It's on the edge of Verona city centre, 10 minutes walk from Piazza San Zeno and 20 from Via Roma (and the bus into town stops right outside) - but the San Marco's Unique Selling Point is its pool. Squeezed onto the north side of the hotel, it only gets the sun until the afternoon, but if you want to cool off in an outdoor pool in Verona, there's no competition - and by the pool is as good a place as any to eat an evening meal from the restaurant alongside. (There's an indoor pool and spa too for a price.)

42 Via Baldassarre Longhena
37138 Verona, Italy
+39 045 569 011
www.sanmarco.vr.it

City bus 11/12 (95 evenings and Sundays) to the door, from city centre or station.

Google map: tinyurl.com/38uelpn

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Algeciras is Spain's busiest port. It’s handy for a trip to Africa (just roll up at the port at 8am and book a day out in Tangier) or to visit Gibraltar without staying in Gib itself. The Hotel Reina Cristina, built by the Englishman who built the railway from Ronda to the port, still has its colonial feel, even if its charms are a bit faded. Roosevelt and Churchill (when a journalist) are among the famous who've slept here.

The terrace was used by spies in WW2 to watch shipping in the Straits. You could still imagine Inspector Poirot taking a stroll round the well-kept grounds, which include an Arab well. Apart from wedding reception nights, it’s quiet, and not really for children - people look up from their books if someone even makes a splash in the pool.

Paseo Conferencia
11207 Algeciras, Spain
Tel:0034 956 60 26 22
www.hotelesglobales.com

Google map: tinyurl.com/yaqr2qr

10 minutes walk from Algeciras station or the port.

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