In 1976 I travelled to Europe for the first time to Sorrento in Italy with my dad who obligingly stepped in at the last moment following a bit of romantic trouble when just before departure my girlfriend went off with the head reporter from the local newspaper (Rugby Advertiser).
Very soon after that we patched things up and in October the following year I went to Spain with my (now) fiancée, Linda. We could have gone practically anywhere we liked, so long as it was within our restricted budget of course, but we choose to go to Benidorm on the Costa Blanca for two whole weeks and we selected the Don Juan hotel on the Avenida del Mediterráneo, just behind the Levante beach because Linda had been there some time before with her parents and had liked it.
Thanks to http://www.realbenidorm.net/ for the use of the postcard image
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Very good page. I have added it to my RSS feed.
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Old Hotel Don Juan is now known as Hotel Diplomatic. It’s a 4 stars hotel.
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Hello ! I`ve been to the Hotel Don Juan in the 70`s when I was a kid and when I looked at some pictures of Hotel`s in Benidorm today,I thought the old Don Juan could also be the “Helios” Hotel today.It`s the shape of the building,as I remember it wasn`t a very tall building.Best wishes ; )
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Thanks for this! You could well be right, the pool looks the same shape. I will follow up your lead – Thanks! Andrew
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I have found some photographs and I am sure you are right – well done and thanks!
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Do you remember,there used to be a Crazy Golf/Minigolf place in front of the building and the balustrades of the balconies were blue in that time…Also I remember a pool billiard -table in the lounge…
I would like to ask:…If anyone has a photo or a postcard of the “old Don Juan Building”,please can you post it….By the way,I would love to see the hotel again ,too…Benidorm was great in the 70`s.
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Sadly I don’t remember that sort of detail. I would really like to get some old pictures – let me know if you have any success! Andrew.
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Hello Kat just seen your question about the hotel don juan hotel just to let you know the old hotel don juan is now the HOTEL DIPLAMATIC its a 4/5 star hotel now the old don juan used to be a 3 star in the 70s both my wife and I went there in the 70s. AND THE ROAD IT I S ON IS THE CALLA GERONA ITS AT THE BACK OF MONROES RESTARANT HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONI I am sure of this Kat its not the HELIOS
its the DIPLOMATIC
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Hi enjoyed reading your memories of the Don Juan, brought a smile to my face,I went there as a teenager in 1980 with family my first trip abroad, thought I was a real globe trotter,oh, what fun. Linda.
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Thanks Linda. It was my second time abroad and I liked it. I went back to Benidorm for a day in 2008 and was surprised by how nice the place was. I might go there for a holiday again one day! Andrew
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hello mart !Thanks a lot you are right ,-it is the diplomatic hotel!I can`t believe how much it has changed.
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