ILUNION Aqua 4

With its central location within Valencia and an on-site shopping mall, the Ilunion Aqua 4 offers views and convenience to both tourists and business travelers. Guests enter on the third floor of the shopping center to a lobby that seems as big as an airport terminal. With glossy marble floors, tubular pendant lights, and clusters of wide modular sofas and chairs in hot reds and cool greens, there is ample room for private conversations and scoping out the comings and goings of other guests. There is also a lobby bar with curved white chairs and a lobby restaurant, where a buffet breakfast is served for a fee. A small terrace opens to the sky. On the top floor is La Vertical, a Michelin-starred restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. 

The Ilunion Aqua 4 is an 11-minute walk from the City of Arts and Sciences, the architecturally interesting complex that the hotel overlooks. To get elsewhere by public transportation requires just a three-minute walk to the Menorca-Franca bus stop. The Palacio de la Musica de Valencia is a six-minute drive, while the Palacio de Artes Reina Sofia is a seven-minute drive. It's a 15-minute drive to El Carmen, Valencia's old quarter. The busy port of Valencia is a 14-minute drive, and getting to La Playa de Malvossa -- a stretch of sand and restaurants where locals gather to socialize and be near the sea -- takes about the same amount of time. For what is arguably the best paella in Valencia, visitors could try La Pepica, a seven-minute drive from the hotel. The Valencia Airport is a 19-minute drive or a 50-minute train ride away.

Rooms at the Ilunion Aqya 4 are spacious, in part because furnishings are kept to a minimum. The walls are white, the floors, glossy dark wood, and the windows are large, many with views of the city. The beds, which some guests report as too firm, have white linens, and a blond wood headboard. They are flanked by small shelves and task lighting. On the walls, as in the rest of the property, is contemporary art, including black-and-white photos of local architecture. Furniture varies, but may include a dark-brown sofa or an orange armchair with a small adjacent table. Bigger rooms have tables and chairs and separate seating areas. All rooms have a selection of pillows, mini-fridges with two free bottles of water, safes, and flat-screen TVs. Extra beds and cribs are available on request, for a fee. Some guests report that the chic flax-colored curtains, although black-out style, do not block enough light. Bathrooms are dominated by beige marble and have bidets, shower/tub combos, and glass partitions. Hairdryers and toiletries are provided. Accessible units with wireless emergency buzzers, telephones with adaptations, support bars in the bathrooms, and continuous flooring are also available. 

The Ilunion offers room service (with limited hours) and all-day dining in its lobby restaurant, including a breakfast buffet, for a fee. There's also a Michelin-starred restaurant -- Vertical -- with sweeping views. The hotel includes a spa and a gym as well. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, and free newspapers are provided in the lobby. There is also a business center with computers and four meeting rooms, one of which is large enough for 138 guests. The front desk is staffed 24/7, and free luggage storage is available. The hotel can also assist with rentals for eco-transportation like bikes and electric cars. Parking is available on-site, but it costs extra.