We have just returned from a great weeks holiday in the Holiday Village Benalmadena. We were very lucky in that the weather was just fab. We had visited the complex three years ago but hadnt had the chance to use the beach club as it wasnt finished at that time.The beach Club is fantastic and really makes this an amazing complex. There was lots of sunbeds available even if we didnt make it to the pool until lunchtime!

We found all the staff to be friendly and helpful. The complex is kept very clean and the only small problem we had was that we felt that the pool snack bar tables and floor area was not cleaned regularly enough. I dont like sitting at a dirty table to eat my lunch and when I did see them cleaning the tables they cleaned them all with the same cloth and no cleaning spray.

If your children enjoy going to kids clubs then they will have a great time. They have a wonderful team of reps who seem to have kids playing all sorts of activities all day long. I have never seen such a brillant kids club.

Foodwise, we were self catering but ate at the pool bar most days and anything we got was good. We hired a car and feel if you are willing to venture out of the complex, it is a great base to explore the Costa Del Sol. We used to go out every evening, visiting Mijas, Marbella and Puerto Banus which are all lovely places with lots of good restaurants. We also took the kids to Tivoli World and the Fungerola Zoo which is probably one of the nicest zoos around.

In all, this is a brillant well run complex which has something for everyone and we will definitely be returning in the future.

This was our 2nd visit to this hotel

Arrived late evening, double checked with reception we had a cot in our room. Was told there was, but had to wait over an hour for the maid to find one. The room looked clean but our 14 month old got obsolutley filthy crawling on the floor.

The rooms are nice, quite spacious, but short of utensils, even for making tea & coffee. We were all inclusive so not really a problem. Dont forget a tea towel & cloth!!!

There's quite a bit of building work going on, they're extending the beach club & building a new hotel next to the railway line. It would of been nice if we had been aware of this.

The hotel staff are very helpful, the entertainment staff were good fun & worked very hard. The entertainment was inside but due to move outside in the next few days. The weather was fantastic, hotter than we expected.

The beach club is great for small children, If you have a baby that's crawling, I would recommend pool shoes as our baby got sore feel from crawling on the safety matting.

Our 4 year old daughter did the swim kids 5 session course. This was absolutley fantastic as the instructor was in the water with her, it gave her so much more confidence. If you can, book with Lee. He made our daughters holiday. She stalked him morning, noon & night. We also booked 2 private 1/2 hour sessions with him. He got her swimming without armbands. I was amazed.

My daughter loved the kids club, the staff were great

The hotel food was OK, but it does get a bit boring. Try & make the most of the Italian & Mexican restaurants. These can be booked after midday.

The hotel supermarket is very expensive, if you are self catering dont do your shopping there. Its ok for water & milk but thats about it. There's quite a good bus service that runs about every 1/2 hour.

While we were there an awful lot of people had sickness & diarrhoea.

The hotel location is poor, it would be nice to walk to another bar in the evening.

We were expecting an out of the way hotel with great food and lovely staff. That isn't what we got.

Rooms - Dirty floors (don't walk barefoot), had to pay (deposit 10euros) for the remote control for the tv, lovely bathroom, plenty of room to chill out, all rooms in the wing we were in face the pool and sea however I have to warn you....

Sleeping - Don't expect any. If you have kids who get cranky if they don't get enough sleep the back of the rooms are facing an atrium where all the drunk teenagers and kids would scream till around 2am in the morning.

Food - Breakfast. Fatty bacon, 1% meat sausages, extra extra extra crispy fried bread, black putting swimming in red oil. However the omelets were made to order and yummy.

Food - Lunch. Not very accessable you had to search it out. If you are on a diet you have to pay for a jacket potatoe even if AI. You an have lots of chips though so enjoy.

Food - Dinner. Not sure the chefs have been trained to prepare actual food for mass people. There is a microwave to heat the food which is advisable. Greasy chips (soggy), veg overcooked, I think they have shares in a grease factory because everything was swimming in it. Profiteroles were lovely (get in quick these go fast).

Staff - First Choice. They were friendly but didn't see them very much. Didn't complain to them as they didn't seem to have any control over the kids playing football in any available space they could. My 3 year old was thrown across the floor by one boy who was running to get his football.

Staff - In2Action. They were wonderful all friendly, helpful and great to the kids. The evening club for over 9 years old goes on till 11pm. They do take your kids on walks around the hotel at this time and bear in mind they are kids themselves so you might want to ensure your kids are responsible enough to go. They do go over the quota of 15 kids per one adult.

Staff - Hotel. They were ok nothing special. Understaffed in the bar so long queues and a lot of queue jumping by drunk adults. Free drinks are plentiful and nice. Reception staff were lovely but if you are AI you have to wear a lovely fashionable plastic band around your wrist all week.

Location - We had been to the Costa's before and were expecting it to be this far away from anything. We got taxi's to Torremelinos (17 euros), Fuengerola (12 ro) on a few occasions because we wanted to walk a bit. Walking along both these promenades is great fun and the locals are respectful (won't way friendly think they are just dealing with tourists in a neutral way).

Weather - If you go and it is cold (below 22 degrees) then prepare to be bored nothing going on for kids inside (except football).

Summary - So if you enjoy walking in a football pitch, sleeping in a playground, underage chav drinkers sitting on steps and mucking around by the pool then this is the holiday for you.

We have just returned from the holiday village where we spent a week all inclusive.

The transfer was about 40 mins which wasn`t bad.

On arrival at the hotel we checked in but had to wait 1hr for our room but it gave us a chance to check out the hotel which has two parts, the main part is where the actual hotel is & the other is located over the road which is accessed to via a bridge.

There are two pools in the main part one large pool & one childrens pool also there is a snack bar which serves drinks & a good range of snacks & a drinks bar by the main pool both have very pleasant staff who speak good English.

The beach bar which is across the road has an indoor dining area plus a variety of pools.

The rooms are nice with seperate bath & shower we had fresh towels every day plus mineral water,juice & coke left in fridge every day.

The restaurant food was very good with different themes every night also we visited the mexican & italian restaurant which was very good there is also a piano bar inside the hotel & irish bar situated on a lower level.

The staff are very friendly & all speak English the First Choice entertainment staff are brilliant & English which was good,the evening entertainment consisted of mini disco, followed by bingo which two games were played one line & full house both which were for good money, followed by a show or quiz. The staff were again English & very good.

Overall I couldn`t really fault anything about the holiday we all had a brilliant time & would recommend this hotel to anyone.

This hotel is an excellent family place. The rooms are massive and well laid out. Bigger than average single beds in the main bedroom and a large sofa bed in the lounge. English t.v which was a bonus when it rained. Kitchen facilities looked o.k but if you have a large family ie :- 2 adults and 3 kids, I felt there wasn't enough pots and pans, but who wants to cook on holiday. When they say a stocked fridge they give you 2 small bottles of water, carton of orange and a small bottle of coke. If you don't drink them they don't add new ones. The bathrooms are great two sinks, bath with overhead shower, walk in shower and bidet.

The hotel it self had lots of things to do for children but we didn't use these facilities. The indoor pool and spa looked lovely but again we didn't use it. Can imagine it to be very busy in summertime.

The dining room was ok and we never had to queue to get a table. Not very good at giving coffee in the morning. Food was fine plenty of choice most days but like all A.I hotels can get a bit samey. One thing I didn't like was the bacon, it was swimming in its own fat. But on the whole we enjoyed what we picked.

One good thing about this hotel is that it is NON SMOKING. Spain does have no smoking restrictions now even in phone boxes so beware. You can smoke outside though.

The pools and beach club are brilliant and I can't wait to take my grandson when he's older (2 now ).

The building work did not encroach on us what so ever and can only help to enhance the village when it is finished.

One thing that worried me was on three occasions children got in distress in the pool and only once did the life guard jump in. I had to tell a woman her child was in distress and this was frightening as I couldn't get my words out quick enough.

The hotel is well out of the way of Benelmadena and Fuengirola but we had no problems getting out and about because the bus stop is at the front of hotel. They are also building train station for the holiday world complex, this will have stops right along the coast from Fuengirola to Malaga which I think is brilliant.

I would recommend this hotel to most people but if you don't like kids don't go because it is a family place.

I travelled to this Holiday Village with my Husband and little boy, I chose this place as I had heard it was great for famillies. I was not disappointed, the Hotel is very modern and really clean you always seen cleaners around even of a night time.

The food was really good, even though I am vegetarian I always felt that there was a really good range of food, they had themed nights in the restaurant each night, the Mexican and Itailian Restaurants were really nice to I would advise you to take advantadge of the free meal you get when you go AI.

I was really impressed by the no smoking rules that apply in all of the resteraunts and bars on the complex. It really did make the holiday so much more enjoyable knowing that your evening entertainment and your meal times were not being polluted by smokers and my 18 month old son did not have the discomfort of having to inhale smoke. Smokers are welcome to stand outside the exits of the bars to smoke which people did comply with but You did get the odd inconsiderate person going into the toilet to smoke even though children were in there too. (I advise you to let the hotel staff know about this if you witness it yourself as it is not fair on the children). There is a onsite doctor also in case you are ill which i found really reassuring especially if you have children.

The complex is a bit remote, but to be honest it didn't bother myself or my Husband one bit as everything is on site for you. The beach club is fantactic and the kids love it very child friendly with Life guards on hand all the time.

I felt the security of the complex was great as there is only one entrance and exit with a guard on at all times.

This complex is not only great for children but for couples as well the enetertainment team is really good with lots of activities for old and young.

The apartments are really spacious and nice too.

I will definately be going back soon. If you are wanting relaxation, comfort and peace of my mind with the kids i would advise anyone to book for this place. I am going back in July and can't wait.

Room was very nice and spacious, we went self catering.

If you come to this hotel I recommend you go all inclusive unless you like to get out and about like we did. But if you are s/c you can't use the indoor pool which I think is stupid we are paying to stay in the hotel so why not?

The entertainment was OK as we went in out of season there was not much open outside of the hotel so the best option was the entertainment, but the drinks are expensive!! So we bought our own and took them down.

The hotel is top class and we as a family have traveled over the world from Oz to USA but the holiday village Costa del Sol has amazing features the place is a top top top hotel we love it.

The First Choice reps are brill, all were they on hand and did everything we requested and they always smile!!!

What a nice team first choice have chosen to represent the Costa del Sol! The entertainments team also are out of this world.

Great shows,great staff. Were going back in August....we just hope the same team are there!

Dean, do First Choice know you use the computer to post reviews ?

Admin

We went here for a week,just got back.Well done to First choice, hotel was great,cannot grumble about anything,food was nice always a good selection,even for the fussy eaters out there.

As previous reviews say nothing around the village,but with all the facilities on site what else do you need on holiday.

Entertainments team are excellent and work really hard something for everyone no matter what your age.

The beach club is lovely,overlooking the sea,great views all round.

For the previous reviews who were grumbling about tHe queues at the bars,we didn't have any problems.

All in all a great holiday!We took mum who loved it!