Booked through Opodo and was rather concerned about our booking being honoured, but everyone at the hotel couldn't have been more helpful. A great location, convenient for the beach and the Third St Promenade. Room was spacious, with a well equipped kitchen and good ceiling fans. The real highlight is the large pool in the centre of the courtyard - big enough for adults to have a short swim. We didn't need it, but there seemed to be lots of parking spaces which could be useful to some people. Comfortable main bed and a reasonable sofabed, good clean linens and a useful vending machine.

Yes, it's not brand new, and has seen better days. But traveling with two children, a one year old and a seven year old, it was perfect. Spacious, with kitchen facilities (great not to have to eat all our meals in restaurants, especially with the one year old, who tends to loose her patience rather quickly), a comfortable king size bed and a comfortable sofa bed for the seven year old. The cleaning personnel did a great job, not only cleaning the apartment according to standard, but going out of their way to make us feel special, arranging towels in creative ways and making the one year old's travel cot more cosy and comfortable with blankets and pillows. The pool was heated and provided a nice break from sightseeing and shopping for our seven year old. The location is outstanding; two blocks from Third Street Promenade, and with shops open as late as 10-11 pm, one of us adults could easily pop over to do a few hours of shopping after the children's bedtime.

On the negative side, though, the dumpsters in the alley were indeed a source of noise, all through the night. If you're not supersensitive about noise, you shold be OK. I do tend to get annoyed and distracted by unpleasant noises, but I managed just fine.

I stayed at the Cal Mar Hotel over the 4th of July holiday and thought that some of the furnishings could be updated, the rooms were clean and the staff and front desk were exceptionally friendly. The location was ideal for shopping and we were just steps from the beach.

The pool and garden area were very relaxing and really appealing. We would definitely stay again as it is child friendly and easily accessible.

I highly recommend that you do not stay at this hotel. It is in need of a major overhaul. We had a room on the 2nd floor, so we didn't hear the noise that others have described, but this place has a lot of problems. Many things are broken - the deadbolt, the TV in the bedroom, a slat from the vertical blinds lay on the floor. The bathroom is so small that when you open the door it hits the toilet! The sink and toilet are light blue and the water pressure stinks. We had a unit with 2 double beds in the bedroom.. They were tiny! There is no a/c and it's a fairly noisy place so you feel like you should close the windows at night. Unlike the last poster, our unit was pretty clean. But the price (after they zap you for the parking and extra people) is not that great. I also didn't think the location was that great - except for the 3rd st promenade. I would have preferred being on the other side of the pier, and closer to the beach.