Die Gastgeberin war sehr lieb und immer erreichbar. Die Wohnung ist sehr großzügig und es gibt alles was man braucht, z.B. Heizung, mehrere Heizlüfter, Trockner etc. Außerdem macht die Wohngegend einen sehr sicheren Eindruck. Auch die Busverbindung ist super.

Die Lage ist in Ordnung, aber das Gebiet westlich der Wohnung ist sehr dreckig und am Strand ist alles voll mit Müll, in Retamar ist es aber gepflegt. Leider ist der Warmwasserboiler nicht so groß, das ist schwierig wenn mehrere Personen im Winter warm duschen wollen. Wenn das Warmwasser verbraucht war, war auch kein kaltes Wasser mehr verfügbar und es dauert einige Zeit bis man wieder Wasser hat.

Lovely big ground floor apartment with two terraces (front and back), great access to the onsite pool (didn't use this though), well-equiped kitchen, excellent free wi-fi and complete with freezer, washing machine and dryer plus everything you could need for a great family holiday. The beds were extremely comfortable and the complex was generally quiet so sleeping not a problem. The apartment is within a large complex and appears to have a mix of holiday homes and residential accommodation. Very secure and the free onsite parking is a major plus point as there isn't a huge amount of on-street parking available. Communication from the owner and keyholder was excellent and we particularly appreciated the call a few days prior to our arrival to check the details and ask if we had any questions or needed advice about the area. El Toyo/Retamar itself - purpose-built holiday resort, with wide roads, clear signposts and lots of parks, cycle tracks etc so it's very green and has a lovely boardwalk/promenade along the seafront. It's around a 2km walk (flat ground) from the apartment to the centre of Retamar itself, and there are some excellent restaurants there, plus beaches, bars etc etc. Closer to the apartment is an excellent little general store/tiny supermarket (open all hours) selling fresh bread and a small café on the next block as well - both came in very useful.

We stayed over the Easter weekend, so right at the start of the season and there were couple of niggles with the bathrooms, but nothing major and didn't spoil our enjoyment. Although relatively close to the beach, the apartment complex was a bit further from the centre of the resort than we expected, but no doubt the walking did us good. There are no big supermarkets nearby (there's smaller ones in Retamar itself) so as the apartments are self-catering, be aware that there will be travelling involved in any large food shopping expedition. However, the bus to Almeria stops right outside the gate so this could be an option (we saw plenty of people doing exactly this).

The owner was excellent.

Not all the beds required were made despite being told and the booking clear. We made the bed and the bedding smelt very bad and clearly unwashed. None of the beds were well made, sheets were not ironed or tucked in. Gave a very bad first impression. We waited over 20 minutes for the manager to give us the keys after a 6 hour drive. We arrived at exactly the time we said and gave regular updates. We were told there was a lift by the owner and then told by the person who gave us the keys there was no lift. It didn't have cable TV or we were not given the information. We were not told or shown where to throw the rubbish and it is not in an easy to spot place. It would have been helpful to be told. We then received unprofessional messages from the manager 4 days after we left asking about the keys. She should not use our number but contact the owner.