El Balsamo Hotel Boutique 5 Estrellas

Perfect hotel.. very quiet village and great castle. Would recommend. 1 issues was the steps in the cave pool where I fell and hurt my leg. Everything else 100/10

One of the most beautiful and calmest experiences in my stay in Spain, with my partner we came from an exhausting padel sports trip and we wanted to relax , the kindness of all the people, the desire to make you feel comfortable...... They put their body and soul into everything. I congratulate them, the place is beautiful, the breakfast, the details of the rooms, everything is a 10. Thank you Majo, for your attention and keep it up, you shine!!

I usually don't leave bad reviews when the staff is nice (which was the case here: the staff is very friendly!), but I must admit I was disappointed with my stay and I am surprised to notice that the other reviewers didn't make any comments on the points that made my stay less memorable. Firstly, I believe the cave pool is what attracts most of the guests. Two remarks, however: (I) we were not aware that you could only book the pool for 1 hour. For us, this meant that we would only be able to enjoy the cave pool before breakfast the day after our 1 night stay. I appreciate the opportunity to privately enjoy the pool, but this should have been clarified clearly when making the booking so we could have made an advance reservation. Also, although there were barely any rooms booked when we stayed over, the hotel didn't offer us more time in the cave pool (actually don't really understand why it was so difficult for us to book a time slot). I felt a bit deceived. (II) In the end, one hour was more than enough for me, because the water was far from 34°C (much colder). It was cool, but definitely not comfortable to use the pool Secondly, the breakfast was very meager. I can definitely confirm that the quality of the products was very, very good, but the breakfast was far from abundant. I am known for not eating a lot, and I even left the table hungry. It is not a buffet, so you couldn't get any extras and we weren't offered any either (they served you a certain portion and that was it). Proportionally, the breakfast wasn't too expensive, but I had definitely expected more from a 5 star hotel and would have been happy to pay extra for a breakfast that was at least filling. Thirdly, the room. (I) Our room did not have an actual window. Honestly, I think having a window that allows to let in fresh air is a very, very basic facility. I agree that the hotel is too beautiful not to make use of every opportunity to offer rooms, so I am not saying that these rooms shouldn't be offered. I do find, however, that this should be clearly clarified when making a booking and that rooms that don't have an outside window should be cheaper. I've only had 1 other hotel room in my life that didn't have an outside window, but it was a 0 star basic place in Vietnam, not a 5 star hotel in Western Europe. When you book, I recommend to ask for a room with a window if you prefer sunlight too.(II) Many of the products in our room's minibar were expired (by weeks, not days). I unfortunately think this properly represents the attention to detail. (III) Very basic interior. Lastly, the pool outside was closed because "it was winter". Mind you, it was 26°C outside. Fully understand it if the pool would be colder than is ideal (after all, the nights are indeed colder than in July), but at least I would have liked the option to enjoy the water, even if it was just for 10minutes. Once again, the website did not mention that the pool would be closed (or if it does, it's not clear, because I didn't see it anywhere when I booked). For clarity: I gave 3 stars for location because the hotel is very pretty, but there is nothing much to do in the area at all. The hotel didn't have enough to offer to make up for that. I want to be truthful and therefore want to (re)confirm the many positive sides to our stay: the staff was very kind and helpful (although you should take into account that English is notttt an option), the hotel was absolutely beautiful (I believe I took a picture of every corner haha), the room we had was very clean, the breakfast was of high quality and the cave pool remains super cool. I do not regret my stay, but don't really understand how this is a 5 star accommodation (feel free to verify the requirements, they are very high) and would not book it again for the price. I am definitely not discouraging other people to go: it's a memorable experience! I do however care about transparency and would have enjoyed my stay more if I had known all of the above (or I wouldn't have booked at all). Hope this helps!