Hidden Gibraltar - 6: Where to stay.

A Gibraltarian's Guide to Gibraltar.
- Where to stay.
Where to stay in Gibraltar, what to expect and how much it costs.

Gibraltar has a small number of hotels of varying classes from the classical Rock hotel to budget priced like the Canon hotel. There are also some small self catering apartments you can rent, but alas no Guest houses or Bed and Breakfast.

Additionally, the hotels, bracketed in the "Budget" bracket are not really in the same league as, say, a Travel Lodge or Travel Inn back in the UK, but probably cost just as much if not more.

Starting at the Budget end.

Cannon Hotel website
A family friendly run hotel, with room rates starting at £25 for a single room, per night, including an English breakfast.
The Cannon hotel is just a stone's throw off Main Street. And it is exactly what you expect from a budget hotel, no frills and no air conditioning. Reviews of this hotel are mixed between, "excellent value for money" to "I won't go back there again." - Admittedly it has been documented that cockroaches have been seen in some rooms.
The website claims that the rooms have been newly refurbished recently, so perhaps the negative comments are no longer valid. This hotel is ideal for the person who wishes to be centrally located.

Continental Hotel Closed Down.

Queens Hotel website
Billing itself as a budget hotel, the Queens Hotel is situated by Alemeda Gardens, outside the main city walls overlooking the sea or the cable car/gardens/car park.
Stepping in to this hotel one is instantly reminded of the film Carry on Abroad. the decor is very dated, as is the furniture in the rooms and main areas. On the plus side, the hotel is clean and the rooms comfy but alas, no air conditioning either.
Breakfast consists of either cereal, continental or traditional english, (bacon isn't the best and be mindful that when we stayed, the service at breakfast was quite slow at times) The staff are polite and friendly and for the money, you can't grumble too much for being able to stay within Gibraltar itself. Whilst better value for money can be had across the border in Spain if you can put up with the inconvenience of exiting/entering the border every day, I would stay at the Queens hotel again without hesitation despite all the flaws above.

Bristol Hotel website
Moving away from the budget end hotels and climbing towards the middle, you will find the Bristol. This hotel is situated in Cathedral square, behind Main street and handy for the Museum, Wedding Registrar's office, (if you're planning to get married) or near the Nat West Bank cash tills! Here you will find Air conditioning at long last, the rooms are clean, Service is what you would expect, but, and there is always a but, there are some downsides too. First of all, if you didn't want the 80's to die, then this place is its last refuge, the rooms though, clean and tidy are a throwback to the days when Shoulder pads and big hair were king!
Breakfast is self service and consists of a large buffet table in the centre where you can help yourself to a limited spread, which can get rather "boring" if you stay for five days or more.
Additionally the Hotel offers a swimming pool enclosed within its own secluded subtropical garden for guests to enjoy. Despite the flaws people keep going back to this hotel time and time again, so
If you are undecided, then this discount booking website, may help you decide whether to book or not.