all deends what your reasons for changing are , is it what you have read or heard about the hotel , or location ?, i have not stayed in any of the hotels you have mentioned , but i know the location of the Amaika , and the Sorra D'or in Malgrat , depending what you want from the holiday , i would say calella has a lot more to do in the evening's for children and youngsters , Malgrat , is very nice and Pineda is the poor relation for entertainment compared to the other resorts , but close enough . My first choice of resort is Malgrat , Calella , then Pineda , but a holiday is what you make of it

Have stayed in the Amaika and it's a nice, clean hotel.

They have entertainment on for children but, as we went out of season (twice) there wasn't many children there. There was evening entertainment also. When we were there (Jan and Feb 08) the clientele tended to be more couples so ideal for your mother. There weren't any rowdy teenagers and I would imagine that the hotel would be quite strict on this.

It's not too far from the beach.

The pool is very small.

Food wise the Amaika is fine.

Here are our reviews http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/spain/costa-brava/calella/amaika-h.top-hotel/

My only reason for wanting to change is due to the negative reviews I have read both on here and on Trip Advisor - I know you have to take them with a pinch of salt, but am a bit concerned that the Santa Susanna Hotel will be full of chavs/drunken stag weekenders. Also they dont seem to have a lounge to sit in on a night.

The Sorra d'Or in Malgrat is a nice hotel. I go to Malgrat every year (10 years now), but to Hotel Maripins. A friend goes to Sora d'Or and likes it. Plenty there in the evenings and a nice pool.

the amaika is htops premier hotel in the area and i would have no hesitation in changing to there.
i think that you will be far more comfortable there than the hotel SS.
if you really want to stay in SS/malgrat i would ask if they can put you in the royal sun(another htop hotel), but would take the sorra d'or before taking pineda.

Please note Anita has been offered La Pineda on Costa Dorada, not Pineda on Costa Brava (or is is Costa del Maresme )

Jim, I have booked the Amaika this July in past visits to the Costa Brave I visited the bar area for a drink and it seemed on the small side. I have been to the Royal Star, Royal Beach, Calella Palace and the Olympic all had large large bars and entertainment areas, this does not appear to be the case with the Amaika. We won't be stopping in every night as I like the entertainment in Calella, but is there enough to entertain two fifteen year old's on the occasions we will be staying in

pancho,
the amaika will have the usual htop entertainment programme -dancers/duo etc- on in july.
i'm afraid i gave up on watching these shows a while ago, and would rather go out in the evening so whether your 2 kids would be happy with them i don't know. i do know that the parrot show is well worth watching, but the show with "the gaffer" is country and western/crying in your beer stuff.
its not the biggest bar in the world, but glynis may be able to give you more info on the actual entertainment area.

The entertainment area is a sort of L shape so it turns the corner round the other side of the pool. This means that you can see the show from part of the bar area and the length of the other side of the pool. (If that makes sense ) We stayed in most nights (there were 13 of us the first time I visited and just 2 of us the 2nd time). We sometimes didn't bother with the entertainment and so would sit outside round the pool or go into the lounge which is fairly large but it's where the smokers can sit with a drink. There's a TV in there and the internet.

Don't forget that guests of the Amaika can go to the Olympic and Palace for drinks of an evening, but their guests can't use the Amaika.

Don't forget that guests of the Amaika can go to the Olympic and Palace for drinks of an evening, but their guests can't use the Amaika.

I suspect that this will only be until 7.00pm unless there is an exception for Amaika guests.

John

No, don't change if you have booked all inclusive at a reasonable price.
My Husband and I visited there last October and weren't expecting much but we were very pleasantly surprised!
The location was great - right on the beach. The beach bar in the front of the hotel had such a lovely atmosphere.
(Even in October, we sat out there until midnight as we would prefer to be outside rather than save seats all night just to watch the entertainment -but after seeing the first nights show, we made a point of going inside each evening just to watch it because it was some of the best we had seen! We were impressed by it all.
Just behind the hotel is the train track - please don't let this put you off - is not noisy and does not bother you, especially if you ask for a pool/sea view. It is so handy to get on the train if you want to visit Barcelona etc.
The shops are behind that - literally a couple of minutes walk and I think they have stalls out in the street every evening. The walk is interesting and there are plently of things going on for the children.
When we were there, other guests visited the other hotels in the Chain and all said they couldn't wait to get back to ours.
(We have stayed in Royal Star and Royal Sun in the past and would never go back but we will return to Santa Susanna)
If you stay there,on an all inclusive basis, you can still visit the others but I don't think any of them offer a better position.
We met so many lovely people there and we felt very safe. If you want to know more, I would be happy to advise.

i was under the impression that the santa sussannah hotel was not on the beach side of the railway but set further back in the resort and is 3*.
the only htop hotel, that i know of in the area with a beach bar is the 4*royal sun, which is one of the reasons i suggested this hotel.
i stand to be corrected on this obviously!

I think you might be thinking of the H Top Santa Susanna, the one I am booked in at is the Santa Susanna Resort, which is a 10 minute walk inland.

neither hotel is on the beach as far as i know, and i would not stay in either of them.

Would you change to the Amaika if you were me?? Looks a nice hotel, maybe a bit worried it might be too quiet with no english children, but think I might rather have this than Butlins.

i can only speak for me, but i would have no qualms about changing to the amaika. as i said before this is HTOP's premier hotel in the area.
it really depends on what you want from your holiday. why did you choose SS in the first place.why did you choose this hotel.
calella is a busier resort than SS, more bars/restaurants/shops/visitors and has an old town with narrow streets while SS is more or less a purpose built resort attached to malgrat which has a nice old town.SS is also predominately flat but calella has a few little ups and downs.
if you read this whole thread, and others on calella/amaika you may get more ideas.

I didn't choose this hotel or resort for any other reason than I managed to get 4 cheap flights to Barcelona, so had a look at where was accessible from here.

However, I have never booked a holiday independently before, I have always gone through travel agents. When I went on to Alpha Rooms and saw the price of the Santa Susanna and it was a 3 star, which I thought would be okay, I just booked it, without considering Trip Advisor and this forum. Stupid I know, but you learn from your mistakes.

Of course, now I have been looking I have begun to get worried. Alpha Rooms have said we can change, which is good, but I really am not fussy on location. A beach within walking would be ideal, but something going on for my 10/11 year olds and nice accommodation.

I think this site is fantastic that you can speak to real people to get an insight. Thank you.

The beach is within easy walking distance from the Amaika. In fact if you get a top floor, pool side room you can see the sea. Turn left out of the hotel a short walk turn right over the bridge and there's the beach. However I wouldn't dither too long as the Amaika can be quite popular due to it's good reputation.

Let us know what you decide Anita

Ooophs! I am so sorry - I read your question and was in such a hurry to sign the praises of the hotel, it wasn't until I signed off to do some housework(!) that I thought 'is that the name of the hotel we stayed in' and the answer was - No!
So I have had to stop work (hurray) and get back to you!
The hotel I stayed at and was advising you of is Royal Sun 4 star in Santa Susanna NOT 3 star Hotel Santa Susanna.
If you could change to that one, then I would recommend, mainly for the position.
Once again, I am sorry for misleading you but I am new to this Site!!!!