Hotel Rural Las Calas

Fantastic, characterful place with great rooms and an unusual operating model that takes a bit of getting used to... We were particularly puzzled by the access procedure which (for us) involved waiting for some other guests returning so that we could get inside to find our own access details the other side of the locked external door. Very strange... That aside, everything else was perfectly to our taste though we did not have time to fire up the sauna in the pool area. Catering was good and was of the 'this is what we'ver prepared, we hope you like it' school. Thankfully we did. Room was charming and comfortable off an upstairs terrace. Everone we met was helpful and friendly. Would certainly drop by again. It is certainly truse that there is not much to recommend the immediately surrounding area but the walk down into San Mateo is pretty and downhill. Definitely a taxi to return I would say.

The hotel is located behind a modern housing development in an enclosed compound. Once inside the tight compound it is pleasant but the lack of outlook doesn't give it a rural feel. We tried to book dinner in advance for 19.30 but were told we needed to be there at 19.00 but a local restaurant would be open for dinner until late. We rushed from the airport to arrive for 19.00 but on arrival were told, along with another guest, that dinner was not available as the single member of staff leaves at 20.00. the local restaurant was firmly closed. We booked a junior suite which turned out to be a room about 5m x 5m, very dark as two of the windows were only 20cm from a stone wall. The bathroom was dated. We asked about an alternative and were shown a glass fronted room that was by the entrance, essentially adjacent to reception, it was light but the bathroom was upstairs and there was nowhere to sit outside so we stayed put in the dark room. We had dinner in the hotel on the second night, set dinner, greeny/brown soup, diced chicken with couscous, breakfast v simple continental breakfast with good coffee. Although we had booked and paid for 3 nights, we left after two nights. Staff were very nice but clearly the manager was absent.

This hotel could be great but it falls down in too many critical areas. We arrived at night and the hotel is basically unmanned - just keys in a box. It was 6 degrees when we arrived and we were cold and wet. One room had no heating at all. The other was just warm enough (although damp). There was no hot water at all. The hotel is pretty and has character. The breakfast is decent and the staff we saw at breakfast were friendly. However that doesn’t make up for the fact that we were all cold, damp and fairly miserable. There is a communal area that is unheated and again unstaffed. There is a wood burner but it was never lit (presumably we could do this ourselves but as there was no staff to ask who knows). I’ve stayed in winter mountain hotels before and I would expect a roaring fire when you come back cold and wet).

The website makes this hotel look so much nicer than it is. It has the potential to be beautiful but it is run down and not looked after. When we arrived, there was a poo from another guest in our toilet. Unflushed. The hotel isn't manned, there are staff around in the morning to cook breakfast - these women are lovely and do a great job but there is no-one else otherwise unless they are requested to cook dinner by a guest. The rooms are cold and damp, there is not hot water, just lukewarm. We asked staff at breakfast and also emailed to try and fix this - but nothing. A staff member showed us how hot the water gets, it is indeed just lukewarm. I am staying in one of the bedrooms above the dining area and the walls are so thin that I can hear the guests in the room next door using their loo in great detail, their conversations and even what programmes they are watching. I'm really p*ssed off about this entire experience - we've paid hundreds of pounds to stay here and feel thoroughly ripped off. It's telling that other guests at breakfast were having similar conversations and there are few recent reviews online - a lesson learnt on my part. I've never, ever given a place a 2* review but this is really terrible. The ground and hotel have the potential to be amazing and it's such a shame to see this go to waste.

Booked this hotel based on the positive reviews but have just finished our 2 night stay feeling a bit confused. Pros first: if you have a car it's a good location to explore the mountains away from the tourists at the coastal resorts. Lovely friendly staff and it's certainly a quirky place with interesting buildings and gardens. Room was comfortable enough and large (though not luxurious). Honesty bar and pool area were fine. Cons: I hate to say anything negative about an independent business that must have been affected by COVID, but these were simple things that should really be improved. Firstly the breakfast was so disappointing and in no way justified the extra cost. Previous reviews suggested this was a strong point so I can only guess that this service is reduced due to social distancing or something - but if this is the case, other hotels and restaurants on the island have handled COVID restrictions so much better. Breakfast consisted of a small bowl of stale cereal, stale bread, cheese and some old fruit. No buffet, no pastries, no eggs/cooked options, no fresh fruit (some of these things are advertised on the hotel website). I would have expected this at a basic walking hostel, not a hotel at this price point. Other minor issues: - The whole place feels quite cramped, partly because the gardens whilst nice and green are quite overgrown and need some attention - We were not offered the option of an evening meal, again I guess the kitchens were closed for COVID reasons but I'm not sure why this needs to be the case. The nearest restaurants are 10 minutes drive away in San Mateo. - No handsoap or drinking water provided in rooms - WiFi just didn't work the whole time we were there and a sign near the rooms states that WiFi access cannot be guaranteed. Thank you to the lovely owner/manager for having us despite this, it was difficult to discuss the above due to the language barrier but it was nice to meet you. Unfortunately we were quite disappointed but hopefully some of these things can be improved for future guests.