Hotel Montera Plaza

You arrive here for space, air conditioning and a room with somewhere to sit outside, rather than for a hotel built around a beach promenade. Hotel Montera Plaza stands at the entrance to the Andalusian village of Los Barrios, with a seasonal outdoor pool, a garden and a restaurant that puts local cooking on the table. It is the sort of place that works when your day includes more than one plan: diving nearby, a ferry from Algeciras, a drive towards Gibraltar or simply an evening that involves food and a chair.

The hotel has 64 rooms and is set up for both leisure and business stays, with broad public areas, a fitness centre and seven meeting rooms. That gives the place a useful, grown-up feel. You can use the pool and garden when the weather behaves, retreat to a soundproofed room when it does not, and rely on the café-bar when the day has run on longer than planned.

Spanish is the language of the hotel's website. The hotel itself sits in a small village rather than in a resort strip, so your choice here is about location and practical comfort: close enough to the coast and port, but with Los Barrios around you rather than a row of beachfront hotels.

The real address is Los Barrios, Spain, on Avda. Carlos Cano, at the entrance to the village and in the Campo de Gibraltar. The hotel describes its setting as being in the heart of Los Alcornocales Natural Park, while the coast and Algeciras remain a short drive away. This is inland positioning with easy access to the water, not a hotel where you step straight from the lobby onto sand.

Rinconcillo Beach is about 4.3 miles away by car, with a drive of roughly six minutes. Playa de Guadarranque is about 5 miles away and takes around eight minutes by car. Algeciras port, with ferry connections to Morocco and Ceuta, is about 15 minutes away, and the Gibraltar border is about 9 miles from the hotel.

Los Barrios railway station is about 1.9 miles away, around four minutes by car or 36 minutes on foot. Gibraltar International Airport is about 14 miles away by road, with a drive of roughly 22 minutes. Around the hotel, you can reach several cafés and restaurants on foot, including Cafetería La Tati and Mejorana Tapas, both roughly half a mile away.

The rooms are designed for recovery rather than theatrical arrival: air conditioning for hot Andalusian nights, parquet flooring, a balcony and satellite television. Soundproofing matters here if you are trying to sleep properly between early starts and late dinners. Heating is also available for the cooler months, and daily housekeeping keeps the practical side of the stay in order.

For two divers, the Double or Twin Room is the straightforward choice, with either a double arrangement or twin beds depending on the booking. If separate beds are the sensible option after a day in a wetsuit, you can keep it simple. The balcony gives you a place to sit with a drink or let the room breathe; it is not presented as a dedicated dive-gear area, so your equipment remains a matter for the dive centre rather than the bedroom.

Travelling as three, you can look at the room with an extra bed or the Triple Room, depending on the sleeping arrangement you prefer. Couples wanting more room can choose a Junior Suite, which adds considerably more space and comes with a jacuzzi and hydro-massage shower. That is the one for the evening when a normal shower feels like an administrative error.

Family rooms are available, and children of any age are welcome. Cots and extra beds can be requested, with the final arrangement depending on the room selected. The lift, accessible facilities and non-smoking rooms add useful practicality for a mixed-age group or anyone who would rather not turn stairs into another daily exercise session.

The restaurant covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you have a proper in-house option when the idea of getting back into a car after a long day has lost its charm. The cooking is local in style, with seafood, meats and a range of rice dishes on the menu. Mediterranean influences are part of the hotel's description, but the useful detail is what reaches the plate: rice, fish and meat rather than a vague promise of regional flavour.

A terrace gives the restaurant an outdoor setting, while the café-bar has its own terrace overlooking the pool. There is also a bar, a coffee house and a snack bar, which gives you several levels of commitment: a full meal, something smaller, or just coffee while you decide whether the evening has enough energy left in it.

Breakfast can be served in your room, and packed lunches are available for days when the timetable is tighter than the menu. Room service is also available. Special-diet menus can be requested, and fruit and wine or champagne are offered as additional food-and-drink options. The hotel does not set out a fixed board formula here, so you should choose the arrangement attached to your room booking rather than assume that every meal is included.

The main place to switch off is the seasonal outdoor pool, surrounded by a broad garden. It is a saltwater pool, with sun loungers, chairs and umbrellas around it. You can spend an afternoon there without having to invent an excursion, which is sometimes the correct decision after several days of early starts and wet kit.

For something more purposeful, the fitness centre is open around the clock. Hiking, cycling and bike tours are available, while windsurfing, canoeing and fishing are listed among the activities associated with the stay. Some take place away from the hotel, so this is a base for getting out rather than a self-contained activity resort. Walking tours and temporary art galleries offer gentler alternatives when you want to see a little of the area without committing to another full day in the sun.

Evenings can include live music, themed dinner nights and live sports broadcasts. Families have a children's pool, a playground, board games and puzzles, with babysitting and children's meals available as additional services. For a couple, the appeal is simpler: pool, garden, terrace and dinner, with the option of doing absolutely nothing more ambitious than moving from one chair to another.

You can check in from 14:00 until midnight and check out between 07:00 and 12:00. Bring photo identification and the payment card used for the booking, and tell the hotel your expected arrival time. The front desk operates around the clock, with private check-in and check-out, luggage storage, concierge support, a tour desk and currency exchange.

Private parking is available on site, with a parking garage, and a reservation is not needed. Car hire is available at the hotel, which is useful in this part of the Campo de Gibraltar: the beaches, Algeciras port, Gibraltar and the surrounding natural areas are spread out rather than gathered around one pedestrian centre. An airport shuttle is also available and can be arranged with the hotel.

Wi-Fi is available throughout the property, and laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services are available for the practical aftermath of travel. The hotel also has a lift, facilities for disabled guests, air conditioning and heating. The railway station at Los Barrios is about 1.9 miles away, while Gibraltar International Airport is about 14 miles by road.

Children are welcome, with family rooms and extra-bed arrangements available according to the selected room. Check-in is for guests aged 18 or over, pets are not allowed, and cash is not accepted. Those details are worth sorting before arrival, particularly if your trip combines diving, a ferry crossing or a late airport transfer.