We stayed in a 2 room apartment in the monte carlo block and the standard was brilliant.I had read through these reports and went with an open mind , the first thing we came across was the position which although on quite a hill we thought this would not be a problem. When we booked the holiday (via teletext) we were told that there was entertainment on and as we later found out not only was this untrue but the bar closed at 10pm.A room in the montecarlo was broken into during our stay as well. The building noise raised its head on Monday at 7am when only 3-5 power hammers started up directly behind our appartment.It was not actually building work but the hillside being removed to provide more building space,this went on every day from 7am to 8pm and after day 3 it got very annoying.

I have just got back from the vacanza complex, i stayed in the monte carlo building. The apartment was nice and spacious and clean. The only problem was the view of the building site outside and the noise. And if you are a light sleeper it will really annoy you.

I wouldnt recommend this complex to older people as it is quite a walk up the hill and then u have stair to climb up in the complex, i like them as the burned off those extra calories.

The pool are was really nice and clean they could have been doin with geting a few more sunbeds though as i dont think there was enough for the 4 buildings.

vacanza complex is clean on the whole although the maid service is shockingly bad. in two weeks the maid visited the apartment on three occasions these were to leave 5 grey (were originally white) towels, one brown stained t towel and 8 sheets. the maids only drop these items off no beds were made. then she moped the floor without brushing it with liquid, which smelt of urine.

this complex when built not so long ago would have been a very nice place to stay but portland/thomson have not ploughed any money into it since it was build so it is starting to look a little shabby. i read on internet about the complex having a problem with rooms being broken into, before going i rang portland to ask if this was true. they denied knowing anyone who had been broken into. half way through our holiday the room above us broken into and trashed. the door had not been forced and there was no other way to get in unless you had a key. we were left to assume that the break ins were by staff.

the pool area is large and very clean with friendly maintenance staff who constantly tend to the gardens and paths to make sure they are clean. we were informed by portland prior to going that there was a lot of building work going on round the complex and that we may be able to hear it. i can honestly say the building work was not a problem. had we not been informed by portland we would have never known the building work was going on.

we booked a trip through the rep we paid and were given a slip of paper with the time on it, we were told to wait by the local supermarket and a bus would pick us up. we waited 2 hours we then phoned the call centre line and we were told the rep had put the wrong time on the ticket and if we waited a further hour we would then be picked up! i went to see the rep with regards to this the next day and she wasn

Before arriving at the complex i had read the reports on this site and was absolutley terrified as to what we were going to walk into when we got there.

We arrived at 6.30am to find the gates locked but were later informed that there was a porter on duty and that we had been waiting at the side gate instead of the front gate.
The appartments are at the top of a hill but it isnt so steep that you would notice while walking, i have 3 very lazy children when it comes to walking and they never once complained.
Once we were booked in and informed that our room was on the 18th floor i thought this was the beginning of a night mare holiday, but instead on entry to the room was very surprised, instead of seeing a dirty room i saw a very clean and very spacious room, also very modern, there was a very well equiped kitchen, microwave, hob, toaster, fridge freezer, washing machine, kettle.
In the first bedroom there were 2 single beds and an ensuite bathroom with shower and bedet, in the second bedroom there were 2 single beds and wardrobe space with a shower room off to the left of it, the lounge had tv with basic channels, dining table and a sofa that folded down into a double bed.
The balcony was very spacious but not being one for heights we didnt use it, plus our children are 9, 6, and 5. There was a supermarket in the complex and wasnt over priced, a bar with pool table and two pools, one was more of a paddling pool which suited our 2 younger children down to the ground.

All in all we had a fantastic holiday and would recommend this complex to any one asking.

There is also a family pub about 200 metres from the appts called the cellar, with kids entertainment followed by a show and karaoke, just the thing for a family with young children.

Well where to start!!!
We almost didn't book these appartments after reading the reviews on this and other sites about the break ins going on at this complex.I rang Portland before booking and was assured that there was not a problem of this nature at the complex and any such problem they had in the past had now been resolved.So fool as I was I booked it.
A week before we were doe to fly I got a curtesy call from a Portland rep who had actually stayed there,he also confirmed that there was no such problem at these appartments.
Good points about this accommodation are few and far between.
1.Nice pool
2.Well kept grounds
3.Well equiped appartments
There it ends I'm afraid.
Bad points
Where shall I start.
We were dumped at the side of the road and left to find our appartment.We were given a code for the security gate which didn't work.We were not given a key to get in but luckily another couple let us in with their key.Found our room and guess what they key didn't fit,so we had to go in search of another key.Reception is miles away and staff were very unhelpful infact she din't belive us that the key would't fit and moaned when we asked for a gate key.Anyway that got sorted eventually
Saftey deposit boxes are on the balcony so every Tom,Dick and Harry can see you putting your valubles in the safe and taking them out.
Maids only left us 3 hand towels and 2 bath for 4 of us(these were filthy by the way) and no beds had been made.
The maids only came 3 times in the 2 weeks we were there and only actually cleaned once and that was because my 2 daughters were there at the time.They never made a bed in the whole 2 weeks and the towels they left got grottier and grottier.
Don't expect your bins to be emptied you have to do that yourself , every day u have to carry rubbish to wheely bins outside the complex.
When they say in the description the complex is up and incline they are not bl**dy lying.It's more like a mountain trek.
And now for the icing on the cake.
Remember that Portland denied the problem of break ins!!!
Guess what happened to us 12 days into our holiday.
Yep!!Despite double locking our appartment door some little toe rag managed to break in and steal almost all our stuff.We last loads of things, too numerous to mention and I don't expect our holiday insurance will pay up for half of it.
Night watchman was very helpful...amazingly the security guard had a night off!! Funny that!!!!
Fat lot of good the Benidorm police were,said they'd take fingerprints but never did ,even the CID officer we spoke to thought it was an inside job.
Portland/Thompson rep had a day off(how convienient)
Reception were again disbeliving until I showed them the police report.Didn't offer to move us though or change the locks.
Whatever you do don't book these appartments and if you do or already have and you are put in the Vacanza block make sure you don't get an appartment on the upper floors as these are the ones that are more prone to getting robbed.

We are not long back from these apartments and we had a great holiday. The rooms are not particuarly clean but the ground and pool area are well kept. The complex is up a fairly steep hill not reccommended if you have mobility problems. The location suited us as it was far enough away from all the bars etc to let us sleep but within easy walking distance of the beach and bars when we wanted them. The staff I encountered were pleasant but didn't speak much english. There was no entertainment arranged at the complex that I was aware of. The rep was vauge at best. We had to find out about our coach pick up ourselves on the way home and we were given incorrect information about checking out of the complex. The apartments are a reasonable size and well equipped. I read another report about the safety deposit box being on the balcony I didn't see any on the balcony's. Ours were in the front room or the bedroom.

We stayed in the Monaco building at the Vacanza complex and we found it excellent, except we were on the 17th floor and one of the two lifts broke down on our floor which meant the door kept trying to close. But it was fixed quickly.

The apartment was very clean and spacious, therefore I can't understand other reveiws saying it was terrible. And as for it being a very steep hill, slight incline more like, I have problems with me ankles but I didn't have any problems at all.

The pool was very clean and large, the grounds were clean and well maintained.

My son and his friend were both 12 when we went and they had a brilliant time.

Would definatley go back.

We stayed at the Vacanza in June last year. We booked the apartments as we were told it was only 6 storeys high and as one of the party suffers from vertigo and another has an artificial leg we thought this would be perfect. Oh boy were we mistaken !!!

We arrived late at night to a security guard on reception and when we were allocated our rooms we were allocated 12 and 13th floors we tried to explain that we had booked low floors on 6 storey building but were told there was nothing that could be done till morning.

We had a greeting meeting the next morning but the rep was very unhelpful and we were not moved.

The rooms were generally clean but there were a few security issues - our door wouldn

Well this complex was awful. We arrived there at 06:35 and the rep just abandonded us with our room keys at the bottom of the steps, no directions to our apartments or anything!We finally managed to find our apartment about 8am!
Before our arrival the apartment had been broken into, and the bars on the bedroom window were still ripped out the wall, therefore anyone could still gain access easily, also the balcony doors in the livingroom had the locks removed therefore anyone could gain access there too(gladly in the week no-one did). I reported both 3 times at reception and twice to the portland rep but nothing was done to make them secure again.I hardly slept the whole week as i felt very unsafe.
On arrival i had to go to a shop and buy disinfectant, to wash the floors as the were filthy, the toilet smelt strongly of urine, and the bowl was brown.
There was no entertainment at this complex.
There is no lifegaurd at the pool and my son nearly drowned, he was saved just in time by my brother-in-law! ALL IN ALL I WOULD NEVER EVER GO BACK TO THESE APARTMENTS! I WOULD NEVER RECOMMENDED THEM TO ANYONE EITHER!

The vacanza complex was terrible! It was very very dirty and wasn`t clean at all! we were apalled with the cleaning standards. The cleaner said she had been but it was obvious she hadn`t. The floors were dirty the beds were ripped and the tabled were thick with grime, The washroom door constantly blew open and the veranda wasn`t safe for children. The blankets were damp and the wardrobe door fell off .

We were in the monte carlo building the largest of the buildings in the complex and my grandad isn`t very good at walking at the moment and the lift broke down at 2 in the morning and we had no number to call as we weren`t walking up 19 floors with my grandad.

We had a great time outside the complex but this is the worst complex ever and we definately won`t be going back here.