Where to stay in Salou: the best areas and hotels

Salou's showpiece is the Passeig Jaume I, a broad promenade of towering palms, flowerbeds and the famous illuminated fountain, running behind the long, gently shelving sand of Llevant beach. At its western end, the little marina and Ponent beach have a slightly calmer, more local feel, with the train station a few streets back.

This is the most convenient base in town. Stay in a former customs house by the marina, now an all-suite hotel with a rooftop pool, a four-star a few metres from Ponent beach, an apartment hotel separated from the sand only by the promenade, or a big resort-style hotel 100 metres from the beach and a few minutes from the shops.

A few blocks back from the beach, the streets around Plaza Europa are where Salou comes alive after dark. Bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and pubs fill every street, and the noise level rises steadily through the evening. The beach is five to ten minutes' walk, and PortAventura is about a kilometre away.

It's the natural home of Salou's adults-only hotels. Choose a sleek, light-filled hotel on Plaza Europa itself, a modern adults-only hotel in the main shopping area 200 metres from the sea, a big four-star on the square that's handy for the theme park, or a hotel a short stroll from both the square and the sand.

East of the centre, the main beach gives way to Capellans, a sheltered sandy cove with calm water, and then to the smaller bay of Llenguadets. The streets behind are lined with large, family-focused hotels: kids' clubs, splash pools, playgrounds and evening entertainment are the norm here rather than the exception.

Pick a beachfront hotel with two pools and entertainment for young children, a hotel 150 metres from Capellans with a games room, a two-building four-star a couple of hundred metres from the cove, or family suites close to the town centre. The promenade, the shops and PortAventura are all within easy reach.

If your children have been counting down the sleeps until PortAventura, staying beside the park is the ultimate treat. The resort's own hotels go all-in on theming: one recreates a Caribbean island around vast white-sand pools, another is a colonial Mexican hacienda with a sunken galleon in its pool, and both include unlimited park access during your stay, plus a day at Ferrari Land.

Just outside the gates, a four-star a short walk from the park has three pools, a children's pool and an adults-only rooftop with a hot tub, and another modern hotel sits about 800 metres from the entrance, close to the beach and golf courses. Salou's centre is a short bus or taxi ride away.

Round the headland from the main beach, Cap Salou is a different world: pine woods, villas, rust-red cliffs and a scatter of small coves with startlingly clear water, linked by a coastal path that makes a glorious morning walk. It's the quietest corner of Salou, and the best for snorkelling.

The hotels suit couples and anyone after a calmer stay. There's an adults-recommended hotel 200 metres from the coves, a hotel with sea-view rooms and apartments 150 metres from Cala Penya Tallada, a hotel set right on the little bay of Cala de la Font, and another in a peaceful cul-de-sac with steps down to a small sandy cove. The centre is about 2 km away, with buses running in.