This is the second time that we have visited the holiday village as a big group and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.

The pool area was cleaned every day while we were there and our room was also cleaned every day.

Food was great and as I am a fussy eater I found something I liked every night.

We tended to use the beach club as this has a pool suitable for the little ones and it does not get as crowded as the main pool.

The location is a little way out but there are always taxis outside the hotel or the local bus.

The staff were always pleasant and the entertainment was good.

We chose this hotel as last year we could let the younger children roam around knowing that they could not get off the complex this gave us peace of mind.

An absolutely fantastic holiday! I can honestly say that this was by far the best place I have stayed on AI in Spain.

The hotel was spotless with staff constantly cleaning. The pool was excellent and surrouning area well looked after, the room was very spacious with a huge bathroom which had 2 showers as well as a bath. Although we stayed AI the room had a fully equiped kitchen and a fridge that was stocked with soft drinks and water every day.

Food was as good as you could expect from somewhere that had to cater for so many people. There was always an impressive choice and it was always well cooked and presented.

I can see why some people may not like the location of the hotel as it was a little way away from the resorts but there was so much to do in the hotel that we only ventured out twice.

Staff worked tirelessly and the majority were very friendly and happy to help, occasionally there was a grumpy face or gesture but when you consider the bar staff worked 10-12 hour days for 10 days on the trot its hardly surprising.

Entertainment was pretty much standard with mini disco's and rep shows but 3 or 4 times a week professional entertainers came in and they were very good.

We dont normally go back to the same place twice but will definately go back to the Holiday Village one day

On Arrival:
Approximately 30 minutes from the airport.
On arrival check-in was very quick.

Room:
We were disappointed with our room. We have stayed in 3* hotels with better rooms. The main room was dull and narrow with a dirty sofa which pulled out into a bed. The tv only had a few channels, including a news channel, but even though there was a cartoon channel it was in German (even though we didn't come across one German person in the hotel during our stay!). Because of the dirty sofa bed the four of us had to push together 2 singles in the bedroom and sleep together! Kitchen was small but had a microwave, hob & fridge. Fridge was stocked daily with drinks but beware, they are only replaced when you drink them so you may want to hide them away before the maid calls so your stock is fully replenished! Bathroom was large and bright with nice shower and air conditioning was a help.

All Inclusive:
We were not informed of where to go or at what times, to take advantage of the AI. Eventually we worked out the following:
Breakfast: Main restaurant 7.30 - 10.30
Snacks: Bar near main pool from 10 am which serve drinks and a wide selection of snacks
Lunch: Main restaurant or snack bar, your preference
Evening Meal: Main restaurant, mexican or italian.
Beach Club: Drinks only, food consumed must be paid for.

Maid Service:
Maid service was only very basic. She made the beds and changed the towels daily (remember to place used towels in the bath for her collection otherwise they are not renewed). We felt let down by the quality of the towels, they felt like sand paper, which was very disappointing for a hotel which is still relatively new.

Pool Areas:
The pool areas were really lovely, one of the best, with plenty to choose from.
The main pool is near a fully inclusive bar which AI guests can acquire snacks and drinks most of the day. The beach club bar provides drinks to AI guests but food must be paid for. There is also another pool area which is higher up near the lighthouse area. This is a small version of the beach club and is a lot quieter. One morning we went up there at 10.45 am and we were the first to arrive! This is the best pool area for young children as the deepest part is only up to your knees and there are fun water shoots coming out of the ground which they found great fun.
Beware that the beach club is quite a long walk, especially with young children. It takes approximately 10 minutes to walk and it is over a horrible bridge! It is well worth the walk though.

People do try to reserve beds early, usually around the main pool area because that's near the AI bar but there are plenty of beds at the beach club which opens at 10 am and at the pool area above that.

Cleanliness:
Inside the hotel was quite clean though it annoyed me that so many people seemed to be leaving cigarette ends on the floors!
We never saw the pool areas cleaned at all and dirty elastoplasts, empty cups etc could be found lying around which really let this place down.

Restaurants:
There are 3 restaurants. The main restaurant always had an excellent selection of food and the mexican and italian were very good too, something for everyone. I felt that my children would not eat anything at the mexican because they are fussy eaters but they served food such as chicken nuggets which our children loved!

Evening Entertainment:
The evening entertainment was okay. There was a kids disco 8 pm - 9 pm then bingo then at 10 pm a family show. The seating area was large and even when we sat at the back we could see the stage quite clearly.
Unless you are prepared to get a taxi somewhere else most guests stay in the hotel, though it can get quite monotonous after 2 weeks!

Kids Club:
The kids clubs are great. As long as you sign your children in for an activity 24 hours beforehand you should be guaranteed a place. Activities usually last approximately 90 minutes. The clubs are also on in the evening. There's even one called 'Movie and Munchies' 9 pm - 11 pm (from 3 years up!).

The hotel overall was quite nice, could do with a little polishing at the edges. We did see the pool area being cleaned regularly, but could not say the same for the inside of the hotel.

I have to say that any mess was due to untidy holiday makers, and children and teenagers who had been left to their own devices by irresponsible parents.

The food was of a good standard and quite varied for our two week stay. We were not very impressed with the Italian but the Mexican was ok.

The location is good, you can reach Benalmadena one way and Fuengirola the other, both 5-10 mins in taxi. There is a bus stop and taxi rank just out side the hotel, the bus was 1 euro pp each way, and a taxi cost us 10 euros each way.

The marina at benalmadena was lovely in the evening.
The beach club is a couple of mins walk across a bridge linked to the hotel, drinks are AI but you have to pay for food here.

The staff were all pleasant enough, especially those in the restaurant. They all clearly work very hard.
I did feel that the outside bars could do with one or two more staff, to avoid queing. However I feel this is probably done on purpose to make sure that customers do not over indulge on the All Inclusive offer!!

The reps and entertainers work really hard, First choice definately like to get their monies worth out of the staff!

We did feel that First Choice could put a little more effort into the acts provided. Although what we did see served its purpose. We felt that the facilites were good but could be utilised much better.

The Kids clubs and mini disco were excellent our 4 year old thoroughly enjoyed his holiday, and took part in the sessions and even a trip out to Selwo Marina. Happy child = Happy parents.

Was very impressed with this holiday from the moment we stepped off the plane. Was met by First Choice rep and directed to a mini bus straight away which took us straight to the hotel. Check in was very simple and quick and the receptionist was very friendly and welcoming.

Cleanliness of the hotel was good. Room cleaned every day, even though some days our lad didn't get out of bed till 11ish. There is a bloke circuling the pool area every day, empting all of the bins. I don't think that we saw an overflowing bin once in the whole two weeks we were there. Only thing I'll suggest is that you make sure everything is off the floor at about 3ish as he hoses down the floor and don't move anything! (We had a couple of close shaves with camera, game boy etc, in our bag)

Hotel staff were all extremely friendly. Our 6 year old boy loved talking to them in Spanish, after a couple of days, they always recognised him and were pleased to see him. Service from reception staff was always very efficient and friendly.

Entertainment was excellent. Don't miss the Matt and Jay show, gave us a good 'belly' laugh. Wizard of Oz was good but they were suffering with sound and feedback on the mikes during Grease.

Our children loved the kids clubs. Our little one has ADHD so struggled with some sessions, however, thanks to Dean, an excellent kids club rep, he was able to join in with the sessions. They rearranged the running of the ones he attended to keep him busy. (Over and above what was expected of him)

We would definately visit again, although are thinking of trying HV in Majorca next year. This holiday was everything and more that we expected it to be.

Hi, we have arrived back from our hols and we all had a fantastic time.

Upon arrival we were impressed with the hotel straight away, the reception, rooms, in fact everything.

After our welcome meeting we enrolled the kids in their activities and there were lots to choose from for them.

Food was great, lots of choice and everything was fresh - there was nothing repeated the whole holiday and we were there two weeks.

The hotel is in the middle of Benalmedena and Fuengarola and each resort is only a 10mins taxi ride away, cost about 10 euro.

Staff were very friendly, all the First Choice reps were fantastic with us and the kids.

Entertainment was good, something different every night with lots of effort to make everyone happy. (Obviously they can't please everyone - but they more than pleased us)

We would definitely visit again, in fact we are looking to book for next year already!!

Well done First Choice!!!!!

We went all inclusive which was great eat and drink anything you like all day. Mexican and Italian where ok nothing special.

Food was good although the restaurant was like eating in a goldfish bowl, with lifts going up and down by the side of you while you where eating.

The hotel wasn

Just come back from a week at this place and can't really fault the place too much

Good Points

Very clean, towels changed daily and beds made.

Rooms are very comfortable with 2 large double beds, air con is great comfort as its very very hot out there at the moment (need it on low at night)

Bathrooms luxurious (2 showers) and large balcony.

Not so good points

Lifts quite often out of order (bit of a pain if you're on the 5th floor)

Supermarket very expensive in complex (wasn't too bad for us as we had a car for a week so were able to get out and about to supermarkets)

Would stay again.

AI food could at times be cold and the queues at the restaurant were sometimes quite long. But there was a variety of different foods to choose from.

Hotel was spotless so was our room.
Location wasn't as bad as some AI resorts I have visited in the past. There was the local bus service right outside the complex that took you to nearby Benalmadena, Fuergirola or even Torromolenos!

Reception staff were very helpful and happy, bar staff were a hit or a miss but most of them were friendly and helpful.

I enjoyed the audience participation the best although there were 1 or 2 nights when they did have theme nights on and they were ok.

Kids loved every aspect of the holiday they didn't get bored at all and thats what I book for as long as they are happy so am I.

Couldn't fault the cleanliness of the rooms as they were cleaned every day and towels changed each day as well. Hotel itself was clean and contrary to previous reports I was there for 1 week and saw staff cleaning the pool at night 3 times.

I was worried before I went about the food because of reports on here. We had 2 young children which meant we were at the restaraunt for it opening each night and never received anything that was cold but that may be because we were there early.

If it was at a 4 star restaraunt at home I would expect a higher standard of food but there was a decent choice there and didn't find it getting repetative although we were only there for a week. The Italian restaraunt was not very good but we found the Mexican to be good and snacks during the day were good, good choice and served quickly.

The location of the hotel didn't really bother us much as we were there for a week and didn't plan on travelling far. I walked into Fuengirola, it took about ten minutes to get to the outskirts where there are supermarkets, bars etc but about an hour to get into the centre. I returned by taxi another day and it cost 12 euros from the taxi rank at the hotel to the centre which I found expensive but later found out that the taxi firms have a different rate for hv guests than they do for other people.

I didn't have a problem with the hotel staff. Reception staff were always happy to help and bar staff were ok. I don't expect to be entertained by bar staff I just expect them to serve me so I have no complaints.

The kids absolutely loved the entertainment. The mini disco will annoy adults after a few days as it's the same every night but the kids love it. Resident duo devilish and devine would be fine if you only had to see them once but several times in one week is too much. Entertainment for kids during the day is expensive. The soccer school is 20 euros for 90 minutes and the creche is 10 euros for the same time.

The beach club is fantastic. They have a great pool at the very top for younger children and all the bars there are now all inclusive for drinks but not food. Beds with parasols are easy to find there also.

We would return to this hotel but only when the kids are older. If your kids are at an age where you don't have to look after them all the time you will enjoy the hv as it is very secure but with kids at 1 and 2 we were always chasing them which isn't a problem but in the heat we experienced there it was exhausting.