A few random thoughts after this year's visit.
This year's "must do" thing seems to be to hire an electric four wheel scooter! They were everywhere, especially up the Rincon end of town. I saw a family of eight people eating outside a bar who had six of them parked in the disused lot next door. Two of them were tandems! The Billy Connolly impersonator had a good description of these people, which is probably best not put on here! (Incidentally, he was really good but I suspect he was only a short term replacement for Tony Scott who I missed yet again. He's back off holiday today.)
If you want to go to Aqualandia and haven't got vouchers in advance go to Mundomar first. Buy drinks at the cafe by the parrot show and you'll get the good, up to four people, 11 euro Aqualandia vouchers, ("normal" price 36 euro!) Go to Mundomar after four, because you can still see all the shows. McDonalds are doing 2 for 1 vouchers for Terra Mitica, but I didn't get any in three visits. I'd bought mine in advance on Ebay so I didn't argue, the ones I should have got will probably be on Ebay next week!
There are a few new bars now. The trouble is that they are all much the same, big terrace, karaoke, then an obligatory show by Sticky Vicky and not much else to offer. The word is that Sticky Vicky will be packing away her props for the last time this month! I hope she doesn't hand them down to her daughter, that doesn't bear thinking about.
There is a distinct lack of decent cabaret now, the place has gone "tribute" mad, which to me is just glorified karaoke. (I didn't even know Pink had an identical twin sister called Adele!) These acts literally run round from bar to bar so you definitely need to wear a watch and plan your nights out.
I reckon in a week you could only watch one comic a night before seeing repeats, which is incredible thinking how many were working the town ten or more years back.
At least the reduced number of cabaret bars means they are, in the main, fairly well packed, which gives better atmosphere for the acts.
The music acts I liked best were the Twisted Melons, the Cabeytu Brothers (more of a novelty act than real music but impressively talented lads that should be seen at least once) the Beni-Beatles and my old favourites the Rovers, who sadly only seem to be doing weekends.
One thing that has become very noticeable is the amount of graffiti. It is everywhere, I think if you stood too long looking at a chalkboard you'd get tagged! Every closed up locale is covered in it, and there are a LOT of them. It really needs sorting out. The "yellow brick road" is a prime example. Council staff are raking the grass clean and sweeping the path every morning and yet alongside are walls of closed up bars and shops literally covered in spray paint, weird priorities. A local told me the council only accept responsibility for roads and pavements, not walls. It just makes you feel like you should avoid certain areas and the last thing the council should be encouraging is "no go" areas where real criminals can hang out. I quite like Beni's New York skyscrapers but I don't want to feel I am holidaying in Harlem! Thankfully there are plenty of people walking the streets until long after I've called it a day.
Final thoughts, good time as always in Europe's top resort and I really, REALLY hate props!
Hi Colin, Thankyou, I enjoyed your report. Please could you tell me more about the twisted melons as I've not heard of them before.. What kind of music do they play and what is the band made up of.. Male or female? How old are they and where do they play?
Hi Sue. They describe themselves as Indie/Rock on the poster but I'd say more just rock, stuff people know and can sing along to. Three piece, guitar, drum and bass. I recognised the drummer straight away as a Beni regular but it took me ages to place him without the Ray Bans and daft hat, it's the guy who does Jake Elwood in the Blues Brothers act. I seem to remember seeing him play with the big Scottish singer whose name escapes me a few years ago. The guitar and bass players are younger (20's) and both very good. I don't remember seeing those two before. They were at the Western Saloon.
Ok, thanks Colin... I'm going to Beni next week so I might check them out
When I first went in 2001, you still got decent 'name' acts: Johnny Hackett, Eric Delaney (both sadly now deceased), Wayne 'Check' Allen. Acts that had been big names over here. Also, people would be brought out for limited period engagements: The Grumbleweeds, Frank Carson etc. The decline has probably been brought about by the decline over here of Labour Clubs, Working Mens Clubs etc as people's tastes have changed. Now people just watch the 'talent' on X Factor etc instead of going out and watching live acts.
Several large cabaret bars have closed in the last ten years for various reasons. How many comedians are actually doing the circuit there now? Tony Scott, Woody Brown, Mike Curtis, Albi Senior and that's about it? What happened to Danny Dean, Danny Downing, Johnny Kalendar and Jason Kane?
What happened to the hypnotists that used to be on?
I've nothing against people singing other people's songs, but why bill yourself as a tribute act? Do the Take That tribute (for an example) look like Take That? Erm....not to me they don't and neither do the others. Put the effort in and at least have the guts to go out under your own name giving an indication of what stuff you sing.
Then there used to be 35 of us men only go for the fiesta in
November.
Had some good times in Benidorm, where we have stopped in a lot
of hotels several times.
We have used the Riudor, Regente,Pelicanos,Ocas,Calypso,Rio park,
Castilla,Oylimpus,Flamingo Oasis, & apartments.
Going back in November for 5 days in the Pelicanos, then again in
May 2012 for a weeks break, booked flight for May, deciding where
to stop.
I loved this place, when you go twice a year & still get a kick out
of it, its worth it.
I hope it does not let me down in November & May.
Ps Jimmy Carrol was in Benidorm last I heard, with him being from
Sheffield, I can normally see him around us during the year.
I don't like Take that/Boyzone type of stuff either but the other tribute bands I did see were brilliant. I holiday in Benidorm with a young family like many others do and am pleased to say that most of the entertainment is for a completely varied audience.
Times are changing and I think that because of the tough times venues must be trying to tick all the boxes with regards to the entertainment they provide and no-where will you find any better than what Benidorm has to offer.
i must say of the caberet bars we visited,the most hyped and supposedly 'better' ones were by far the opposite of their reputation,with some of them having such rough and chavvy props it actually put you off the place,i mean what sort of couple or family are going to go into a bar where the props are swearing,wearing tracksuits and smoking skunk while they try to get people in(i won name the bars but we were shocked to see it).
as for the outbreak of graffiti,it was like being in south london in that respect,it's everywhere,on signs,walls,roundabouts,people's gates,you name it,it's proper graffiti too,tagging etc by the sort of sub-culture we see in our cities,it's not really unpleasent in the most part but we were really surprised at the amount of it and how no attempt seems to have been made to remove it,even when on the walls of functioning businesses.
none of this takes away the fact we loved benidorm as much if not more than in the past and would definitely return time and time again.
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