Holiday Village Costa del Sol

Only after booking our holiday did we discover all the negative reviews and to say we were worried is an understatement!!! However, we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and our spirits continued to be lifted throughout our holiday. We were greeted by welcoming reception staff and enjoyed the drinks laid on while we checked in. We were able to get into our room which was low level and next to our friends as requested. The room was spacious, clean and tidy and had all we needed. The maids did a great job keeping it clean and made extra effort to lay out our childrens teddies each day which they thought was wonderful!! Bed was comfy - we slept well. The main pool area (where we spent the first day) is busy but there's lots going on and lifeguards are very attentive. The snack bar food was exactly what you'd expect - chips, burgers, sausages, rolls, fruit, doughnuts etc. On the second day we ventured over to the Beach club (across the bridge) where there is a more chilled atmosphere and we happened to come across the baby pool right at the top which was an absolute delight for little ones & very quiet too. We much preferred it to the hotel pool. The kiddies loved the splash pools and the adults loved the jacuzzi pool :-) we were most concerned about the food. We're certainly not foodies but we wouldn't eat rubbish either!!! Have to say we were so pleased that every meal served hot, frequently replenished food of all varieties. I do not ubnderstand why somany complain about it. Yes, it's not a la carte but you're an idiot if that's what you expect!!! For example, Breakfast offered fruit, bread, full English (4 types of egg, 3 types of bacon plus all the extras you'd expect), fresh omelettes cooked to order, pancakes cooked to order, toast, cereal, pastries Lunch at the beach club was a huge salad bar, pasta, rice, meat and fish grilled in front of you, chips, jackets, burgers, etc plus desserts and pastries. More o a proper meal than the snacks you get over at the main pool. Evening meal was themed -sushi night, crepes night, chocolate fountain etc. There was always something to choose from & again it was always fresh and being replenished frequently. Entertainment was good. Typical holiday village stuff. Early evening for the little ones and more grown up 'shows' for the adults later on. We went to Benalmadena harbour on one day for a wander and a boat trip & Fuengerola for the market and beach on another day. Both are worth a visit. The bus stops are right outside the hotel and just over a Euro per person each way. We loved our week and could happily stay longer.We are already looking at holidays for next year and would happily come back again!!!!

Currently here with 1day to go untill we go home and have to say this hotel is poor we are a family of 4 two adults 2 children aged 6 and 9 Hotel is clean and tidy rooms cleaned everyday apart from British people leaving rubbish all around the pool there are plenty of bins don’t be lazy Food - breakfast ok full English cereals fruit etc the lunch snack bar and evening meal consist of hotdogs burgers chips chicken nuggets everyday every meal after 2 day’s we were totally fed up of this Pools were good didn’t close in our stay but they were cold kids enjoyed them so can’t complain there Entertainment where to begin no outside acts just the reps singing every night very poor quality and I saw more people sat outside the piano bar with kids playing in the fountains most people we spoke to not happy with the entertainment this is suppose to be a holiday village and we search high and low for our kids to have the complete package and I’m sorry to say it’s not this hotel Everything is an add on paying money for trampolines football academy swimming even the pool assault course you had to pay expect to spend money while here Other reviews saying reps were good I found them the worst I’ve ever seen not child friendly tell kids to collect stickers for a certificate then come and see them my kids went only to be told 3 days come back tomorrow my kids wanted to go on inflatable assault course only to be told go away we are not letting anymore kids on yet the reps spent 10 mins bouncing all over it themselves Finally hotel miles from any shop we were paying €10 a taxi everytime to go anywhere so unless you want to just stay in your hotel or spend most of your money on taxis Overall I would not return we have stayed various places holidaying twice a year for 10 years and this is by far the worst overall package This is an honest review and I know people have different opinions I don’t expect 5 star I have stayed in 3star better than this

Room - large, fantastic shower, awful hard beds. View of train track disappointing but better than being next to the hotel bins the other side! Pay extra for a sea view, my sisters view was lovely. Activities - children have been paddle boarding on an inflatable assault course, to a chocolate party, football academy on astro.... reps are fantastic. Football pitch on an evening is very small and open until 9pm. 2 Euros for ride ons, 4 euros for bungee trampolines, arcade is poor. Mini golf is free. Pools - one code brown the day we arrived otherwise accessible all 10 days. The beach club pirate ship and pools made the holiday worth the £3k we paid for 2 adults 2 children for 10 nights in my opinion, without it, I would have been disappointed. We also joined in with the water aerobics at the beach club over the bridge. Cleanliness of pool toilets has been awful, doors broken, lacking in toilet rolls and a mess. Food - average, we’ve had much better quality and choice in other 3 and 4* hotels on all inclusive packages. Italian worth the visit to have a break from the buffet restaurant and burger visit is tonight. Weather - it’s been hot/warm/windy and rained on our last day (30 Aug-9 Sept). Trips - we did the crocodile park 2 1/2 hour visit, 20 euros each way 50 euros for a family of 4 and extra to hold and buy picture to hold a baby croc. We did the dolphin boat trip from the local marina, 50 euros for 4 including a photo, taxi to marina 13 euros. Tip to go out at 10.30am as dolphins are guaranteed to be our due to fishing boats. Fantastic experience but sea choppy - motion sickness tablets a good idea! Others here have said Cyprus and Ibiza have been much better holiday villages to visit. I would not return here but this was cheaper than other Holiday Villages when we booked it. You get what you pay for. I nearly changed our booking after reading reviews but £1,500 more was out of our budget at the time. The children have loved it which is the main thing.