Accommodation Guide · October 2026 · 9 min read

Where to Stay in Alicante: Why the Old Town Is the Best Choice for Families and Groups (2026)

Most guides to where to stay in Alicante are written for people booking a hotel room for two. If you are travelling with children, or with another couple or two, the question is different: where can everyone have enough space, be close to the beach and still enjoy a real city in the evenings? After hosting families and groups of friends in the heart of the Old Town, our answer is clear, and this guide explains why.

Alicante's Main Areas at a Glance

Area	Best for	Keep in mind
Old Town (Casco Antiguo and Barrio de Santa Cruz)	Atmosphere, restaurants, castle and beach all on foot	Some streets are steep, and the busiest ones can be lively at weekends
City centre around the market and the Rambla	Shops, transport links, TRAM	Busier, with more traffic and less character
Port and Explanada	Sea views, terraces, evening walks	Busier at weekends and in summer
Postiguet beachfront	Being right on the city beach	Crowded in July and August
San Juan beach area	A long beach and a resort feel	About 25 minutes by TRAM from the centre, with fewer evening options

None of these is a bad choice. But only one lets you do almost everything without a car, a taxi or a timetable.

Why the Old Town Wins

Everything that makes Alicante worth visiting is within a short walk of the Old Town. From our apartment on Plaza Virgen del Remedio:

• Postiguet beach 2 min on foot
• Santa Bárbara Castle lift 3 min on foot
• Explanada de España 5 min on foot
• TRAM at Luceros (San Juan beach and Elche) about 8 min on foot
• Mercado Central about 10 min on foot
• Ferry port for Tabarca Island about 15 min on foot

The Old Town also feels like a real neighbourhood, not a tourist strip. Families sit out in the squares in the evening, the tapas bars are full of locals, and the narrow streets of the Barrio de Santa Cruz are some of the prettiest in the city.

There is even a small local secret a few steps from our door. Stand on Calle Villavieja and look up at the mountain: the rock face forms the profile of a face looking at the sky, known locally as the Cara del Moro. You can read the full story in our Santa Bárbara Castle guide.

Hotel or Apartment? An Honest Comparison

We want to be fair here, because the right answer depends on your group. The comparison below takes a 4-star hotel in central Alicante as the reference.

If a reception desk, daily cleaning and a breakfast buffet matter most to you, a hotel is a perfectly good choice. If you are travelling with children or with friends and you value space, privacy and the freedom to run the day your own way, an apartment is hard to beat.

• Space: each couple or family has its own bedroom, and the group has shared rooms to be together, instead of separate rooms on different floors.
• A real kitchen: breakfasts, snacks and early dinners with children, without depending on a restaurant for every meal.
• Laundry: a washing machine and drying racks, very useful on a stay of five nights or more.
• The balcony: a private outdoor space for a morning coffee or an evening drink, with views over central Alicante.
• Freedom: nobody waits at a reception desk, and each person can arrive on their own schedule.
• Character: castle views from the dining room and the Old Town outside the door.

What it means for your budget

Taking a 4-star hotel in central Alicante as the reference, two couples sharing our apartment save roughly a quarter compared with booking two hotel rooms. Three couples save close to half compared with booking three. For families with children the comparison is less clear, because hotels offer family rooms, so the case for the apartment there is about space, kitchen and privacy rather than price.

These figures are a guide only. They are based on average 2026 rates for 4-star hotels in the centre and our average nightly rate, and they change with dates and season.

For Families

A family holiday works best when children can eat, sleep and play without everyone being in one room.

• Separate bedrooms, so children can go to bed while the adults stay up in the second living room
• A full kitchen and a laundry room for meals, bottles and sandals full of sand
• Up to two travel cots available on request
• A pedestrian square outside for children to play, and the beach two minutes away
• The castle lift nearby, so even small children can enjoy the views

For a full plan, see our Alicante with kids guide.

For Groups of Couples

Two or three couples on holiday together need privacy and togetherness in equal measure. Each couple gets its own double bedroom, and with two bathrooms mornings run smoothly. In the evening the group can share the main living room, take a drink on the balcony, or split between the two living rooms. Each couple can also arrive on its own flight and let itself in. More ideas in our 5-day Alicante itinerary for groups.

The Breakfast Argument

One of the quiet pleasures of an apartment is the morning. Buy fruit, cheese, bread and coffee at the Mercado Central, ten minutes away, and have a slow breakfast together, at the dining table or out on the balcony, without queuing at a buffet. It costs less than eating out every morning, and for many groups it becomes the best part of the day.

Getting Around from the Old Town

You do not need a car:

• Airport: 15 to 20 minutes by taxi, or by bus C6. See our airport guide.
• San Juan beach and Elche: TRAM from Luceros.
• Tabarca Island: ferry from the port.
• Benidorm, Altea and Calpe: bus from the bus station.

If you do arrive by car, there is free street parking in the surrounding area and covered car parks nearby. For ideas on where to go, read our day trips from Alicante and Alicante in 5 days.

Frequently Asked Questions