Had a fab week in Benidorm 7th-14th September.

I've submitted a review of The Hotel Brisa but waiting for approval so I'll post a link once it's on.

The weather was absolutely fabulous, it was in the 30's everyday and not a cloud in the sky all week.

We went to The Tropical on the first night and had the BBQ which at 5 euros, represented excellent value for money. It's served every Wednesday from 6pm-11pm. You get a kebab, chicken fillet, sausage, burger, belly pork, salad and bread. Oh and lovely homemade Alioli. We saw Vogue and the fab Deb n Her who were on top form as usual. Emma popped over to have a chat afterwards which was lovely. I really would have liked to have seen them again but we had so much to see and do in a week we didn't manage to.

We also went to The Broadway and saw The Stylistics, The Backstreet Boys and Burlesque all of whom we really enjoyed. I soon realised that you're better paying for the Gordons gin in there rather than the 2 for 1 local paint stripper, it was terrible!!!

We visited The Rock and Roll bar for the first time and it won't be the last. It's a lovely bar with lots of memorabilia and great atmosphere. We saw The fabulous Cabatou Brothers there as well as Elvis and The Brian Ferry look alike who's name escapes me.

Had some really nice meals out including tapas in tapas alley, very confusing when you're ordering but got by with a bit of pointing and for 3 dishes and a large glass of wine for 13.50 euros it was worth the money. We also went to Les Dunes which is one of our favourite places to eat and it was excellent as always.

We also had a good meal at The Amstrella Bar on the front and at The Country Ribs in Albir which is a lovely setting right on the seafront.

We didn't see any crime at all and we were out every night until the early hours. I even got dragged to the square by my daughter on the Saturday night, Bahamas, Lennons and Beachcombers not really my scene but the young ones seemed to enjoy it.

We visited the Secret fountain one night and although I wouldn't recommend the house wine in there, it's a lovely place to relax.

I did see a couple of working girls, the same ones 3 nights running but they didn't seem to be doing much business.

I also saw the potato men just the once outside our hotel but they soon scarpered when the police drove by.

Our favourite place during the day was Weatherspoons although they are having trouble with their music licence so the last couple of days there were no live acts on. The police came one day whilst we were there and made them stop playing, probably due to complaints by residents next door in the apartment block as we saw an old Spanish couple with what looked like a voice recorder on the balcony.

Had a meet up at Uncle Peds and although there were only 4 of us, it was really nice to have a chat and a drink so thank you to Lisa, Alan and Frank for making the effort.

All in all a great week, Benidorm was buzzing and the bars seemed to be doing much better than in the last couple of years we've been. We're having a change in May/ June, next year, we're going to Bulgaria for the first time but I'll be back in Benidrom next September all been well if not before.

Sue :-)