Aparthotel H. Top Santa Susana

Review date: 28 October 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from Belfast wrote:-

Review title: "Great Holiday"
Travel date: October 2009
We had a great time at the H. Top Santa Susana hotel. Don't know how people can complain about the food - there was always plenty of choice and we never had anything that was inedible. The all-inclusive package was great value.

We did go to bars around the corner a couple of times when people were allowing their kids to run riot around the hotel, throw things off of the sixth floor and generally be a complete pain. The prices at these bars weren't too expensive. Two pints of lager for four euros and two big bottles of Magners for five euros.

I found the staff all helpful and the manager did try and deal with the kids running riot but their parents weren't even in the hotel at the time!

We were really pleased with the apartments themselves. Very clean, spacious and of a good standard. Couldn't fault them at all. All in all a great holiday and would definitely go back.

Review date: 09 September 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from Durham, England wrote:-

Review title: "Very Good All Round"
Travel date: August 2009
Good value for the money. Very clean and staff all nice as long as you are not rude to them. A lot of people found it very child friendly. Used two other hotels. No problems and would love to go back to the H. Top Santa Susana.

Review date: 06 September 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from Leeds, England wrote:-

Review title: "Fantastic Value"
Travel date: August 2009
The value is incredible for what you pay! If you want a five star holiday, then book a five star holiday! Some people who stay at the Santa Susana allow their children to eat chips and gravy for every meal including breakfast! They never go near veg, salad or fruit! They serve tuna steak, beef and pork from the carvery, lots of fresh fruit and veg and amazing desserts.

The pool is great, especially if you have children as they are never out of your view point! Also the kids' clubs are great and the staff very friendly! We went in August and always got a sun bed (no waking up at five to put your towels out), also no queueing at the bar. The only down side - no full size mirrors!

Also included are free drinks in any H Top hotel (one being located on the beach front so no more expenses with drinks on the beach!) Overall great holiday, worth every penny and well recommended.

Review date: 03 September 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from Cardiff, Wales, UK wrote:-

Review title: "Nice Family And Kid Friendly Hotel. Try It!"
Travel date: July 2009
Just like most people, I was rather scared after hearing all the bad comments! Well, it was a nice surprise from the look of the outside. Reception area very big, spacious and cool!

Our room was a little disappointing at first as there were five of us and we had a one room apartment which had one bedroom with two beds in it and the living space kitchenette which had three beds in it! The beds were set up the whole week but we got used to the not so spacey room. Would have been a really nice size for three or four of us because we could have put the beds along the wall, but we had three single beds lining our wall. There was a table and four chairs to sit around in the kitchenette and the balcony which also had a table and four chairs. As we only paid for the one room, that's all we got, but we could have paid for two rooms which seemed to be the same as ours but with an extra bedroom attached with a bigger balcony. Some of the rooms from the balcony had two double sliding doors and a window, which could sleep six comfortably or maybe eight adults.

Cleaner: They came in daily and changed the bedding that was needed and gave us clean towels everyday which was handy as we started to take them up to the pool later in the week.

The pool: Although it is a very small pool, there are plenty of sun beds so if you only use the pool for cooling off sessions, it's perfect. There is also a kiddies' pool there too. The roof is separated into two sections of the hotel. On one half of the hotel roof top are the two small pools and a couple of sun beds and and on the other half of the hotel roof are plenty more sunbeds and the bar which is only open at certain times of the day between meals! You can access both sides of the roof from the top.

Food: It was really nice. I have stayed in Spain before and the food is roughly the same everywhere. On this occasion, I found myself feeling bloated after eating too much at the evening meal on a few occasions. Just tasting all the different foods can make you fat! There were a lot of differently cooked pork dishes like curry, stew or barbecue, not on the same night though, so you still had another option of maybe chicken or beef. Two of our group didn't eat pork but they always managed to find food they liked and go up for thirds each meal.

Being in a H. Top hotel was really good for us as we planned a boat trip ('Sensations') from Lloret de Mar beach and were able to pretend we wanted to go to the Lloret de Mar H. Top hotel closest to the beach and had a free H. Top hopper shuttle bus ride to the hotel and were able to walk around the corner to the beach for our boat ride. Our boat trip was 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and our return shuttle wasn't picking us up until 4 p.m. so after our boat trip, we walked back to the Lloret de Mar hotel and had a free lunch with our all inclusive package and a swim in the big massive pool they had (compared to ours), before our return coach arrived.

Also the Santa Susana H.Top Santa Susana is a ten minute walk from the beach and the beach was quite disappointing as it's a gravel beach, not really a sandy beach but it goes on for miles long. There is a H. Top hotel called the Royal Sun right on the beach which you can use for the free drinks or the pool or even the free snacks (chips, salad, and hot dog sausages) downstairs in the restaurant. I'm sure you can stay for lunch if you ask your hotel before you leave!
Hotel Entertainment: It did seem mostly for the younger kids aged from two to three to nine to ten year olds but on most evenings while the kids were dancing, the adults seemed to be enjoying sitting around getting drunk off the free bar. I found no problems with the strength of the alcoholic drinks and on many occasions would have two large (plastic) glasses of Spanish brandy and 'Baileys' type drink mixed together and they would be too strong to drink. I would ask for one without brandy just to mix it up a bit more to be able to drink it. I did have a couple of beers and some glasses of wine too but usually would be too bloated from dinner to be able to drink anything sparkling, so can't really say if they would get me drunk but they tasted nice and refreshing in the afternoon by the pool!

Clubbing Information: We found two main big clubs that were both quite good places. It depends on what music you like. We went on three occasions and found one that played too much house music so we left early and the other was OK as they try to play music to suit everyone from everywhere. German, Italian, French and English chart music was played. There is an Irish bar further down that we found down a lane and it got pretty lively in there too!

Overall we had a good time at this hotel as the teenage girls were interested in the internet and my five year old old daughter made loads of new friends. My cousin and I are in our early 30s and enjoyed ourselves with our daughters. Nice hotel and nice holiday. Advise would be to make the most of the ability to use the other hotels for the all inclusive.

Review date: 01 August 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from N. Ireland wrote:-

Review title: "Don't Believe All The Bad Reviews"
Travel date: July 2009
Before we went to this hotel, I read the reviews and was so scared about going as we were all inclusive. There was a party of four of us between the ages of 20 and 24, but we also had nine family members who went the day before us and there were three children with them aged between two and 12.

We didn't have any complaints with the hotel. The food was good - always found something to fill you up. There was good selection of salad and fresh fruit everyday and they always had three or four meats to choose from as well. The drink was good. People were saying how it was watered down. We didn't think so as we got drunk every time we were drinking.

Our hotel room was lovely, very spacious and the maid cleaned it every day. We had a fridge freezer, TV, a two hob cooker and overall the room was ten out of ten.

The pool was on the roof, which we loved. It was small but we had a good time at it.

The only bad report we had about our stay at the hotel was a few of the bar staff weren't very nice. Some were so rude and never smiled.

The entertainment was OK. Some of the nights was just a mini disco but there was a crowd of us and we made our own crack. They had so many pool activities everyday for the kids which they seemed to enjoy. Overall our stay at H. Top Santa Susana was very good. We had a ball and didn't want to come home.

Review date: 09 July 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from Wales wrote:-

Review title: "Don't Go There"
Travel date: July 2009
Food at the H. Top Santa Susana is repulsive and repetitive and the dining room smells of sewers. Local lager in this hotel is virtually undrinkable where as the Royal Sun just down the road serves the same stuff which is lovely so goodness knows what the aparthotel Santa Susanna is adding to theirs. Take my advice and stay well away.

Review date: 13 June 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from West Midlands, UK wrote:-

Review title: "Dissatisfied With Santa Susanna Aparthotel"
Travel date: May 2009
Was there from the 26th May to the 9th June 2009. Just came back from H. Top Santa Susanna aparthotel and may I say that we will never stay there again.

Food very repetitive, no sauna, solarium, hotel shop or fully fitted kitchen as all stated in the leaflet we received before our holiday and if you are disabled and you like lazying round the pool,forget it as you are unable to get to it as being a roof top pool, there is only access to the sixth floor then two flights of stairs (impossible).

Staff are not very helpful and they don't really want to know. I would not recommend this hotel, even if it supposed to be classed as a three star. Satellite TV for Brits non existent.

Review date: 06 October 2009 - A HotelStreet visitor from UK wrote:-

Review title: "H Top Santa Susana Never Again"
Travel date: September 2008
After my experience with H Top hotels at the Santa Susana, I can safely say I will never, ever stay at any of the chains hotels again!

The food was so repetitive and I am pretty sure they recycle the food from each serving into the next. For instance any leftovers will be in the next meal and after it's been sitting in the buffet for hours on end, it is not particularly pleasant! There was no variety at all and we found the only food we dare eat was chips!

Our room was very cold, especially at night. I requested extra blankets and was refused. The blankets we had were filthy and full of holes and hairs. The wall in the bedroom was dirty and actually had a huge bogey stuck on one of the walls. I often found old blood stains on the bed sheets, and the pillow was almost non existent. When the cleaners had been in, there would be big long black hairs everywhere on the floor from the mop and also a few in the bath (neither my husband or I have long black hair!)

The pool area was disgusting with dirty plastic glasses and ashtrays everywhere. The sun loungers were stained and filthy and I didn't even dare go in the pool.

The staff where very rude and unhelpful. We were not made to feel at all welcome. The public toilet facilities in the bar area stunk of urine and were never cleaned properly or replenished of hand soap.

We visited another H Top hotel and I found the cleanliness of it to be of the same standard, especially the toilets, which were just revolting.

It wasn't even a case of you get what you pay for. I can honestly say that it wasn't worth paying a penny for. It was the most unenjoyable holiday I have ever experienced simply because of the shocking standard of the hotel. I cannot understand how it has been given any positive reviews! And it certainly is not a three star hotel. Far, far from it!

Review date: 23 September 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Omagh, Armagh, Nothern Ireland wrote:-

Review title: "Excellent"
Travel date: August 2008
We just got back from the Santa Susana H. Top Aparthotel. This our second stay. Having read most of the comments, we were really frightened of what to expect. We thought that the hotel must have really gone downhill.

When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised because the hotel was still excellent and all the staff were still friendly.

The food was excellent and you could always make something out of what you had and no member of our group ever went hungry. The entertainment was light but the children didn't mind because of the swimming pool and weather.

Our only problem was the noise, not from the hotel but by people coming home from the nightclubs and from other bars and hotels during the night.

Santa Susana itself was excellent with plenty of shops and plenty of things to do. Overall the holiday was excellent and we would consider going back a third time.

Review date: 01 September 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Wales wrote:-

Review title: "Aparthotel Is Great"
Travel date: August 2008
We just got back from the Santa Susana H. Top Aparthotel. Having read most of the comments, I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about. The hotel staff were helpful and with the exception of one of the bar staff, the others were friendly and when you got to know them, they had a laugh and joke with you.

The hotel was clean and the room I stayed in was brill. There were five of us and our balcony was huge. It went right around the side of our apartment which was 216 on the second floor.

Yes, the pool was small but the kids loved it and it was great for a quick dip to cool off as the pool was on the roof and 100 per cent sun all day long. Food - well, none of our party went hungry as the choice was good and you could always make a meal with what was on offer. The entertainment was OK, not great, but who cares - we went for a relaxing holiday with the kids and that's what we got and the kids' entertainers were great.

My only gripe was the noise, not from the hotel but by people coming home from the nightclubs at 04.00 in the morning with shouting and singing, if that's what you can call it. It went on until 06.00, so if you were unlucky enough to be facing the sea direction from the hotel, it was impossible not to hear it.

Will I go back? Damn right I will. The resort is nice with plenty of shops and just for the room alone I'm going to do it all over again next year.

Review date: 27 July 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Wales wrote:-

Review title: "Very Poor"
Travel date: July 2008
We came home from here on Wednesday. Hotel clean and rooms clean and roomy. For an apartment though, they only give you a saucepan, one cup and nothing else.

Food was terrible, mystery meat - say no more. Snacks were leftover food. Terrible smell of sewage by the food hall by day three and we could not eat here at all

Staff were quite miserable, the pool was very dirty and very small, the lifts were quite dodgy - we stayed on the sixth floor so it was quite scary.

I would not stay at the H. Top Santa Susana hotel again.

Review date: 24 July 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Wales, UK wrote:-

Review title: "Stayed There For The Last Seven Nights"
Travel date: July 2008
I have been home from my holiday for five hours and I feel I needed to write a review for this hotel. I stayed here with my husband and 10 year old son.

The plus points: close to the beach, 'Burger King' and the 'Station' pub. Clean, big rooms we were on the sixth floor (lifts quite dodgy though). Nice Pepsi at the bar.

The bad points: miserable staff. Food was terrible and we ate out every day twice a day after the first two days there.
The smell going down to the food hall on the stairs and lift - it is just a raw sewage smell. I work with some nasty smells but this was unbearable towards the end and the meat we ended up calling it 'mystery meat' because there was no clue what you were eating. Snacks just leftovers and only eaten at the hall. No snacks at the roof bar. Pool - my living room is bigger and very dirty. Games room as other reviews - it was nothing and half of the machines didn't work and the air hockey scoring system still does not work.

I would never go back to this hotel which is a shame as Santa Susana is very beautiful and we will be returning next year but to a better hotel. I do regret wasting £800 on the H. Top Santa Susana.

Review date: 24 June 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Wales wrote:-

Review title: "H Top Santa Susana Was Great"
Travel date: June 2008
After reading some of the reviews on this hotel, I was expecting the worse, but as soon as we pulled up outside the hotel, my worries were gone.

The reception area was bright and spotless as was the rest of the hotel. The cleaners work extremely hard. We are a family of four with our kids 11 and none. We checked in and got our pictures taken on a photo card as we went all inclusive. Our room was on the fourth floor but that was no problem as there are four lifts.

Our room was a one bedroom apartment which was great as me and my husband had our own space. The kids beds were in the living room which was fine. We had a full size fridge, a two ring hob and plenty of cupboard space. Only thing I will say is that it was lacking kitchen equipment. No mugs or cups but we got some from downstairs and no kettle but we used a saucepan. We got some English channels on the TV with MTV and a kids' channel which pleased them. There's also a four seat dining table in the living room. We had sliding doors leading out to the balcony in our bedroom and in the living room. The balcony was huge. We has four chairs and a table but you could have easily put another six chairs outside. The bathroom was well equipped with a bath and shower. The maids changed our beds every days and our towels. They washed all our patio furniture down, washed any dishes, swept and washed the floors. They were brill!

We did eat out twice in the week, but that was only that we treated ourselves to a meal. The food at the hotel was fine. At least three different main courses plus a veggie dish every meal. Yes you could have chips, potatoes and salad every meal if you wanted but that's your choice. If there was a complaint it's that there was too much of it.

The pool area is great. Lots of loungers and a pool bar. The pool is on the roof so it's a great sun trap.

The resort of Santa Susanna is beautiful. Not as commercialised as Callela and Lloret de mar. We enjoyed our holiday at the H Top Santa Susanna so much we've just booked to go back in August for another week and I can't wait.

Review date: 10 May 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Lancashire wrote:-

Review title: "Really Bad"
Travel date: May 2008
Me and my girlfriend stayed at the H. Top Santa Susana for a week (thank goodness it was only one week). We are in our early 20s and aren't that fussy. The only thing that was OK was the room.

I could write a 200 page essay on why you should not stay here but I'm not that sad. Basically the staff were ignorant, the food was rubbish and entertainment (if that's what you call it) was not entertaining one bit. We ate out every day and night and the beer was cheap watered down rubbish.

I have stayed in Spain more than ten times and never encountered anything this bad. Stay away! Trust me. Santa Susana wasn't a bad place but that hotel, never again!

Review date: 11 May 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from England wrote:-

Review title: "A Sylvester's Guide To H. Top Santa Susana"
Travel date: April 2008
When we first arrived, we were met by an impolite and rude receptionist. He was both rude and unhelpful. The barman were the rudest and most ignorant barmen we have ever come across.

The food wasn't bad but a lack of choice. You had to go through at least three plates to find one clean enough to eat from. The breakfast was awful as the bacon consisted of more fat than actual bacon! The food was often cold. The snack bar was basically breakfast lunch and dinner leftovers which were always cold. The burgers were cooked on one side and pink on the other.

The entertainment was poor as it was the same every night we were there. This consisted of the DJ playing the a selection of the same songs.

The rooms were generally clean and beds and towels changed everyday by the maids. However when we first arrived there was evidence of the previous guests still in our room. The kitchen didn't have any cutlery or cups. The rooms were big and the balcony was alright!

Getting drinks was always an issue as you could only have two at a time. These were served in tall plastic cups with too much ice. If we went up too often, the barman would refuse to serve you. The all inclusive didn't include any of the snacks from the bar and also some of the drinks. The 'cocktail of the day' was the same one all week. The bar stopped serving at 12 p.m. which was reasonable. However all the guests were to then be moved to sofa area room after last orders.

There wasn't much to do in the day as there was little entertainment. The room leading to the restaurant smelt like sewage and the lifts going up to the pool smelt bad as well.

The rooftop pool was not what we expected as it was very small. It was also annoying as everyone had to go down all six floors to get a drink as the bar was never open on the roof!

The games room was a joke as hardly any of the machines worked. The pool table was on a slant which made it impossible to play. The scoring on the air hockey table didn't work. Only one of the two racing cars worked, the same as the motorbikes and the shooting game. The rest of them were out of order. The computers were good but one broke whilst we was there!

The free excursions promised were not free as you had to pay a fee to go on them!

We wouldn't recommend the H. Top Santa Susana hotel to our worst enemy so definitely don't go!

Review date: 09 April 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from Preston, Lancashire wrote:-

Review title: "Not Bad!"
Travel date: April 2008
I can't disagree with too much of what the other reviewers have said. However, we have just had three nights at the H Top Santa Susana and were not disappointed with the place. The food is good and there is plenty of variety. The rooms were fantastic and clean. The all inclusive satisfied us.

The biggest problem we found was that so many others were expecting much more for their money and were quick to find fault and moan.

If the sun doesn't shine, there is not much to do here and that goes for kids too. Some parents dealt well with this, others didn't and kids running around trying to amuse themselves was an issue. Late night noise from drunks was also an issue, both from surrounding properties and from within the hotel.

In conclusion, we thought the hotel was fine and were much more disappointed in the conduct of some of the people who stayed there.

Review date: 13 August 2007 - A HotelStreet visitor from England wrote:-

Review title: "Please Do Not Stay Here"
Travel date: August 2007
Lets get the good out of the way - the sheets and towels were changed daily. To be honest that is as it should be, rather than a good point!

On the negative side: Food - I expected it to be repetitive. However, I did expect it to be warm and to be cooked properly. I never managed to find anything that was warm and resorted to using the microwave! Snacks were not as described but leftover breakfast at each of the three snack times. One time the sausages and the leg of pork had blood coming out of them. Food was never covered over so food went stale and the soup frequently developed a thick film on the top. The plates were frequently dirty. We ended up having to go out and eat for each meal, not what you want after paying for all inclusive.

The all-inclusive was a bit of a joke, after queueing you could only get two drinks per card, maximum two cards. When travelling with children, this proved ridiculous after a while if you fancied a cold drink and a coffee!

A couple of staff members were pleasant, the rest were sultry at best and at times quite rude. This extended to the manager whom we needed to see one day.

You are entitled to use the facilities of another H TOP hotel, which is quite good in that the Royal Sun is right on the beach so is handy for drinksbut as for eating, it is near impossible to get a reservation. You have to book a day in advance and it is inevitably full!

Another thing not quite as you were sold is the free excursions. You have to pay a 'nominal' fee for the bus. An example of this is the medieval night which is 12 euros per person so with three children you pay the nominal price of £40 sterling.

Noise - I was sold a family hotel in a family resort. If you want your children staying up until past midnight surrounded by drunks, then this will be fine for you. My children, however, are too young to be up that late but unfortunately the three bars/hotels nearby providing live entertainment every night means it is impossible for anyone to get to sleep before 12.30 a.m.

Cleanliness - the room on close inspection was not the cleanest ever. Having a baby who is just crawling means that you do look closely at how clean everywhere is. The first night our drinking glasses were sat on a tray covered in a few millimetres of rust/dirt. It looked like a grill pan that never got cleaned. Again not a selling point when you have children.

Entertainment - this was basically non existent for either adults or children. Yet another thing that bore no relation to the owning company's website description. When there was a DJ on it was so loud you had to go outside. The facilities outside consisted of eight or so plastic tables by a main road opposite a building site.

I have never wanted to come home from a holiday so much ever. You save your money to go away and for your kids to have a nice time - please don't stay at the H Top Santa Susana.

Review date: 31 March 2008 - A HotelStreet visitor from London wrote:-

Review title: "Santa Susana For Everyone!"
Travel date: July 2007
The hotel and its situation was amazing. It is so close to the town and beach and in my eyes was suitable for my whole family. The older children went to the nightclubs at night and the younger ones enjoyed the pools and beaches and parks around the hotel.

The food could vary more but I wasn't complaining.

Had a lovely time and would recommend the H Top Santa Susana for anyone with a family of varying ages, or young adults.

Review date: 08 July 2007 - A HotelStreet visitor from Hertfordshire, England wrote:-

Review title: "Not What It Seems"
Travel date: June 2007
Only good thing about our stay were the rooms and the cleanliness that they were kept in.

On the negative side, where do you start? Only facility is the pool which is very small, but pleasant for one or two days but then becomes rather tedious. There is no sauna or fitness room. The entertainment was a complete joke. It was hit and miss as to whether anyone turned up for the kids' and as for the night entertainment, it would have been better if they had not bothered. Night after night of amateur transvestites and a sound system that was falling apart with no thought to even making it exciting or interactive and was enough to think about going to a different bar despite being on a supposed all inclusive deal. Come on! A comedian and a half decent thought out entertainment programme would have been better than this garish rubbish.

Now on to the all inclusive. So this is what you have to pay for on an all inclusive: Crisps, slush puppies, cocktails, chocolate, ice creams, snacks and food out of their co-ordinated time scales.
I did not find the food that bad but it did get a bit repetitive and the fact that the only place to eat was the restaurant was very restrictive.

The great selling point was that you could visit any other H Top hotel and enjoy the all inclusive benefits. Sorry, not quite what you are sold again. You have to book one day prior to going and you have to choose between a lunch and evening meal. We went to the Royal Sun and general service was good apart from one very obnoxious barman who was about the rudest barman I have ever been served by. He viewed all his customers with contempt.

This H. Top business could be so much better and expand to be a better business if this chain would think about the customers' experience a bit more.

Review date: 05 June 2007 - A HotelStreet visitor from Milton Keynes wrote:-

Review title: "Rubbish!"
Travel date: May 2007
Very poor! Where do I begin? We were told by our tour operator that the hotel was on the beach – well, it isn't! It was like staying in the middle of the M1. In the morning the noise that was outside from the traffic was a joke! Food was rubbish, plates were dirty. Pool was the size of a bath on the roof. Enough said really!

Review date: 30 April 2007 - A HotelStreet visitor from Nottingham wrote:-

Review title: "Poor"
Travel date: April 2007
Rooms are clean but the rest of it poor. Food awful - ok if all you eat is salad. A lot of drunks every day. Pool on the roof and tiny. Entertainment poor.

Glad to get back home and I have never felt like that. Would not go to the resort again - a dump! Beach is shingle, no fitness room, no solarium, no sauna.

Review date: 13 February 2007 - A HotelStreet visitor from Scotland wrote:-

Review title: "Never To Return"
Travel date: October 2006
This was the worst hotel we have ever stayed in. Lack of entertainment and food unacceptable. We spent our evenings eating out. Never to return, we counted the days to return to U.K. The only good thing was our apartment was clean.

Review date: 22 February 2006 - A HotelStreet visitor from Suffolk, England wrote:-

Review title: "We Loved It Here"
Travel date: July 2004
I loved this hotel. I thought the staff was great, the hotel modern. The only down side was that the food was very limited in choice and often cold by the time you ate it. That said, I would go back to Santa Susanna and this hotel.