La Almendra y El Gitano

The hotel is located in a wonderful and unique setting. It is a few kilometers from Agua Amarga and the beach. Surrounded by desert and with the sound of birds. It is the first time that we stayed in the area in December and to tell the truth this accommodation is not adapted to the cold season. Arriving in the afternoon and entering the room, the air conditioning with a heat pump was on but it was extremely cold. After two hours and having regulated the temperature to 30º it was still cold and it shows that the thermal insulation of the room leaves much to be desired. We asked for a different type of heating device and the person in charge, Mariana, a very competent and kind girl, immediately found us other alternative heaters. It is necessary to adapt the facilities (door to the terrace with double glass insulation, for example) In the bathroom, the heater has a timer that jumps to the minute and turns off automatically, so it does not heat anything and you have to keep pressing the switch continuously. The hot water comes out 5 or 10 minutes after the tap is turned on, so you have to throw away an impressive amount of water, in a place where it is scarce like Cabo de Gata, it seems inexcusable to me. On the other hand, the glass partition needs replacement and revision of the rubber gaskets because once you get out of the shower we find a puddle on the floor that is not very pleasant. In general, it needs a lot of maintenance and investment to replace certain elements that deteriorate over time (the shower column is not well regulated either and changes itself from a control to the showerhead, with which the spray is guaranteed. But the worst of everything is looking for and reserving a room in a hotel that is advertised as a place for rest and the cult of silence and finding yourself in the room next to a couple who have the television on all day, jacuzzi noise, conversations and music at ungodly hours and having to go out and knock on your door to ask them to lower the volume because you can't rest and there is no one at reception at those hours.All this is a consequence of poor acoustic insulation in the rooms, which makes you hear everything, when in this case you go looking for silence and tranquility. But Mariana's attention must be made clear that she is of great professionalism. She is alone for everything and always kind and friendly. S e took the trouble the next day to talk to the guests, to explain to them that this place requires them to use some basic rules of behavior. Otherwise a magnificent and unique place with correct breakfast. Dinner at Tio Kiko is not worth it. A space in a lounge, set up as a restaurant with average service and a poor menu. The best landscapes, although extensions of plastic crops are already beginning to proliferate in the area. a pity

Hotel with a lot of charm, which can be exploited much better. The jacuzzi with views of the mountains of the Sierra de Gata is spectacular! But there are details that could be improved, the price is excessive for the services it offers. The room did not have bathrobes due to the lack of foresight after a bridge, the wifi is quite bad and there is not much coverage, the jacuzzi hours are quite reduced (it would be nice to be able to use it before 6:00 p.m. in winter since at that time it gets dark ), in our case we had the bad luck to run into some noisy neighbors who, among other things, used the jacuzzi at dawn and the noise is quite strong.