Dorma Gaudea Santa Pola

If your ideal dive trip includes a real town rather than a sealed-off resort, Hotel Dorma Gaudea Santa Pola makes a sensible base. You have a restaurant and bar in the building, a rooftop pool for a post-dive float, and the beach within walking distance. It is the sort of arrangement that lets you keep the day simple: water, food, shower, sleep, repeat.

The hotel has 84 rooms, including family rooms, with air conditioning, private bathrooms, free WiFi, a desk, minibar and television. The website is available in French, Spanish, Russian and Italian, so it is set up for those language groups even though no hotel staff language is specified.

You are in Santa Pola, not Alicante, on Calle Elche. Levante Beach is about 0.4 miles away on foot, roughly a seven-minute walk, while Gran Playa is around 0.6 miles away. Sun loungers and parasols are available at the beach, which makes a short return from the sea rather more civilised than a full expedition with a towel under your arm.

The immediate area gives you options when you fancy eating elsewhere. Cafetería Calima is about 0.1 miles away, and The Belfry, Laico C.B., La Casa del Vino, Cafetería Chapí and Gallo Rojo are also close by. Santa Pola Salt Museum is around 1 mile away, giving you an easy land-based diversion when your surface interval needs to last all day.

Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is approximately 5 miles away, with a driving time of around 14 minutes. Murcia–San Javier Airport is about 31 miles away, while Region de Murcia International Airport is around 39 miles from the hotel.

The room setup is straightforward rather than theatrical, which is no bad thing when you have spent several hours in salt water. Air conditioning helps you cool down, the minibar gives you somewhere for a cold drink, and the desk provides a practical place for paperwork, cameras or the small collection of objects that somehow accumulates after every dive. WiFi is free throughout the hotel.

Family rooms give you a sensible option when you are travelling with children or sharing the trip with relatives. Children of any age are welcome, and cots can be requested for children aged two and under. There are no extra beds, so the sleeping arrangement matters: check the selected room carefully rather than assuming that a standard room will expand to accommodate everyone.

Private bathrooms and non-smoking rooms keep the basics in order. A lift serves the building, and heating is available for cooler nights. Check-in starts from 15:00 and check-out runs until 12:00, leaving you a little room for a slow final morning rather than forcing you out before breakfast has properly happened.

The hotel restaurant works with Mediterranean cuisine and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is a buffet, which suits a diving day better than a precious little plate that disappears before you have found your mask strap. You can eat without leaving the building, useful when the body has voted for food and the legs have voted for bed.

There is also a bar for drinks, with wine and champagne available. Special-diet menus can be requested. The available information does not set out a continuous snack service, room service or a late-dining option, so plan your return from the boat with the restaurant’s meal periods in mind rather than relying on an all-day grazing arrangement.

Santa Pola also gives you a change of scene without requiring a taxi. Several cafés, bars and restaurants are only a few minutes away on foot, so you can keep dinner in-house or make a short evening stroll part of the routine.

The rooftop pool and sun terrace are the obvious place to park yourself once the wetsuit has been dealt with. There is also an outdoor pool, plus terraces and outdoor seating for those moments when you want a chair, a drink and no further decisions. The hotel supplies the ingredients for a quiet afternoon without pretending that you need an organised programme.

For a more deliberate recovery session, the spa includes massages, facial treatments, a hammam, sauna, jacuzzi, mud bath and body wraps. That is a useful menu after several days of repetitive entry ladders and boat benches. You also have a fitness centre if your idea of relaxing involves a treadmill; nobody will judge, although the pool is probably making the stronger argument.

Away from the hotel, the beach is close enough for a swim or a walk, while windsurfing, snorkelling and fishing are available in the surrounding area. The tour desk can help with local plans, and luggage storage is available when your room is not yet ready or your flight leaves after check-out.

A shuttle service to the airport is available and can be arranged with the hotel. Private parking is available on site, with a reservation required. Free WiFi covers all areas, and the front desk operates around the clock, which is useful when flights and dive schedules refuse to behave like civilised creatures.

Check-in runs from 15:00 to midnight, and you should give the hotel your expected arrival time. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in. Check-out is available until 12:00. Private check-in and check-out, luggage storage, a tour desk and a reception safe add a few practical edges to the stay.

Children can stay, with cots available on request for the youngest travellers. The minimum age for check-in is 18, pets are not allowed, and parties or events are not permitted. Visa, Mastercard and cash are accepted.