H10 Vintage Salou

Originally the Europa Park Hotel, Spain's H10 hotel brand picked up this large 30-year-old hotel and helped bring it into its current, more modern incarnation. Funky floor tiles, a wooden reception desk, and blue-and-taupe canvas lobby furniture give the entryway a cozy, vintage feel. The four-pearl hotel is brightly lit and blends the rustic with the modern throughout the public areas, feeling appropriate for the seaside city location. Families are drawn here for its daily scheduled child-friendly activities, including an outdoor playground, small "Daisy Club" house, and splash pool. However, as Standard Rooms are on the smaller side for those with strollers and large bags, couples traveling light are also frequent guests.

Salou is a small Spanish beach town near Tarragona and Reus, a little over an hour train ride from Barcelona. The hotel itself is located in downtown Salou, within a 10-minute walk from many of its key attractions, including Llevant Beach (nine minutes), Font Lluminosa (eight minutes), and the Passeig de Jaume I promenade (seven minutes). It's a quick six-minute drive to the city's popular PortAventura theme park, Costa Caribe Aquatic Park, convention centre, and resort. A nine-minute drive to the Salou train station makes it easy to reach Tarragona and its UNESCO World Heritage-designated Tarraco ruins -- expect the train ride to take around 15 minutes. Reus Airport is the nearest, and takes 15 to 25 minutes to reach by car, depending on traffic. Alternatively, Barcelona-El Prat Airport is about an hour away by car.

The hotel's rooms are simple and minimally designed in dark woods, whites, and occasional patterning. While Standard Rooms are small and lack much in the way of decor (including older dark wood furniture), all rooms are generally a fresh step up from the frequently dated resorts in Salou. Upgraded rooms add additional patterned or colored tiles and some have extra floor space with a small sitting area -- the rustic contemporary furniture and decorative tiling also make them more attractive than lower category rooms. All rooms come with a balcony, terrace, or patio with seating and a view of either the pool or the distant mountains. Poolside rooms can get noise from the busy roundabout nearby, while mountainside rooms don't get much sunlight.All rooms are air-conditioned and include 32-inch flat-screen TVs and free WI-Fi. There is a fee for an electric kettle and the safes require a refundable deposit to use. While the bathrooms have cool frosted glass doors, they don't fill the frame of the door, meaning there's a lack of privacy that may not sit well with all guests. They're equipped with a bidet, hairdryer, and either a stall shower or shower/tub combos, which come with rainfall showerheads in higher category rooms. Additionally, some of the bathroom tiling in the Standard Room that we visited could use an overhaul. 

While the hotel is quite large, there aren't a ton of features on-site, and some are surprisingly small or underwhelming. An outdoor pool is available for guests, though it's a bit compact for the size of the hotel, and lounge chairs are hard to come by in the high season. A children's splash pool with umbrella fountain is a nice kid-friendly addition, as is the Daisy Clubhouse, an outdoor playground, and various scheduled activities throughout the day. Les Vinyes Restaurant, which has a poolside terrace, serves Mediterranean buffets with show-cooking stations. Breakfast is free and includes healthy options along with typical hot and cold choices. The Aqua Bar with a poolside terrace and the Azucar Bar and Cafe in the lobby are great for a quick bite or drink. There's a bicycle rental and repair shop for guests that even offers special laundry packages for large cyclist groups. An on-site gym can be accessed via a key from the front desk with a refundable deposit, and a treatment room provides massages for a fee. A meeting room is available for rent with a max capacity of 120 people for events. Free Wi-Fi is provided throughout the hotel. There is no private carpark on-site, but public parking can be found nearby.