Hotel El Palmeral

This is a family-run three-star hotel for divers who would rather spend their time between the beach, the pool and the promenade than in a grand lobby explaining the thread count. Hotel El Palmeral puts the practical bits in the right places: air-conditioned rooms, balconies, a buffet restaurant, a poolside bar and a sun terrace.

The tone is relaxed and family-oriented, with an outdoor pool, a smaller pool for children and a garden area for slowing down properly. You also get free Wi-Fi throughout the property, a shared lounge with television, and board games for the moments when conversation has run out but bedtime has not yet arrived.

English is available through the hotel's website, alongside Spanish, German and French. That tells you which international guests the hotel is set up to welcome, although the available information does not identify the languages spoken by the hotel team.

Benidorm is the setting, on Spain's Costa Blanca, and Poniente Beach is about 25 metres away. The access to the beach is direct, so you can be from your room to the sand with very little ceremony — useful when the day's main ambition is a swim, a book and not much else. Sun loungers and parasols are available on the beach.

The surrounding area gives you plenty of ways to leave the hotel without turning the outing into an expedition. Restaurants are within roughly 150 to 350 metres, while Cala Finestrat Beach is about 1 mile away. Terra Mítica railway station is around 1.2 miles away on foot, and the old-town side of Benidorm, including Boca del Calvari Museum and Plaza Mayor Square, lies roughly 1.5 miles away.

For a change of scenery, Sierra Helada Natural Park is about 3.7 miles from the hotel. Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is around 26 miles away in direct distance, or about 34 miles by road.

The rooms are bright and practical, with tiled floors, air conditioning, a balcony, a desk and a flat-screen television with satellite channels. That gives you the essentials for a proper recovery after a day in the water: cool air, somewhere to sit, and a balcony for letting the evening in without having to go anywhere.

For two people, the Double or Twin Room keeps things simple with two single beds, while the garden-view versions make more sense if you prefer looking onto greenery rather than the wider resort scene. The Twin Room with Extra Bed and the Double Room with Garden View are the options to consider when three people need to share. The Single Room is the compact choice when you are travelling alone and would rather not pay for unused bed space.

Private bathrooms come with a bath or shower, towels, toiletries, a bidet and a hairdryer. There is also a wardrobe, linen and a safe available subject to an additional charge. Upper floors can be reached by lift, and the hotel has non-smoking rooms throughout.

The hotel has a buffet restaurant, with breakfast served in continental buffet style. For a diver, that is the useful sort of arrangement: you can build a proper plate before heading out, rather than gambling on a single pastry carrying you through the morning. Packed lunches can also be requested for days when you are away from the table for longer than planned.

There is a poolside bar, as well as a snack bar and an on-site coffee house. One bar is specifically identified as poolside; the other food-and-drink facilities give you somewhere to settle with a coffee or a small bite without changing into expedition clothing.

Dinner is not served at the hotel. If you book half board, the arrangement covers breakfast and lunch, so you should plan your evening meal in Benidorm or at one of the nearby restaurants. Drinks taken with meals are not included in meal plans.

The outdoor pool is the obvious place to land when the sea has done its work, with a separate children's pool for family stays. A solarium, sun terrace, garden and outdoor furniture give you several versions of the same excellent post-dive plan: sit down and stop moving for a while.

The direct beach access makes a second swim easy, while the hotel's tour desk can help turn a non-diving day into a boat trip, an island visit, a waterfall outing, a market visit or a snorkelling excursion. Those choices cover both the genuinely active and the lightly committed. You can also reach Las Rejas Benidorm Golf Club in about five minutes by car, with the golf course within 3 km of the hotel.

For quieter evenings, the shared lounge has a television and board games are available. There is no need to manufacture an itinerary here; the beach is close, the pool is on site, and the promenade starts doing the entertaining for you.

Check-in runs from 16:00 to midnight, and check-out is from 08:00 to 12:00. You need photo identification and the card used for the booking on arrival; guests aged 14 or over must present valid identification, with copies and photographs not accepted. Cash is not accepted at the hotel.

Parking is available on site and must be reserved. An electric-vehicle charging station is also available. The 24-hour reception can arrange wake-up service, while luggage storage, a tour desk and a lift make the practical side of arrival and departure less awkward. Wi-Fi is free in all areas.

Children of any age are welcome, with cots available on request and subject to availability. Pets are allowed, and the hotel accepts them subject to its pet policy. Bookings combining three or more rooms are not accepted under the hotel's group policy, and parties or events are not allowed. The hotel is non-smoking throughout.