The themeing in the Europa Park hotels really is very good.  This is the corridor leading into Hotel Santa Isabel from Hotel El Andaluz.  We were heading over there because I had persuaded my two friends that it would be better to try Portuguese food than the Italian that most of our group had chosen.

Fortunately, we decided to  check where the restaurant was before the time we had booked to eat.  (These restaurants get very busy, especially the fixed price buffet type ones)  I did not know at the time of booking that there were different prices for the different buffets, and when we got there we found that this was almost twice the price we had been expecting. It was more than we were prepared to pay, so we went back to reception in our hotel (El Andaluz) to cancel our reservation and discuss other options.  One of my friends really was not happy about eating late, and we found that the best option was to eat in the A la Carte Spanish Restaurant in out hotel who had a table available immediately.

Based on the experiences of our group, I believe we actually made the best choice.  Those who had eaten at the Italian Buffet had said that it was very limited in choice, and seemed disappointed.  And we had actually paid more or less the same for a 2 course meal and 2 beers.  Obviously, people are looking for different things from restaurants – and if you are looking to satisfy yourself with an all you want buffet then our choice would not suit you.

The hotels are of a 4* standard, and have all the features that you would expect of them.   But they are priced accordingly.  It’s not what I was looking for.  Of course, you do get the benefit of early entry.  It’s usually half an hour early, but due to this being the park’s 35th anniversary it was extended to 35 minutes.