I found very good, plenty of choice, particularly at night, and the food temperature was just right, unlike some buffets I have used. Everywhere was kept spotlessly clean at all times.
The trips that I did participate in (I missed Barcelona), were all very good, with Montserrat being awesome, despite the mist, Girona was lovely, but care needed when walking, and I really enjoyed the coastline tour.
Callela itself has flat walking along the sea front. The beach itself is lovely, but with a steepish drop to the sea. The shopping area itself, is on first glance rather tacky but does improve as you progress further into the Old Town. There is a good Spar Supermarket, a wide range of bars and places to eat, and I happily spent a couple of hours walking around. The town has excellent transport links to a lot of places along the coast, and it takes just one hour on the train to get to Barcelona.
I wanted to say a big thank you to Damian who was a really good TM. He was friendly, amiable and fun, and so kind to me in taking me to 2 different pharmacies to assist. My fellow travellers were a nice crowd, mainly sociable, very sympathetic, and I would be happy to meet up with any of them on a future holiday.
I need to mention the last morning as Damian had left early with the Gatwick departure, and us from East Midlands and Bristol were left totally to our own devices at Barcelona Airport after being driven down in a mini bus with again NO JY representation. Fortunately Barcelona Airport was not that busy , but as I have already indicated in previous posts there should be some assistance if needed.
Would I go back? Probably not, although I did like the hotel, but apart from a couple of places the area did not really "grab me". I really did find the small gift from the hotel on my birthday, and the birthday "cake" very nice though!
Mildred, I would appreciate it if someone from JY could contact me directly (preferably by email) regarding my accident as I am unsure on how to proceed. I know that Damian did a report on the incident, but I am not sure on how else JY can help me, if indeed they can.
