we arrived at malga to recive a letter telling us we had been moved to a different hotel for first night. transfer time of 40mins took two hours 15mins with an idiot of a rep
stayed at vistamar hotel first night lovely 4* hotel.
went to welcome meeting ready to move 2hours later when everyone had been sorted {trips etc}a vey flipant rep decided to help us. we were told to return to hotel at 3pm the rooms were beening cleaned
another wasted day. the man one reception then told us we had a substandard room until thursday !!!!!!!
5pm arrival of rep. to get things sorted we ended up in the substandard room till thursday with an upgrade to half board, I must say the hotel reasturant evening meals were excellent. after another debate we finally ended up on the sixth floor,on thursday our holiday began. I would only rate this hotel as a 3* some of the staff were absolutly lovely others were ignorant. there are two hills but as we do a lot of walking they were not a problem to us.the maid service leaves a lot to be desired I left the please clean notice out for three days before we got clean towels and the bins in rooms needed emptying daily, the floors were not swept and we never had a change of sheets in a week. the pool area was good as long as you were an early riser no beds after 7am but the pool was cleaned every night and emptied once a week. highest regards to the lifegard there was an incedent with a child and he was a hero { even if he was doing his job}

We stayed at the Benalmadena Palace for two weeks in July, the hotel itself is very clean and new, the rooms were clean on arrival but could have done with a sweep at least once in the two weeks! The towels were changed every two days (except at the weekend when they are changed Saturday and not again until Tuesday)and the sheets every four. Having said that you only had to phone down to reception and they sent up clean towels etc whenever you wanted them.

On arrival we were allocated two rooms on the top floor, these unfortunately are built into the roof so that the balcony is in fact a four foot wall and the ceilings in the rooms slope down to the floor leaving very little space to move around. Also these rooms are rather on the small size and the cupboard space is halved due to the slope. There was no way we were going to fit two adults and two teenage girls into one of these apartments, and the the three boys were not impressed with the double bed they were given (having requested previously for two single beds!). A quick trip down to reception and we were moved to one room on the fifth floor overlooking the pool that was much better still not enormous but adequate. We moved the dining table out onto the balcony so that we had room to set up the fold out bed from under the sofa (this worked for us as we had no intention of eating in the room).

The three 17 year old boys on the other hand hit the jackpot they were allocated a room admittedly still in the roof but on the corner with a large bedroom so that they could separate the beds to opposite sides of the room, and a large living area. There were two wardrobes, one in the bedroom and another in the living area, and two balconies one overlooking the pool and one off the bedroom overlooking the building site. As the room was still in the roof the balcony still had the four foot wall that you either had to stand to look over or sit on the ledge to see the pool. This did not bother them, and the building site seems to have completed most of the heavy work and the noise did not wake them (it may have taken an earthquake mind you).

The wardrobe space in the room we occupied was a tight squeeze for two adults and two teenagers, would be no problem for two adults and two children but we did find space tight and there are no drawers, three shelves are provided in the cupboard but one of these is half used up by the safe.

The facilities in the hotel are what you would expect the gym seems to have all the equipment you could want and the indoor pool looked lovely. Due to the difficulty in getting sunbeds, we tended to venture down to the beach every day where they was no problem with seven Euros securing you two sunbeds with really comfy matresses and a parasol for the day.

Now for the hill, it is steep but not impossible I would hardly call myself fit and I had no problem, the shortcut through the garage is a godsend and apparently according to my daughter if the doors are locked you can press the buzzer and give your name and room number and they will open them for you, this cuts out the second hill (which is infact the private road to the hotel itself).

The staff on reception are very helpful speak very good English and there is no problem with cashing travellers cheques and once your passport has been copied for registration there is no need to produce it each time.

The food in the hotel was great could not fault the evening meals, we ate there twice and both times there was plenty to choose from and for twelve Euros could not complain. We did tend to eat out most nights.

Overall as long as you are not expecting five star accommodation you will be more than happy with this hotel/apartments.

had booked 2 studios June 03. No idea could be in the
roof, the bedroom was in an attic type room sloping roof no window, very claustrophobic. The balcony was in the roof and the drain stunk. Tried to get a 1 bedroom apartment but they said that they were full.Airtours could not help. The hill should be called cardiac hill. There was no holiday atmosphere
the 2 weeks were horrible, needless to say we will never go back. anyone who has booked a studio and does not want to find themselves in the same position should change the room type before travel by contacting their travel agent, would be worth paying the difference...good luck

We arrived at the hotel in July for two weeks. We had a room on the 6th floor right beside the lift.

I agree about the sunbed situation, if not up early enough you would not get a bed. The rep was not interested when we complained that towels had been on the sunbeds for most of the day but nobody there until 3-4pm.

The hotel is clean, but not enough bed linen and towel changes, a few times I had to go down to get clean towel/linen myself. At one point I had to use a black bag for rubbish because they had not cleaned my room.

Most of the staff were very nice others especially in the bars were very ignorant, but I think if they got more staff in the bars, they might have time to get on with the holiday makers.

The one thing that really anoyed me was that there was an incident with a child, who was by the pool, the lifeguard was doing his job, the highest regards to him, but 2 reps had went down to the poolside but instead of clearing the area of people (most children, that were watching everything that was going on) they stood there and was having a little giggle with each other. Have they got no respect for anyone?

The day after that there was a window that had been smashed (by workmen inside) next to the sunbeds, yet nobody was moved away until all the glass was cleared up.

Unless they improve the standards of respect to the holiday maker. I will not be going back there. But Benalmadena it self was very nice, especially the Marina, Fuengirola, Waterworld, Tomerrenlos, Tivolli World and the markets.

My husband and our 3 and a half year old daughter have just returned from a 10 day holiday at Benalmadena Palace. On arrival, unfortunately we had to get off the coach at the bottom of the hill and get our suitcases up to the front of the hotel because the coach would never have made it to the top. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that it was a long way, but it is slightly more than the incline that is described in the Airtours brochure! However, it was well worth it because we were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the hotel was and how well it was presented. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment which was modern and equipt with toaster, microwave, 2 ring cooker, and kettle although the cooking utensils were a bit limited (but we didn't go to cook so it didn't bother us!). A large sofa, small dining table, satellite TV (Although the only English speaking channels were CNN & Sky News. The bedroom was large with 2 single beds and mirrorred sliderobes.

There was a snackbar which served food from 11am - 4pm and for those of you going half board, the food in the restaurant was good with a wide enough range.
The outdoor pool area was cleaned every night and we saw the water being checked nightly for the correct chemical levels etc. Be warned - make sure you bag your sunbed early in the morning with a towel, they fill up very quickly and from about 9.45am.

The indoor pool was heated and there was a sauna, jacuzzi, steamroom and small gym which are opened from 10am - 6pm all of which are of a very good standard.

The disco bar was opened from 7pm - 1.45am with nightly entertainment. Live music at least 2 nights a week, karaoke which was a real laugh (the guy reminded me of Harry Hill!, a games night with small token prizes, spanish dancing nights. Something to suit everyone at least a few of the nights.

Now, about the hill everyone has been moaning about. There are actually 2 hills. One is a longer less steep hill, more gradual. The second is alot more steep but alot shorter. Unless you have a walking difficulty, you WILL make it up the hill, just take it slowly. I would agree with everyone else, take the lift to level 0 and you will find yourself in the underground parking. The gates are opened until 8pm but after that you will have to walk both hills.

Finally, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and I hope this review helped a little!

the hotel is wonderful me my mum and my 21month old daughter have just returned from benalmadena and had a terrific time. a lot of people seem to complain about the hill yes it would be a little hard in a wheel chair but its not that bad i managed fine pushing a pram up it everyday and my mum also has angina and it didnt bother her once. The hotel i very clean and nice the buffet style meal was lovely, there is also plenty to do as a family but the night entertaiment wasnt that great and the best entertaintment was a long walk away down near the marina but you could always catch a bus. the reps also organize good trips they have 1 to gibralta to see the dolphin that was fantastic and the zoo in fengourla is nice to but the theme park wasnt really for young children

There is a hill and thats it! The hotel is excellent. Rooms are well planned, plenty of wardrobe space, good cooking facilities (not that you would need them). The pool area is very well laid out with plenty of sunloungers. The bar area is cool (as in cold). The mini market is not a shop in any sense of the word---it is a cooler not much bigger than a domestic fridge freezer. The restaurant is very good with a large choice of buffet style meals. The pub is,well, a pub. Entertainment need a lots of brushing up. Front desk staff are very helpful. Towels changed every other day as are the beds made.

I have just returned from a weeks stay at the benalmadena palace. The first hick up was with my tour reps, I was given the wrong day to attend my welcome meeting and missed this,(it was held the day prior)when I finally met my rep later that day her attitude was that it was not her writting on the envelope and blamed her other colleagues, she promised to solve this by putting all information under my apartment door. Guess what this never arrived and I never saw her again, she never turned up for any of her meetings.

Well going back to what we thought of the complex: I found this very clean and new everything looked on average what you would find on a 4 star property, the apartments themselves I would not rate them a 4 star more like a 2/3 they were very basic and for only been open 3months the pull down bed setee was quite stained, we had a pool view, but being on the 6th floor with a wall of about 4ft high it was hard to see the pool.

The brochure states it has a mini market, I found this to be a fridge and was charged 2euro for a bottle of water, the local supermarket is just next to burger king and sell the same size bottle for 12cents.

The massage parlour was never open and the hairdressers does not exist, the indoor pool was very nice and the jaccuzi looked apealing but we never went in, this was because we over heard someone saying that a child had had a accident in there(not a p) and the staff just scooped it out, no chemicals were used to purify the water.

We spent most of our days down the beach which has very comfortable sun loungers 7euros for 2bed and a parasol. The dreaded hill was more of a incline than the brochure stated, but we found a short cut through the car park.

My worst night mare was to come on my departure day, which we had to vacate our room by 10.30 we were not to be picked up untill late evening, I asked the reception what facilities they had for their guests and where was the curtisy room to get changed in. I was horrified that a 4 star hotel had no room for their departing guests, I was told that the only thing they could offer us was the use of the PUBLIC toilets, when I asked them what would I do with my clothes etc the response was "that is your problem madam" I told the reception manager of my concerns and was rudely dismissed, I told them that this would cause great problems when the summer season arrives, but they were not interested, I told them that when we arrived back in England that I would write to truth guide with my experience, and guess what they were not interested.

so to sum it up I will not be going back to this accomadation again.

The hotel was really clean and the staff were very friendly. About that hill I really didn't know why people say its bad at all its not that bad and you can always cut through the garage and up the lifts if thats a help to anybody.

My family and I stayed in this hotel for 2 weeks and had a wonderful time there we had a studio on the top floor which was well equipped with cooker, toaster, microwave. The bathroom in this hotel is the best I have seen with a separate shower cubicle.
The restaurants are very good the food in the buffet is second to none.

True the hill is a killer but as stated earlier shortcut through car park.

The swimming pool indoors is lovely I went down there every morning when it was quiet also the jaquzzi. The entertainment was good something for everyone. The only complaint I have is their is not enough bar staff.