Renovated over the past 5 years, Hotel Puchet offers all-year, modern, three-star accommodation in a central location and elicits high satisfaction ratings among Spotlight clients and the major hotel comparison sites. Travellers particularly commend the level of service and location.
TIP: Book through Puchet's own website to get free breakfast and free shuttle service (with stays of more than 6 nights) from and to the airport.
Street side service
At the front of the hotel, the street side cafeteria offers coffees, cooked breakfasts and a selection of gourmet burgers in a variety of worldly flavours. Although not sampled by us, the menu and the colourful furniture tempt you to stop and indulge after a long night out and a missed breakfast.
Sipping cocktails in front of the hotel
For a large hotel so close to a main road, Puchet is surprisingly quiet inside. Five buildings of the complex form a courtyard, surrounding the central pool terrace and isolating the guests from the hubbub outside. The pool is large and the snack/cocktail bar is open all day, providing sustenance to the thirsty guests. Sure the pool bar music caters for the younger guests, but it isn't overly loud and the bar staff and security guards are very friendly. The cocktails are basic but cheap and the beer is plentiful!
Sunset on the balcony
The courtyard also comprises the gym and a convenient supermarket. The gym has all the necessary equipment for a decent work out and the supermarket is well-stocked with snacks, booze and ice that you can take back to your room to enjoy when the bar is closed, after 9pm. They even provide an interesting range of his or hers stag do essentials!
The bar just next to reception
Spacious suites
Our room was an enormous junior suite with a double and a single bed. It would be comfortable for a group of three although it also might be possible to make extra single beds from the fold out armchairs.
Throughout the hotel the rooms have been modernised and are decorated in a simple, contemporary style offering everything the experienced traveller expects: cleanliness, air-conditioning, free Wi-Fi, firm beds, a large flat screen TV, fridge and a good size balcony. Our bathroom was also very spacious with a large walk-in shower.
The large walk-in shower
Special theme nights
On entering the dining hall we were greeted by a jovial ‘maitre d' who was trying valiantly to get diners to join in with the 'Mexican Night' theme. Soft Mariachi music was played in a rather sober environment but the manager encouraged the guests to get in the mood by wearing sombreros and having some fun snaps taken as mementos.
Evening food is basic buffet fare. Many dishes and deserts are available, of which the outstanding serving was a tuna steak with fresh salad and some nachos with salsa, guacamole and a spicy guindilla (pickled green chilli) on the side. A waitress is always on hand to top you up with drinks.
Plenty of delicious options at the buffet
Sitting on the balcony in the evening, sharing a bottle of Amaretto from the shop, we overlooked the tables of the pool bar that were occupied by many of the guests. Nothing was unacceptably loud and their friendly chatter, in many languages, created a pleasant atmosphere, not unlike a busy Italian piazza. However, once back inside behind closed doors, very little sound of the outside life made it into the room. In fact, I settled down to one of the deepest and most satisfying sleeps I've had in a long while!
Having almost missed breakfast at 9:45, it is difficult to be entirely objective as the service was almost over and the clear up had begun. Nevertheless there were all the staples of a typical breakfast buffet: a range of cereals, breads, fruits, juices and all the cooked elements necessary to assemble a proper fry up.
Puchet is not exactly a family-orientated hotel, although the suites would be quite adequate for a family with young children. It caters mainly for groups of younger tourists or business travellers who require flexible accommodation and wish to be near to the centre of the Sant Antoni action. Puchet is also very convenient out of season, as it is open from March to December. Bookings can be made directly with the hotel for any number of nights, from one night B&B to longer packages.
PHOTOS | Peter Young
