Scorchey, shame on you for not enjoying the Court of King Caraticus. We are just back from Portugal and had that song 3 times a day. My kids loved doing it even my 12 year old son who used leave the pool table at night to join in. We have the 1st choice CD and now we have mini disco time around the clock with the Court of King Caraticus.

Hi All

just a quick post as i havent had computer access for about 6 weeks.

got back from the HV 10th july and it was good holiday -
i think the kids enjoyed it more than we did,there was loads for them to do and many friends were made.

i would not rate this hotel as a new four star,more a well equipped 3 star,the hygiene would have to be a bit better and a little nore flair and customer care would need to injected to bring it up to scratch. also the behaviour of siome of the other guests was definately more 2 star than 4,

i will post a full review later in the week...and in the mean time have a fab time if your there now and we have booked the Holiday village majorca for next summer so the concept must be working......

Quirkygirl

So glad to see you back looking forward to reading your review.

Carol

8 August 2005

Our Ref 346906
First Choice Holidays & Flights Ltd,
Customer Services,
Diamond House,
2 Peel Cross Road,
Salford, M5 4DT.
Without Prejudice
Mrs T Morley
Tel 0870 901 6522
Fax 0161 745 4565
Email customer.services@firstchoice.co.uk
Booking Ref 462731/S2005

Dear Mrs Morley

Thank you for your email regarding your holiday to our Holiday Village on the Costa del Sol, booked through our website

Regrettably, I am unable to provide you with a reply to the points you have made. In line with our brochured terms and conditions, if you have any problems with your holiday, you do need to contact us in writing within 35 days of your return home.

This is due to the fact that our ability to investigate your letter is seriously hampered when such an amount of time has elapsed.

Sorry I am unable to be of assistance on this occasion.

Yours sincerely

Billy Herrington
Customer Services

[b]This reply took 3 weeks to be answered and my letter that was sent first class never got answered at all, ask yourselves why ?????
Very clever[/b]

When i posted my complaints letter it cost me an extra 60p to send it recorded/registered, anyway they had to sign for it there end, it just goes to show what lengths FC will go to to avoid answering,
So sorry Lola, that you didnt get any answers, but if its any consalation, niether did i
They just fobbed me off

5 sleeps to go and we're off!!

Just a couple of quick questions - We are both smokers, are there any ciggie machines on site or do they sell ciggies in the hotel shop or bars or is it best to buy some in the airport on our way out to tide us ova till we can get off site to buy some more. I smoke menthol.

Also, as we will not be arriving till 10pm ish, would there be anywhere to buy alcohol to have in our room on the balcony on the first night while the kids are snoozing - or is it best to again get something at the airport on the way there?

Thanks for your help guys, can't wait now, busy packing but cause the weather is so nice here, we're wearing our holiday clothes so i'm having to wash and iron them every day!!!!

Hi, i tried to buy some cigs at Manchester airport, and they looked at my boarding card and said i was not allowed to buy any.
They did not sell them on the plane either.
The hotel does have a machine near reception somewhere( not far from some lifts)And i think the shop sells them-but at huge prices.
Regarding booze, no idea-sorry. Are you self catering? If so take a bottle out with you, if you are AI, just get a tray and a few glasses and take it up to your room. Then return the tray and glasses the next morning............. Have a lovely time...............

Hughesema

There is cigarette machines in the hotel. The Bar's will be open at the time. If you are talking about a bottle of alcohol you would probably be best to get a airport as I think the shop will be closed (and as other people have said it is very expensive)
Hope this helps
Enjoy your holiday.

Carol

Just returned from a week at HV and will never ever return. I was so disappointed as it looks so nice in brochure but for a complex just over a year old it is disgraceful. We went AI and what a nightmare it is, the drinks are awful (sangria out of a carton !) the food is so bland and tasteless we just went off in a taxi along with hoards of other as they were all so fed up of the lack of choice. Plus it was dirty ajnd never had plates or dishes . The whole place need looking at and more staff desperately. The queues get you down and the complex is filthy. At least 30 of us filled in complaints froms whilst at resort and couldn't wait to get on the bus home. If it hadn't been for the Beach Club our holiday would have been ruined. The pool area at the hotl is awful, too small, not enough beds, and people letting their children run riot day and night. I don't blame HV for that but I do think the security staff should be inside hotel as well as at gate as children running wild , playing in lifts all day, it was a nightmare. If you like a holiday like a Butlins camp you will love it as there are rules and times for everything and queues everywhere. Also if you like getting up at 7.00am to put towels on sunbeds then good luck to you. I feel the people who do this should be ashamed of themselves as they are the ones causing the problems.The entertainment at night is very poor ,ok if you want to see your reps perform or dance to same dances and queue at the bar again !
I have already sent off my complaints as there are more but can't include them all. I will never advise anyone to go there if they, like us, have enjoyed 4/5 star holidays in the past as this doesn't come close to 4 star, in my opinion it struggles to attain 3 stars.
Word of warning , don't use the toilets near pool ,they are appalling .
I know there are people on this site who think the HV can do no wrong but I'm sorry we met people who visited last year and are still there now but would rather be home as it is so dirty and disorganised.
Will post a review shortly

I am just starting to wonder if there is a change of policy going on with the Sirenis Group. We were at the HV last year and had no major problems with food/drink/entertainment. We have also stayed at the Sirenis Coral Playa in Ibiza on a number of occasions; this is somewhere that we have returned to becuase it is very good value for money/food/drink etc.

My daughter has just returned from the Coral Playa and said never again!!!! There were holidaymakers like herself there who have been 6, 7 8 times before and have all said the same.

The main gripe was the food (always cold and lack of choice pork/fish/pasta every day), long wait to get bar snacks/drinks and awful entertainment programme. The evening entertainment manager has been at this hotel for a number of years (I seem to remember 14) but she has handed in her notice as she cannot take the changes any more.

Considering the negative reports that are surfacing on the HV forum, I am like to thinking that Sirenis are to blame here. They seem to be trying to get maximum revenue from the paying public but with little in return.

If they carry on like this, then they are going to end up in trouble along with a lot of other Spanish hoteliers.

Hi folks,
Came back Saturday 6th and now getting time to put stuff on re our holiday.
I won't do a full review as anything I have to say has already been written ad nauseum before me.
Suffice to say we, family of four, daughter 7 and son 2 had a brilliant holiday with plenty of things to do throughout the two week stay.
There were a couple of gripes like queues at the bars and loose tiles in all pools but really the positives far outweighed the negatives.
The food in La Perla was sufficiently good for me to see not a single person complain about it, and given the piles of food on some plates there were few dissenters.
The Mexican, bland but fine.
The Italian, bland but fine.
Snacks at the snack bar reasonably varied with daily specials etc.
Evening entertainment was very good and clearly aimed mostly at the children who enjoy the reassurance of a repetitive, familiar routine. If anyone complained about this I would find them churlish in the extreme. We met lots of people who enjoyed all the shows put on after the kid's disco. I was impressed by the big shows the entertainment team put on once a week, Grease and The Wizard of Oz.
This is not Broadway or the West End darlings but were a good fist at the shows. Again people must put into perspective what they are watching. This is a hot holiday camp folks, and I don't mean that in the pejorative sense.
The resident duo, Devlish and Divine were fine for what they were which is not meant to be the next Coldplay or Take That!
Our daughter also took part in the Stagecoach sessions which were quite expensive but worth it from our perspective.
Our room was kept clean every day by a very friendly maid who did some extra touches like arrange the childrens' teddy bears on the bed and put bandanas around the light shades! A nice personal touch by her.
Our room, 160 was at the far end of the Paradise Block with a view due east toward Benalmadena and the sunrise. It was quiet as a grave at night so no bother with noise.
The attitude of the staff sometimes does vary from over friendly to utter contempt but on the whole they were friendly and helpful.
I would suggest that people learn the Spanish for Please and Thank You as it does come across as a sign of courtesy to our hosts.
If anyone is going S/C then I would suggest upgrade to A/I as you are pretty much stranded here although there is a good bus service and taxis are plentiful. I think there is a close supermarket in Benalmadena.
There were a couple of incidents involving teenagers when we were there including a fight in the restuarant which I helped break up. All down to poor parenting from what I could see. Keep an eye on your teenagers folks. 600 Euros damage to seats that parents had to fork out for.
Perhaps not the best place for the 15-18 group but where is eh?
Shop not too expensive for the occasionals we had to buy.
Kids clubs excellent as was creche.
The beach club is brilliant with different pool areas for kids and adults.
It is open to the Spanish so those going to Spain but don't like the locals please avoid on a Sunday! We Personally loved the change of scenery and language.
One real negative was the S/C bar at the entartainment area refusing to serve water to me when it was totally empty and the A/I bar had a queue like a hanging.
A caution to those looking to complain about stuff...First Choice merely rent this place, the real power lies with Sirenis Hotels who own the hotels and run the show and the seemingly don't listen to our woes!
If anyone is going in the next month please tell me if the indoor pool has been sorted out....wearing away to the base concrete. Also check if the queues at the bars are seviced any quicker.
Would I Go back?
Yes if the couple of niggles I have were sorted out to my satisfaction.
A good place?
Yes
Value for money?
What is these days really so yes.
First Choice good or bad?
Well to be honest I saw how impotent they were compared to Sirenis Hotels so I will remain neutral on that one.
Peace man.

Lardo, why not add your review here http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/spain/costa-del-sol/fuengirola/holiday-village-costa-del-sol/

I am sure our members would appreciate it.

Kath HT Admin

Cant agree more Sianie, I think some of the people on this forum who say the HV is okay are slightly kidding themselves, it is a rip-off, simple as that. I think people have to say "we had a lovely time" and "the place is great" to justify the expense of going there. I would be surprised if more than 10% re-visit HV next year.

I have to point out, that although we would not return, i am glad we stayed there. The kids had a fantastic time, but, yes, it is abit like butlins in the sun.
We were quite happy to potter about the hotel and use the local buses, the food was ok, certainly plenty of it.
My main worry is if the kids are unhappy, this place gave them independance to a certain degree, and that for me was wonderful.
There are some cleanliness problems( but that is mainly lazy holiday makers) The unruly kids need telling-report them to reception.
In all, it served its purpose...........I do think FC need to address certain issues, but i did a written complaint to be told-sorry, no one else has complained
We still have not learnt our lesson though, as we are trying there new hotel in Kos next year

Andy

I think you are being very unfair am sure people wouldnt say they enjoyed it "just to justify the money they spent".
I am a repeat customer. I enjoyed it. My son enjoyed it and my partner enjoyed so we are going back in July 2006.
Am sorry but we do not have "Butlins" in Ireland (and have never been to Butlins in UK) so I am unable to compare it with that.

Carol

Carol, I have sent you a pm to explain Butlins

Quick top tips for parent with under 5's

Go to the beach club up in the lift and around the back ,there is a fab and fairly peaceful kiddie bit with a big splash park,a freeform shallow (1.5 feet) pool and 2 more of the elephant fountains,there is also a treehouse and a kiddies club that is run by sirenis and my daughter loved it there and the bonus is the drinks at the bar are still AI (though noone actively mentions this) So stock up well at breakfast. there is a grotto of jacuzzis here for adults and basically it was a lot quieter and less frenetic then the main hotel pool.

adios

Lardo says: First Choice merely rent this place, the real power lies with Sirenis Hotels who own the hotels and run the show.
I would like to know where Penarroya come into this equation. They have their sign over the bridge, and their website says that they built the hotels and will build more. Do you think that First Choice rent from Penarroya or from Sirenis? Who should you really complain to the owners or the leasers?

As FC receive our money i would have thourght FC need to receive any complaints