Hotel Don Juan 3 * (Costa Brava, Spain): photos and reviews of tourists

Travel routes are akin to the ancient chronicles that described the stages of the discovery of new lands and knowledge of the world order. Can one explain the crazy desire for an annual visit to new countries devoid of imagination by the need to spend somewhere on their summer vacation - you can relax without moving away from home for thousands of kilometers. But every year people pack their bags and headlong strive for new experiences. Flight, bus, exotic landscape, intricate ligature of seaside serpentine. The final destination is the Hotel Don Juan Lloret 3. Spain, Costa Brava is a popular tourist destination for modern Colombians and Magellans.

Resort Location

The name of the Costa Brava northeast coast of Catalonia received at the dawn of the XX century. The journalist Ferrand Agulio-i-Vidal with such an expression figuratively entitled a local history article about these places - rocky, wild and beautiful. Until the middle of the last century, when the general attractiveness of Spain was marked by Caissillo of Spain by Generalissimo Franco, the unhurried life of the Spanish heartland continued on the coast. The first tourist invasion of a Mediterranean resort by holidaymakers from Great Britain and Western Germany came in the 70s. In the coastal strip began the rapid development of leisure infrastructure. In 1972, in the town of Lloret de Mar, the Gran hotel Don Juan 3 was built. Spain sought to take a place along with the main tourist destinations in the world.

The city of Lloret de Mar is famous for its ecology. There is not a single industrial enterprise in it, and even the railway passes far from the resort streets. The surrounding Navarre Mountains prevent the penetration of winds into the coastal zone, and this affects the formation of a mild, warm climate in the resort enclave. The development of tourism in the last 70 years has become the main direction of business development in Lloret de Mar. Hotel complexes, vineyards appeared on the site of aristocratic mansions, and the fields gave way to amusement and gaming establishments. Hotel Don Juan 3 * is one of hundreds scattered in picturesque neighborhoods, among souvenir shops, shops and restaurants located on narrow winding streets.

Hotel

The hotel complex is located in three buildings (6-7 floors). The reconstruction of buildings carried out in 2014 improved the internal conveniences and comfort of the Don Juan Lloret 3 hotel (Spain). Guest reviews indicate full compliance of the complex with the level of 3 stars. 850 rooms of the standard double room category (16 m ² ) and 14 single rooms (14 m ² ) at the height of the tourist season accept up to 3 thousand guests. In addition, 9 well-appointed rooms are designed for people with disabilities. Conveniences and furnishings comply with generally accepted standards of hotel services:

• Sleeping places. Linen is changed twice a week, and towels are changed daily.
• Central air conditioning.
• Bath or shower.
• Heating.
• Telephone and satellite TV.
• Balcony.
• For tourists with children, a cot is provided for free in the room.

The complex operates a paid access to the Internet in a wired and wireless (wi-fi) connection configuration. In the room, at the request of residents, the installation of a safe is provided.

It offers guests - 2 outdoor fresh water pools and a heated indoor pool, designed for use from October to May. For business meetings, you can rent one of three conference rooms. There is a reading room for guests, car rental, a lounge for relaxation, a television room and a shopping gallery. For a fee, the Don Juan 3 * hotel offers guests to use the parking lot and qualified medical assistance, as well as massage services.

Hotel buildings are interconnected by internal passages, which increases the convenience in using the services provided at the hotel.

Entertainment

Although vacationers prefer to spend their free time on the beach, excursions or in city entertainment complexes, the hotel's leisure structure is always ready to receive guests. Free aerobics and aqua aerobics classes - for people who do not want to lose their athletic form even during leisure. Unusual petanque for Russia, the national Provencal game with balls. Free archery and a pneumatic shooting range - an attractive prospect to go back centuries to antiquity and experience the sharpness of the eye and hardness of the hand. Animation, which has become a tradition of Mediterranean relaxation, is a separate program for daytime and evening entertainment for guests and a professional evening pop show. And besides this, Gran hotel Don Juan 3 (Costa Brava) offers an expanded set of paid services for an interesting pastime: slot machines, billiards and a tennis court.

Separate offers are provided for guests with children to help parents diversify their leisure activities for young travelers. The hotel has a playground and a disco for young vacationers, an animation program is running. The outdoor pool has a safe children's section. From June to September, the club operates. Family tourism stands out as a priority in the development of the Don Juan Lloret 3 hotel (Spain). Reviews of parents about the level of staff training and the quality of services for children are uniquely positive - the hotel copes with the task of organizing family vacations.

Nutrition

Catering at the Don Juan 3 * hotel is noted by vacationers only on the positive side. The choice of dishes is extensive, and the quality of the products is not satisfactory. And the number of places where you can hastily have a bite to eat or have a hearty dinner is enough not to create queues during the busy summer period: 3 restaurants with international cuisine and a buffet, an open bar with a seating area and a snack bar on the terrace by the pool (it works in summer season). By purchasing a ticket to Don Juan 3 (Costa Brava), a tourist chooses a meal plan for himself on his own.

1. BB - the hotel provides the guest with a bed and breakfast. Meals are organized (in overwhelming cases) as a buffet. The choice of dishes with this scheme varies (depending on the country and hotel), however, it is noted that it is more abundant in the Mediterranean compared to the countries of Central Europe.
2. HB - Half board consisting of breakfast and dinner. It is organized, as a rule, in the form of the already mentioned "buffet" and additionally includes soft drinks. The purchase of alcohol is paid extra.
3. HB + is an extended half board option that includes free alcohol, mostly locally produced.
4. FB - a complete meal plan in which a vacationer receives breakfast, lunch and dinner. An extended offer is indicated by a “+” sign and adds paid alcohol to the FB.
5. AI - already became familiar to travelers all inclusive (all inclusive). The service offers the possibility of multiple meals without limiting the quantity and assortment (including alcoholic beverages).
6. RO - a budget scheme that does not include meals in the hotel Don Juan Lloret 3 *. Suitable for people who do not stay in the room and use the hotel exclusively as a place to sleep.

Tourists with children share positive reviews about the children's menu developed by the restaurant's chef, and supporters of vegetarian food celebrate a section of Mediterranean cuisine prepared especially for them.

Sea and beach

The story of the Catalan beaches is a separate topic in the description of holidays in Don Juan 3. Costa Brava is famous for its clean coastal recreation areas and crystal-pearl water. The coastline of the central city beach of Lloret de Mar is 1,500 meters. Locals tell legends about the caravans of ships of the ancient Romans and Iberians, who stopped on the hospitable shore to enjoy the peace and quiet of these places. The equipment of the city beach corresponds to the prevailing ideas about the organization of sea holidays: rental of sun loungers and umbrellas, catamarans and yachts, fast water skiing and diving. At the height of the high tourist season, the beach is noisy and crowded, the Costa Brava is a familiar holiday destination for Spanish and European youth.

For older people, another beach is better - Fenals, which is not visited by noisy youth companies. It is surrounded by cliffs overgrown with pine trees, which provide protection from the wind. The sea, like the rest of the coast, is clean. Entrance to the water on a 700-meter stretch of Fenals Beach is steep, without shallow water. Deep water begins already 2-3 meters after the coastline. There is also a pier for sightseeing boats that run between the nearest cities.

For parents and children, Sa Boadella beach is preferable - 250 meters of coastline surrounded by pristine forests. There are no noisy companies and dangerous entertainment. A gentle entry into clean water allows parents not to worry about children frolic in shallow water. Some minus can be considered the presence on the outskirts of the beach of nudists who have chosen a secluded and picturesque stretch of coast.

A distance of 400 meters separating the Don Juan Lloret 3 (Costa Brava) hotel from the nearest beach, vacationers walk along the picturesque shady street of medieval Lloret de Mar among souvenir shops, bars and small shops selling goods necessary for a vacation.

sights

Of interest is the history of the coast of Catalonia and the city of Lloret de Mar, in which the Don Juan 3 hotel is located. Costa Brava was inhabited in ancient times by Iberians, who appeared in these parts from nowhere. The history of the city’s origin is still unclear and covered in a veil of secrecy. For the first time the name Lloret was mentioned in chronicles dated 966. Until the XVIII century, Lloret de Mar lived in the rank of a secondary coastal settlement. In 1778, after a royal decree allowing free trade, the inhabitants of the city established shipping routes from America to Europe, and later succeeded in shipbuilding. At this time, rich mansions appeared, destroyed during the restructuring of the city in the XX century. But the tourism infrastructure did not absorb the millennial architectural and cultural heritage of the proud Catalans.

The postcard image of the city of Lloret de Mar - built in 1509-1522, the Church of St. Roman, located a few blocks from the Don Juan 3. Hotel guests always focus on visiting this monument of Catalan Gothic art.

From the windows of the hotel complex you can see another attraction of the city - a chapel in the Romanesque style de les Alegres, built in the XI century. In its original form, only the bell tower has survived to our time.

The charm of small cities with an ancient history is that during a walk a tourist plunges into the atmosphere of genuine antiquity. Walking along the narrow streets of Lloret de Mar, it is difficult to walk past the Can Zaragoza - the oldest building in the city. Formerly the home of the poor (built in 1317), it was later rebuilt into a luxurious summer residence. Today, an exposition telling about the history of the Iberian people is demonstrated here.

Active life

Architectural monuments are not the only thing that can interest the guests of the Don Juan 3 * hotel in Lloret de Mar. A variety of entertainments and excursions will satisfy any claims of vacationers.

1. The Botanical Garden of Pigna de Rosa. It was founded in 1945. The collection includes 7 thousand species of plants. The collection of prickly pears (the cactus family) unites 600 species - this is a unique, best in the world collection. Visiting Pigna de Rosa from February to October, tourists become witnesses to the pore of flowering cacti.
2. WaterWorld Waterpark. He opened the door to the first visitors in 1985. WaterWorld was a pioneer in the field of water parks in Spain. 15 attractions are located on 140 thousand m2, some of which are not represented in other water parks on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
3. A 15-minute drive from Lloret de Mar is another water park - Marineland. In addition to water activities, it has a dolphinarium, which hosts performances of trained sea lions and dolphins.
4. For lovers of fishing, trips to sea or river fishing are organized.

Culinary journey

A trip on vacation is comparable to a small personal discovery of the world in all its possible manifestations. The knowledge of the gastronomic civilization component is an indispensable condition for every trip. And the Mediterranean cuisine deserves careful study and tasting of tourists who have chosen the Hotel Don Juan 3. Spain has long been famous for culinary delights, and the menu of restaurants in Lloret de Mar confirms this.

A few blocks from the hotel complex is Bagua, a restaurant combining modern restaurant philosophy and a traditional Catalan culinary school. A spacious hall, an outdoor terrace, jazz music create an unobtrusive backdrop for enjoying delicious local cuisine.

Da Paolo is a culinary island of Italy, which has found shelter on the Spanish coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Traditional pasta, pizza and truffles. Stunning Italian salads of fresh vegetables and seafood. And it’s nice to see the sunset on the open terrace overlooking the sea, enjoying the freshest tiramisu or orange strudel.

Fans of Chinese cuisine will be delighted to drop by the Free WOK restaurant, and for enthusiasts of Latin American gastronomic delights it is recommended to visit Rodizio Papalus - barbecue, lamb with vegetables and beef on charcoal.

More than 200 bars and restaurants open their doors for tourists, creating a festive and carefree seaside atmosphere.

From Spain as a keepsake

The trip remains in memory in unpretentious trinkets reminiscent of a carefree vacation in Don Juan beach 3 *. Original Mediterranean souvenirs organically fit into the interior of a Russian house.

1. Figures of bulls and bullfighters. An absolute favorite among recognizable Spanish characters. At the resort, they get exact copies of posters advertising bullfighting. The name of the tourist can be included in the list of bullfighters.
2. Castanets. Amazingly stylish and sophisticated. It is difficult to become a virtuoso in using this instrument, but even one sound is enough to awaken the stream of Catalan memories.
3. Spanish fan. Made of lace, plastic, wood. With images of nature or genre scenes. On a hot day on the coast, he saves from sweltering heat, and during the winter Russian cold he is able to warm with warm memories.
4. Leather or ceramic products. Spanish artisans conquered the world with the originality and artistic diversity of these products.
5. Knives. Another world-recognized national pride of Spain. They are made in various forms: from precious metals inlaid with precious metals to paper knives, which are exact copies of famous works.
6. For fans of Spanish football clubs, a whole bunch of souvenir products - T-shirts, caps, scarves with the symbols of popular football teams.
7. And gourmets who want to extend the gastronomic holidays after returning home are advised to pay attention to jamon (jerky ham), cheeses, amazing olive oil and wine. The assortment of edible gifts is complemented by spices, tea and delicious Spanish sweets.

Souvenirs will help to keep in mind the impressions of another journey recorded in the personal human annals of the knowledge of the world. Another studied geographical point: Spain, Costa Brava, Lloret de Mar, Hotel Don Juan 3. Photos and souvenirs are like trophies acquired during the next tourist victory.

Road to the sea

The most convenient way to get to the Costa Brava is by air. Flight from Moscow (Domodedovo) to Barcelona Airport lasts 4 hours 35 minutes. Further, tourists use the services of bus operators. Flights to Lloret de Mar from the airport depart every hour, travel time - 1 hour 30 minutes. In addition to regular buses, minibuses and passenger taxis operate on the route.