Hotel Vila-Real Palace

I stayed here for two nights for a music festival in Betxí. I originally sent two emails to the hotel looking to book a room but got no reply to either but thankfully the festival organiser was able to book a room for me. The hotel is located about 1.2km from the train station, there are no taxis but it's an easy walk. Hotel check in was efficient and the room was lovely, clean and comfortable bed and great water pressure in the shower. There is a supermarket and fast food places close by and bars and restaurants about 1km in town (though are some cafes closer by too). I didn't check out the hotel gym or swimming pool or have food in the hotel. There is a small on site cafe where I had a couple of bottles of beer (no draught beer). Be warned it's almost impossible to get a taxi here so if you're doing anything outside Vila-Real you'll need a car. I think the taxis come from Castellón and are reluctant to do so. The hotel was able to get me a taxi to Betxí (about 12km away) for the music festival but getting back was a complete nigh**are, so much so that it has put me off attending the festival again in the future.

The hotel itself was fine for the price. But I left a valued shirt in one of a few hotels I stayed in. Every hotel except this one responded to my emails asking about it. I sent this hotel 2. No answer provided. I guess (?) I know where I left it.

Have awarded this full marks as it provided exactly what we wanted: a clean, comfortable, well-equipped room within easy drive of the beach. Two reservations to note: as shown in a previous review, despite the fact that we opted to pay at the hotel, my partner's card was charged before our arrival. The hotel has no restaurant operating, just a breakfast facility. I was assured there was a bar (drinks only), but no sign of any activity on either evening we stayed. Asking for advice on eating options, we were directed to a nearby bar, which turned out to be excellent in our opinion. However, it probably did not fit what many guests in a 4* hotel would expect as a dinner venue.

Booked 5 rooms through *********** Before arriving, the hotel tried to take out full payment from my card, even though l selected the ‘pay at hotel’ option when originally booking. This happened on 5 occasions so beware, they can screw your bank balance up as they are eager to get paid?