Has anyone been to Alicante, and stayed there?

We normally go to Benidorm, but this is just a DIY weekend break, so have booked the Holiday Inn Express in Alicante.

I'm not sure how far it is from the airport, write ups for the hotel say about 3 miles.

We are going tomorrow, so any info would be appreciated, regarding this, and any English Bars etc to visit.

We were going to Berlin, but its so cold there , had to change the flights.