Benalma Hotel Costa del Sol

“All inclusive: beautiful, friendly, lethally generous alcoholic drinks”

We were a British family of 6 (youngest was 15) and stayed all inclusive for 4 nights. Overall our stay was incredible - rooms, views, staff, food, drink, all amazing. Arrival - we arrived a few hours before check in. The staff we still very welcoming and took our mobile numbers to phone us when o… more

We were a British family of 6 (youngest was 15) and stayed all inclusive for 4 nights. Overall our stay was incredible - rooms, views, staff, food, drink, all amazing. Arrival - we arrived a few hours before check in. The staff we still very welcoming and took our mobile numbers to phone us when our room was ready. They gave us our all inclusive wrist bands so we could use the facilities right away, and we stored our luggage behind reception. This was a great first impression, the staff were very happy and the lobby was grand and beautiful. Rooms - the rooms were spotless, the balcony looked over the ocean, the beds were HUGE, we had a shower and bath, AND a mini fridge to keep our drinks cool which was fantastic with how hot it was there! There was air conditioning in the room so we had some control over the temperature in there. Housekeeping cleaned the rooms every morning whilst we were at breakfast. Staff - firstly a special shoutout to housekeeping. My partner and I were waiting at the lifts and discussing whether we needed to get a pool towel from reception. Housekeeping overheard and came over to ask if they could help, and advised us on the towel situation. This sounds small, but this is the first time I've ever stayed in a hotel where even housekeeping want to answer questions and solve any problems we have! All staff were brilliant. I speak some Spanish so I try to speak to them in Spanish on the chance that it is helpful to them (even though their English is brilliant). They entertained me with my Spanish-speaking and even taught me a few things (don't ask for a paragua for the sun). The entertainment guy ALWAYS had a huge smile on his face, whether we was entertaining the kids, adults, or just pottering around, he genuinely gave the impression that he loved his job. It was also nice to recognise the staff during the stay - some of them seemed like they worked every day, but still appeared very happy to be there! Food - The buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner had a huge array of options and offered different items every day for every meal, which kept things new and interesting. It was certainly the best hotel buffet I have ever had, the quality was great. Some foods were quite creative, particularly the desserts, and we all had fun trying new foods and guessing what on earth was in the unusual looking but oddly delicious pastry item. There was free food available at all times in the day so you would never go hungry. Note: A la carte menu is only included in all-inclusive if you stay for 7 days or more. Drinks - I didn't find anything that was not included in all-inclusive, it seemed that most drinks were included. Their pours of the spirits were lethal. A vodka lemonade was more like a quadruple vodka with a whiff of lemonade in the same room. Needless to say this was fantastic and British pours will feel like a single droplet following the relentless generosity of the Spanish bartenders. The entertainment guy found it rather amusing to see me in the morning, a broken shell of the woman I was the night before. Location - There are shops and restaurants nearby. We got a train into Malaga on one of the days (it was very busy but easy to get). Another day we got a bus from outside the hotel into the Marina which was beautiful. This hotel is a little out of the way of the hustle and bustle, but that was quite nice. Pool - We thoroughly enjoyed the pool, it never became too busy (although it was October). There is a pool bar which closes at 5pm, however when they were closing down at 5, my partner cheekily tried to get one last drink, and the staff happily served him like it was no problem at all. It was these small moments of kindness and generosity which really stood out to us as the staff truly going above and beyond. Overall, we will be staying here again, and I couldn't recommend it enough.

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