Holiday Palace

Oh my goodness what a complete joke this place was. I would never recommend this place even to my worst emeny. The hotel was pretty new and the layout was really nice but that was the only good point I could make. It was dirty, our balcony was covered in bird poop and we are still waiting for the clean towels we asked for. Most of the staff could barely speak english. The restaraunt only opened 3 days per week. The buffet was 20 euros per person and this didn't include the cost of drinks. The prices in the supermakrket were to say the least, extortionate ( for example a bottle of water costing 73 cents in the town was over 3 euros in the shop), The pool bar charged 2.10 for a very small glass of fanta when you could buy a 2 litre bottle in the (very distant) town for 1.03. The actual hotel was miles, and I mean miles from anywhere. We went out one evening and walked 4 kilometres without encountering so much as a shop. The brochure states that it is on an "incline", that is the uderstatement of the year, it is actually at the top of a very steep hill, so if you are bad on your feet or have little ones this is not the place for you, but then as I said I would not recommend this place to anyone as it's dirty, poorly managed and very very expensive !!!

I have just returned from the holiday palace all inclusive benalmadina costa del sol i would just like to inform other travellers of how far local amenities are from the hotel ,you have to travel by bus or taxi . The hotel is also self catering which is what we booked but do not cater adequetly for this option. They charge more than local shops by about 1 euro on goods . You need to be fit as it is on top of a hill, they run a bus from 10am-6pm which takes you up down the hill only. We were on allocation on arrival, as were others that we met.

We were extremely cautious after reading the review from Edinburgh. Yes there is a hill! However the hotel provides a minibus up to 6pm each night. Unfortunately this requires a taxi home each night (approximately 10 euros). We travelled with 3 young children all under 8 and they had a wonderful time. The hotel iteslf is very nice, clean, quite and the staff very courteuous and helpful. The daily kids club was a must for our 3! There is a kids club at night which costs 10 Euros per child, the nightly entertainment is mainly aimed at a Spanish audience and not your typical 'Brithol' stuff. The shop on site is extremely expensive (around 100-150% markup!), we chose to go self catering, the cooking facilities are limited' within each room' so we didn't buy much other than milk and bread. Be advised if you choose to go all inclusive the pool bar has 'limited snacks' to choose from (not the complete menu) and the cafeteria meals did not get much praise from our fellow residents. However the pool is excellent for children with a lifeguard provided, doesn't get too busy and you can always hop on the minibus and use the Beach club which has numerous pools/lifeguards (including the famous pirate ship, with slide). My advice: Don't go all inclusive Budget for taxis Get the number 120 bus (at 1.20 Euros) to either Fruengerola or Belamadena Would we go back - YES

After reading previous reviews on Trip Advisor I was not looking forward to the 'big hill'. The hill took about 3 minutes to get down and 5 minutes to get up - was steep but I am not a fit person and I found it fine. There is a mini bus up and down the hill constantly from 10-6. We were all inclusive so it was fantastic, entertainment was a little painful but my little girl loved it and at the end of the day that's all that really mattered. Buses into Fuengirola and Benalmadena run all day until 11.30. Obviously Taxis aren't an option over there if you have young children as no car seats etc but they are in the process of building a train station right in the centre of resort so in a year or two you will be able to get here by train direct from Malaga airport. Hotel is very impressive, and Beach club is fantastic, loads of levels of different pools for different age levels. This place is not worth going to if you're self catering, it is geared solely towards all-inclusive and they charge ridiculous prices for everything if you're paying for things separately. Good Food, Good Drink, Friendly Staff, Fantastic Facilities for Kiddies. Safest Hotel I've ever been in. All in all, great hotel, if I returned I would possibly go to the Holiday Village, it's in the same resort, run by the same people and is essentially the same hotel but bigger and seems to be more entertainment etc.

My infant son, husband, elderly parents all just returned from Holiday Palace, the apartments where exceptional, high standard of room size, bathroom and staff where friendly. Pool had a life guard, great and poolside bar/snack. Downside you will have to take a taxi every night to get anywhere after six. From 10am to 6pm they have a delightful man in a bus running you from hotel at top of hill to the bottom where you can either take a bus or also a taxi from bottom, you couldn't walk anywhere with child, buggy or elderly people. So although great apartments it really needs a bus/train or something free to take you to either resort as you are really not in either resort. Having said that if you are fit and well hill not a problem. There are no restaurants or cafe for breakfast and apartment/hotel does offer breakfast at 15 euro each, so that would mount up and we went there first morning, not great just ok. THere is not really enough equipment in the kitchen to cook properly, just sandwiches or breakie. Apartments are above average, but not so sure I would go back.

This is one of the most attractive holiday centres I have seen in many years. The facilities, particularly the swimming pools and water features are amongst the most elaborate and beautifully presented. It is a suited for adults and kids alike, and few could fault what is on offer. It is very much a fully self contained holiday complex consisting of several aparthotels within the expanding Holidayworld complex.. The Holiday Palace is situated about 300 yds uphill from the main Benalmadena to Fuengirola coast road. Although many brochures describe the location as Benalmadena, it is by no means IN Benalmadena. It is halfway between the two major resorts of Fuengirola and Benalmadena, in a developing area called Torremuelle. It has several restaurant/bars/shop/entertainment facilities within the Holidayworld complex. However car hire would be beneficial as there are no additional shops or restaurants within easy walking distance, but a 5 minute bus journey up or down the coast will bring you to either resort centre. Taxis & bus stops are located down at the complex entrance, and for those who opt for car hire, there is more than ample parking up at the hotel. Some previous reviews mention the hill. Here’s my opinion. Yes there is a fairly steep 300 yard long private windy road leading up to a flat plateau and car park at the Holiday Palace. It is of no trouble to those who are able bodied, and there is a free minibus service between 10am to 6pm to shuttle guests up and down the hill. At the bottom of the hill you will see the sister hotel, the Holiday Village, and just across the road the fabulous Beach Club which is free to guests of both hotels. The Beach club is a water themed facility accessed via wheelchair friendly spiral ramps and footbridge making it completely safe to cross the road and accessible to all. It is the extensive facilities at the beach club that really sell this property. Pools, squirting water jets, fountains, zero depth entry pools, spa’s, full size ornamental elephants, a galleon, tennis courts, football training, sun decks, a lighthouse, bars, restaurants, treehouses, straw umbrellas and palm trees for shade. There is something for all ages, and there are lifeguards on duty to keep an eye on safety. The only thing they don’t have at the beach club is a beach!. There is a part sandy/part rocky beach about a 100 feet drop directly below the beach club, but no one appeared to be interested with so many more attractive facilities on site. Back at the Holiday Palace, you have a nice zero depth entry unheated pool too, with plenty of unreserved sunloungers, even though it was prime dates, Easter week. They also have at additional cost (7 euros per half day) access to the indoor pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and gym. There is an internet room (1 euro per 10 mins) a small free kids club (10-2pm,), video games room, although several of these were out of order. An all inclusive option was being offered at reception at a cost of 40 euros per adult day. There were a coupe of nights when there was live music in the bar, and also an excellent magic show in the basement theatre. The air conditioned 1 bedroomed apartments are more spacious than average, and were well equipped with kettle, toaster, microwave, and 4 ringed ceramic hob and fridge. TV had around 6 english speaking channels, and a 10 euro deposit was refunded on return of the remote control. Balconies were also spacious, all with side sea view. The rooms will sleep up to 4 adults and possibly a cot. The sofa bed converts to 2 twins or a double, and was reasonably comfy. The rooms were very fresh and tastefully decorated. We spotted a few ants scouting for a free meal in the bathroom. From then on, we took care not to drop any crumbs or leave food uncovered and we escaped any further invasion. The hotel appeared to have all the ramps in place for wheelchair guests and our room had more than nomal hand rails around the bath and wc which we assumed was for the less able. Glass lifts were working when we wanted them . (some previous reviews mentioned problems). The immediate terrain is hilly scrubland and trees, and there are some earth moving diggers levelling some ground nearby. We found this had no impact on the hotel as it is sufficiently distant. The railway track that is nearby had a few electric powered trains go by, but there was little track noise and as they are electrically driven. You wouldn’t know it was there unless you’re a trainspotter or fault finder. If you are choosing between Holiday village or Holiday palace, the village is much larger, busier and more conveniently located, and marginally better for children due to the immediate proximity of the Beach club. The palace is on a smaller scale and quieter, and around the pool was tranquil when we were there. One thing I really appreciated was that no one seemed to find it necessary to grab sun loungers, there appeared to be ample for everyone regardless of where you were. Would I return, yes. Have a look at the pictures !

We went sort of knowing what it would be like, there is a big hill up to the hotel and it is a good walk to the beach but we are a young family so it didnt bother us.. The hotel room was cleaned every day and it was a very nice , the pool was clean and great for familys, there was some bad sides to the holiday the bar next to the pool was very expensive £3,50 for a small slush we spent a fortune in a week on food taxis and drinks, the staff at the bar pool were also very slow and we had to wait a good 30 mins for a drink, if you go on the last day pay to go in the spa its only cheap, and children can go in free there are showers in there, the shower that is used for your last day is horrible there was no towels and the floor was swimming so you couldnt put your bag down while you where getting dressed , which isnt good with a child to sort out, I would go again the kids club was great , they also had a great pool on the other complex you could use if you wanted too. my little girl loved it...

Having read the bad review of the hotel, we were cautious about staying here, but our fears were unfounded. It appears most of the problems encountered by the reviewer have been fixed. The only point i agree on is that any extras you have to pay out for. Indoor pool/spa, kids club, tv remote, towels etc.. rooms really nice, with seperate well equipped kitchen, and good sofa/pull out bed. Hotel is up a hill, but is walkable if you are reasonably fit. All in all very impressed, and would come back again.

We were lucky going at the end of the holiday season, referring to the earlier review : the lift problem had been fixed by having a woman voice saying lift going down, doors opening- it got a bit amusing in the end! The kitchen is small and the shop is expensive but the view of the mountains is breathtaking - you really do feel as if you are part of an andulsian village. The hill is there and the staff do promptly call a taxi on your behalf. If you want seclusion away from the hustle and bustle of a tourist complex and want to pamper your self in a health spa - then it is ideal. There is a questionnaire to fill on the hotel- the staff do genuinely want feedback and a lot of cleaning was in progress - i guess they have responded to the teething problems of opening a new hotel. It is an ideal place for young families - the water park and swimming pools were good. Indeed in the hotel magazine the emphasis is on children and aiming for the discerning holiday maker. We ended up in the palace as opposed to the sister hotel for families and hence had more of a quiet time with the children. There is a mini club for the children and i got to know the lady looking after the children well - maximum capacity 15 children - so yes they have responded to over capacity in the miniclub. What other hotel would have tables set out in the central foyer with all the cutlery and crockery - trying to create al fresco dining atmosphere - with the risk of kids running wild and knocking everything- kids were really made welcome. My little one scribbled all over the table linen in the italian themed restaurant. As i said at the beginning maybe we went at the right time of year but the staff are keen to respond to concerns- my safety deposit box (refundable deposit paid) wouldn't work it was 1am in the morning before we got into the rooms - still had help though. Everything costs money and i am persuming they are costing everything upfront instead of increasing the room rent- leaving ultimately the decision to you.

DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL. All will be explained: First things first. It is listed as a 4 star hotel, and indeed looks very nice. 4 star is what you expect when you see this hotel, if not a little better. So why not go? 1) SURROUNDINGS & Location. The HOLIDAY VILLAGE, purchased a huge piece of land a long time ago. They started building in 2001, and now have two hotels in the "complex", this one included. There are plans for 3 other hotels in the immediate vacinity, a gold course, and a train station - all owned by the same group, with a similar theme. The ENTIRE surrounding area was being flattened, almost finished, so that building could start. You will be looking at construction sites for the next two years, minimum. The now infamous hill! We read stories about this "hill" you have to climb. We have been on holidays before where the hotel is up a hill, and we found people complained without reason - perhapsthey were just lazy! However, THIS hill is even joked about by the reps taking you to the hotel - "maybe we'll just drop you at the bottom". There is a minibus that will take you down the hill and back up, for a charge of €1.50 per day. You must use this hill to get anywhere. The hotel is located in the middle of no-where, you must get a bus (good service!) either way to Torremelios, or Fuengerola (the latter being the better place in my opinion). If you wanted to go to the beach, you had to walk at least 20 mins before you could find access down (20 mins after you have negotiated hill!). 2) VIEWS FROM THE HOTEL/ROOM The part of the hotel that faces the sea, has only four rooms, which do not have an immediate balcony. There is essentially no sea views from this hotel. The sides give you a nice view of the flattened, pipe-ridden land. The rear has probably the nicest view, of the mountains behind. 3) INSIDE HOTEL. Looks nice in general - they have tried to go for a green rainforest look of sorts, green tiles and water inside. If you have seen any pictures of the big windows, you will be disappointed to find that they haven't been cleaned for a long time, even at the lowest, easiest to reach, point. This gives the hotel a grimey feel, certainly not a 4-star feel. 4) ROOMS. The rooms were pretty grubby. - Bedrooms We had a 5 person room, which contained two beds and a sofa bed. The beds were big, but if you had 5 people, three will have to share the sofa bed. - Bathroom The toilets were huge with a bath (shower overhead) and an extra shower (this shower was strange, the non-direction head was directly above the taps, if you moved, you were in risk of moving the tap turning the shower cold, or off; using the shower would expel water through the shower doors with some force). - Kitchen The kitchen is a farce, if you have 5 people. Very very small, basic microwave, hobs and sink. Only one small frying pan (enough for two eggs) was supplied, nothing better was availalbe on request. -Living Room The sofa was definately in need of a good wash! Quite small compared to the bathroom. -Balcony The hotel is in a sort of pyramid design. This means that all rooms above you can look over to your balcony. We found that people would sweep their balconies straight onto ours. People even poured drinks onto the table, ruining what we had left on it. The balconies have plants, built into the walls. There was a huge ant army (150+) constantly moving on the balcony, living in the soil (4 floors up!). They managed to get into the bathroom, evn tho' the doors were always shut. Cigarette butts (lots) were in the plant soil, which were obviously from the previous guests. That was disgusting. -Other TV has only news for English channels, not that you will probably be watching any TV. The safe, which was already fitted in the room, had a charge of £2 per day; we stay in 4 star minimum all the time, this is the first time we had to pay for something that was already in the room. 5) PROBLEMS Ok, we seemed to have a good share of problems. If you have none, then you are going to have a better holiday. First, we arrived to a flooded kitchen because the fridge was left open and the ice had melted. We were told to clean it with some towels that would be replaced the next day (4 star?). We later had a leak from the sink in the kitchen! We waited 3 hours after reporting this as we were told someone would be "right there". Nobody came, so we placed the "do not disturb sign" on the door as we wanted to get ready to go out (not wanting someone to unlock the door whilst in the shower, not hearing them). When we left, we decided to talk to the reception to see what was happening, at which point they started to argue with us because we had the "do not disturb" sign on, and the repair chap came to fix. In the end they still had to get him back, and the argument was not required. When we arrived back late at night, we found that the problem had been fixed, but they had left the floor covered with water and muddy footprints. We complained to both the hotel and the rep, it was 3-4 days before the cleaners actually cleaned it (we left it for them), even tho' they were in each day (note, there was no mop in the room). The lifts are dangerous. There is no sensor when the doors are closing, and my girlfriend got her arm trapped, which was very sore. The lifs had no sensible programming, we found we would go UP even though we pressed a button to go down, and when it arrived at a floor, it would "forget" where it was to go next. You MUST press the buttons again. There was at least one lift broken EACH DAY. The indoor courtyard area seemed to come to life around 10pm, where karaoke and music would seep up into your room until 2am. Kids were left to their own devices, we counted 12 playing outside at 1am, screaming, on one night. (Note there is a kids supervisor available between 9-10pm). We had an aggressive guest (Spanish) verbally abuse my girlfriend in English, when she tried to take a sun-lounger padded mat from a communual pile. He wanted to keep them for himself. My girlfriend was extremely upset, and I asked the hotel to do something as the chap wasn't going to apologise. They said there was nothing they could do (even though the gates to the hotel have security). We had to call the police in the end to get it taken care of. The hotel just wasn't interested. Scottish currency will get you less than English is you exchange at reception, even tho' they are both Sterling, and both are the Queen's money. The hotel shop marks items up by at least 50%. Internet is ridiculous price. This hotel was meant to be for "couples", whereas the partner hotel was for families. This hotel was packed with families. The pool was compeltely full at all times, finding a sun-lounger was a real task, no matter what time of day you appeared. In conclusion, I could probably say that this hotel would be 4-star and a good choice, once all the building work was completed, and if it were cleaned every now and then, as well as improving the overall service. They certainly know how to take the hospitality out of hospitality service. If you are used to low-3star hotels, then you will enjoy this. If you are used to 4 or 5 star, you will be sorely disappointed. We specifically booked this holiday because of the 4-star rating, we will not make the same mistake if we return to Costa del Sol.