When we Found La Pineda.
We Found our New Happy Place.
This time last week we were lying by a beautiful hotel pool in sunny Spain enjoying our Easter Holiday as a family. When we were searching online for our perfect family holiday we had no idea where we wanted to go but after a few hours searching the web we found a place that none of us had heard of before, a small town called La Pineda in Catalonia Spain.
If it wasn’t for the deal finder on On The Beach, we never would have found it at all.
Everyone’s heard of the main Barcelona Airport but not everyone’s heard of the newer, smaller airport called Reus just 1 hour away from it that cost us less than half the price to fly to Barcelona and ended up being much closer to where we were actually going to so it was a win, win situation for us. Our hotel in La Pineda was then just an hours bus ride away.
We stayed at 4* Hotel right across from the beach called the Hotel Palas Pineda. Although the reviews of it aren’t that great online, we had a wonderful stay and loved it. Friendly staff, fresh food and free flowing drinks that you could enjoy all day long without a worry or care in the world. Wine for Mummy, Beer for Daddy and endless cups of Coke, Lemonade and Chocolate milkshakes for the kids. I could have lived at that poolside bar quite happily forever. We did actually spend most of our days relaxing and playing by that pool, it was perfect so why move away from it. The sun was shining all week, basking us in a delightful 22/23 degrees heat. The bar was just 20 steps away and the toilets were also close (you’ll understand if you have small children who need to pee 500 times a day).
Across from our hotel was the La Pineda beach which was so clean and sandy. The tide was always in and the water wasn’t too cold. The sand was soft and silky smooth and the space was plentiful for playing on or relaxing on, whichever you prefer. The beach was much wider than most I’ve been too providing lots of space for all even though in April it was very quiet so we got much more space that we actually needed but it was so nice.
Behind the beach was a row of shops, restaurants and so much more and just down the road (a 10 minute walk) was the Aquopolis Water Park which was sadly closed when we went as it doesn’t open until May but it did open for the weekend we were there for a special dolphin show which we went to see and I have to say it was well worth the 7 Euros we paid.
Every day was so perfect, no cooking, no worrying and no stress. We really did have an amazing week together. Yes the kids were constantly asking us ‘what we’re doing next’ but at least they were never bored. I mean, who can get bored of playing in the pool or at the park or on the beach. There was always activities to join in with too, we playing Bingo, Mini Golf, Hockey, Darts, Aqua Aerobics, Dance classes and so much more. The entertainment team were so much fun and although they didn’t all speak that much English, were ace!
On one of the days we took the bus down to the Harbour to find a boat trip for the day. We ended up on a Catamaran on a 3 hour trip which was fantastic. Music played, drinks were flowing (free again) and the children gazed over the sides at the beautiful blue ocean. Sailing on the open sea is so magical, it’s always been one of my favourite things to do and now I’m happy that my children all feel the same way and loves being out at sea too.
In the space of 1 week we’d gone from never hearing of La Pineda to completely falling in love with it. It really did have everything we wanted and needed. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather, a short flight (just 2 hours from Birmingham) and so much more.
I think we’ve found our new Happy Place!
So much happened in 1 week, my children gained the freedom they craved and actually left my side for more than 10 minutes and made lots of new friends in the process. Mummy got to enjoy a glass of wine or two in peace without my name being called a 1000 times a day and Daddy got to watch his children so happy and free. It was just perfect in every way!
Our Easter holidays may be almost over but our dream for adventures is not. I know we will go back one day which says a lot as we rarely ever go back to the same place twice but for a family holiday, La Pineda had everything we could have wanted to have a terrific time.
So, it’s not Goodbye La Pineda. It’s just .. Until next time ..
