Cheapest beach town in Spain labelled ‘council estate with sun’

• Spain’s Torrevieja and Cartagena offer three to four-star hotel stays for under £80 a night 
• The destinations both featured in a recent Which? traveller survey of 28 Spanish seaside towns  
• Torrevieja scored 60 per cent and Cartagena trounced it with an overall score of 80 per cent 
• Would YOU visit either city? Vote in our poll below… 
• READ MORE: Couple driven out of 5-star resort five days early, claiming it had ‘foul’ sewage smell

In the market for a bargain-basement seaside holiday in Spain?

Two of the country’s cheapest coastal tourist towns offer three to four-star hotel stays for under £80 a night. But it’s a tale of two cities.

The cheapest, Torrevieja, has been slammed as a ‘horrific council estate with sun’ with ‘”Del Boy” street vendors’, and the other, Cartagena, praised as ‘amazing’.

The destinations both featured in a recent Which? traveller survey of 28 Spanish seaside towns, with Torrevieja scoring 60 per cent and Cartagena trouncing it with an overall score of 80 per cent.

For the study, as well as issuing overall scores, the consumer champion invited those polled to score the Spanish seaside towns on 11 criteria including the quality of the beach and seafront, safety, food and drink, accommodation, and value for money. 

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TORREVIEJA 

Hotel stays in Torrevieja – in the Alicante region, which is also home to Benidorm and Villajoyosa – average just £77 a night. But this didn’t help lift its rating for value for money – just two stars. Attractiveness, tourist attractions, and peace and quiet received the same lowly grade.

Tripadvisor reviewers hold similarly low opinions of the destination.

Londoner ‘Cat123xxx’ said: ‘Go to Torrevieja if you like your English breakfast and pizzas because that is all you will get. I could not find a decent Spanish restaurant anywhere. All the restaurants on the promenade were pizzerias. 

‘You don’t even have to know a word of Spanish to get by because everyone in Torrevieja is either English or working in the tourism industry. 

‘In my opinion Torrevieja is not a true reflection of Spain. It’s more like Blackpool with sunshine!’

‘Peter W’, also from London, added: ‘Anyone eating at the beachfront restaurant should be aware that the “Del Boy” roaming street vendors are a terrible nuisance. 

‘During one meal I kept score. We were hassled no fewer than 55 times during our meal. 

‘During this time there were two police “raids” but it seemed like they were all going through a well-practiced routine – hide in a side street and then back to business a moment later.’

‘Mashandpie’, also from London, noted: ‘Escape was the only option. We had an awful time in Torrevieja as we found the people to be not as friendly as we hoped. 

‘It felt as if the locals had just simply had enough of us Brits coming over building homes and making their lives harder work. On the beach we were subject to violent outbursts from the people trying to sell us sunglasses and belts. 

‘Later that day, I spoke with an English-speaking person who owned one of the beach cafes. She said that it was quite common behaviour. In addition to this, she told us not to go drinking out in the town bars as there would be a chance of us getting shot or stabbed.’

He also remarked that he had his camera stolen while staying in the area, noting his holiday had turned into a ‘nightmare’.  

British poster ‘Wales45’ said: ‘I was working in Spain recently and had the misfortune to end up in Torrevieja. In my opinion it is without doubt the most horrific place I have ever been, like a council estate with sun – except it was rainy on the day I had to go there.’

Some reviews painted the city in a more positive light.

German poster ‘Saksalainen_94’ said: ‘Torrevieja is the most beautiful city in the south of the province of Valencia with a great beach in the city centre, a jetty out onto the Mediterranean, great restaurants, bars and shopping opportunities. For nature lovers, there are two large salt lakes.’

Canadian ‘Canada170981’ added: ‘All around us were very beautiful villas. There was a plaza close by where we could do the grocery shopping, a pharmacy and newspaper store etc. 

‘There were lots of restaurants close and in fact it was cheaper for us to eat out than to do the shopping and cook. The coffee is very good.’ 

CARTAGENA 

Cartagena offers hotel stays for just £1 more than Torrevieja, according to the Which? survey, yet scores an impressive five stars for tourist attractions and four stars for its seafront, attractiveness, safety and shopping.

Tripadvisor reviewers are also impressed.

‘Belone’ from Ireland wrote: ‘One of my very favourite places we’ve ever visited. [It’s] a bustling city full of historical Roman sites… well laid out… give yourself loads of time here. Don’t rush this amazing city.’

‘Alistair’ from Nottingham also penned a glowing review, concluding: ‘We spent all day in Cartagena and still didn’t see half the places. The narrow streets, buildings, history, views and friendliness of the people will be a great memory. A very good day out.’

San Sebastian came top in the survey – but does have a pricey average hotel cost of £155 a night. 

Meanwhile flashy Puerto Banus finished rock bottom, with holidaymakers writing it off as ‘tacky’ and ‘a seedy dump’ despite its massive £168 per night average hotel price.