- Costa del Sol Holidays
- Benalmadena
- Holiday World Polynesia, Affiliated by Meliá
This marvellous holiday complex is situated in Benalmadena Costa. It lies approximately 10 minutes away from Fuengirola by public transport, and is only 15 km away from Málaga Airport. The property is surrounded by vegetation creating the tranquillity that makes it ideal for a stress-free getaway. The most outstanding element is unquestionably the variety of leisure options, with activities designed for all ages and tastes. The outdoor pool area will be certainly everyone’s favourite. Various health and beauty treatments are provided for visitors who wish to feel refreshed. The rooms are perfectly decorated to create a comfortable atmosphere and make each stay the most pleasant and unforgettable one.
Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers massages. You can take advantage of recreational amenities such as a nightclub, an outdoor pool and an indoor pool. Additional features at this hotel include complimentary wireless Internet access, an arcade/games room and tour/ticket assistance.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
We had an amazing time, couldn't fault the hotel at all, the staff were amazing and our daughter loved going up to them to say hello. They always made conversation back with her and even taught her a little Spanish.
From previous posts/ reviews I was worried about the ants and food, but needn't have worried. Yes there was a few ants on our balcony, but it was only a few. We see ants in Scotland too!
There was such a wide selection off food and we enjoyed our meals. Plenty of fruits, cakes, pancakes, meats, fish,cheeses, ice-cream, sweeties and sides to choose from at different times if the day.
The hotel is beautiful inside and clean, the hotel shop is well stocked too.
The arcade is a worth a mention too, our daughter loved it. My only negative is we spent a small Fortune on the claw machine!!🤣 But, she did win a fair few toys.
Location is a bit out to go for a walk at night, however we went a walk to the beach, Fuengorla way during the day, it was only took us 15 minutes to walk and there is shops and cafes/restaurants along the front. We got a taxi to Benalmedena market and the hotel organised our taxi.
The spa is lovely too, you can book (and pay) to go with kids in the morning. It was very relaxing.
We are home and miss the hotel and staff so much. We definitely recommend this hotel. 7 nights was not enough for us.
This hotel is rated a 4 star for some reason! I would barely give it a 3 star. Unless you want something cheap with a rough crowd and bad food. Food is terrible, ants crawling on the counters where the food is being served and you can see the ants in the actual food and on the plates most of the time.
The drinks are just as bad, they won’t make cocktails and you get served drinks in plastic or paper cups. Coffee comes out of a machine, there is no fresh coffee and no such thing as anyone making you an iced coffee. Staff are not overly helpful or friendly. Most of them have really bad English. The only friendly staff are the entertainers who are good with kids.
Kids disco isn’t on until 9pm which is very late for small kids to have to wait up.
Having to get a shuttle bus and then walk some more to the kids pool is really not ideal.
The whole place is very run down and dirty. Air con in the rooms is not very strong so don’t expect to get a great nights sleep. The sofa bed is rock hard, I couldn’t let my child sleep on it so she had to come into the bed with myself and my husband.
Not sure if pools are heated but they feel pretty cold when you get into them. No balls allowed in the pool for some reason and not allowed to have your drink in the pool either.
The whole place needs a massive revamp and it doesn’t look how it looks in the photos online. We won’t be back and wouldn’t recommend to others thinking about coming. I’m very surprised one of us didn’t get really sick or get food poisoning here. Birds are washing themselves in the pool when the pool is closed in the evenings.
Not too many places in walking distance, we spent a fortune on taxis to get out of there during the day. Loads of extra costs for things as well like indoor pool, others food and drinks. All inclusive is not really all inclusive. Games and bowling etc are all extra as well.
Safe not being included in the room although it says on website. Had to argue with them to say it says it's included but they wanted 3 euros 60 cents a day. Never ever paid for the use of a safe in a hotel room before regardless if it's all inclusive or not. Stayed in hundreds of hotels and if there is a safe in the room have always been able to use it for free
Told not to drink the tap water. You get three bottles of water for your entire stay and have to refill them but the water there are only two water stations in the hotel, one is in the bar which doesn’t open until 7pm and the other is at the pool bar.
Main buffet food average at best. 2 other restaurants on site and you can’t eat in them on all inclusive, you have to pay to eat in them. We have been told we can’t eat or drink at the other two complex’s on this site!
We have been going out for dinner as the food is the same almost every night!
Restaurant at beach club closing from 28th September even though Easyjet website says end of October is end of season
Building showing it's age. Arcade area stinks of damp and needs refurbishing Lack of maintenance on the building as scuffed, chipped, dirty walls etc. The children’s soft play is broken and torn and needs replacing.
Old Air con system not efficient/working very well. Luckily it's not too hot (26/27 degrees) so could imagine wouldn't be good in summer heat.
Bath doesn't always have water when you turn it on which is a pain when you need to put your 3 year old to bed. The maintenance man said the water system is for showers and not baths although every room has a bath!
Reception is chaos, not set questions. Just stand under the check in sign and wait to be called. The lady receptionist is very rude and talks to you like you are stupid.
We wouldn’t stay here again.
Worst thing to happen was being took over before it was decent food better snack bar better quality food part from decor it's worst than before terrible entertainment for adults got sit there like plum watching some boring solo singer sing crap.paper cups on holiday terrible idea and what he'll going on with butter new stuff got cheese taste real butter please gone down hill since take over
Just returned from a week all inclusive at Holiday World Polynesia and given the mixed reviews, wanted to share an honest experience. If I could, I would rate this as 3.5 however can only choose between 3 and 4 and I do feel 3 is harsh.
First of all, check in does take quite a while and we arrived prior to our room being ready but were able to go for some lunch straight away. On return, our room was still unavailable despite being 45 minutes past the check in time. I did however ask if another room was available and the staff were quick to accommodate and move us to a room which was ready. This was great!
As described at the time of booking, the site is a hotel complex made up of 3 hotels, apartments and the beach splash park. The splash park is a 10 minute walk. They run regular shuttles but it’s actually an okay walk if you’re able to manage it. The splash park is brilliant, as is the hotel pool. Yes they’re on the colder side but actually you adjust very quickly. Our 4 year old wasn’t bothered at all.
The food is average. We always found something to eat but I didn't really enjoy a meal. I enjoyed some of the snacks but that was it. I can’t comment on the drinks too much as me and my husband mostly stuck to soft drinks. The rose wine is nice, and it’s Cruzcampo on draft. We didn’t try any cocktails. I think some reviews which slate the food have too high expectations of an all inclusive in Spain to be honest.
Yes there are ants however, reviews make it sound like the hotel and your bedroom is infested. There are ant trails on the ground if you eat outside at the restaurant and sometimes we had some on our patio but rarely saw them inside, and this would be a singular one which has crept in. Due to the location and setting of the hotel, I think ants are a standard and we didn’t feel this was due to uncleanliness.
The rooms are attended to every day. Your bed is made fresh and new towels are given for the ones you want to change. I wouldn’t necessarily say much more is cleaned about the room during your stay.
The hotel is a distance from other towns however the bus system is very easy to use and not expensive at all. You don’t need to get taxis. Some reviews complain about buses being unreliable or unsure of the timetable. You literally put it into google maps and it gives the next bus time.
Hotel staff are friendly and the animation team are always putting on a range of activities for children and adults.
We travelled with a baby (6.5 months). I did email prior to ensure a travel cot would be available in our room and asked about the mattress. The hotel was slow to reply and replied to say the mattress was thin and therefore, I assumed this was the mattress board which typically comes with most travel cots. We therefore asked for dimensions to order a travel mattress. I never got a response to this email and therefore had to take a punt. However, it is a proper style mattress that comes with the cot so this was a wasted purchase. What I would also say is you need to bring your own cot sheets as the sheets provided are just single not fitted sheets and therefore, if your baby fidgets like ours, the sheets become loose and therefore not a safe sleeping environment.
I would agree with some reviews that the hotel requires a little maintenance to bring some things back to when it probably first opened. Some wallpaper is peeling or some areas damaged, but it’s only things you notice when paying close attention.
Overall, we had a lovely week on holiday as a family of 4.
