Hotel Bali

Me and my boyfriend have just come back from 4 nights self catering at the bali hotel and we LOVED IT! We were made to feel very welcome by the hotel staff and even the locals. Our studio apartment was spotless and very big. The air conditioning was a life saver! We had a buffet on the first night in the restaurant but we werent that keen on it and prefered to eat out at local restaurants where the waiters were brilliant, especially at pizza hut and metro. The local marina is amazing. Lots of shops and bars. The town in general is very clean and certainly not tacky or a typical tourist place. The thompson reps were so helpful and there when we needed them. We will deffinatly be going back here soon as it feels like home even though we only went for 4 days! Very upset to leave. Thankyou hotel Bali!! Oh and a quick note on the big hill you have to walk up - not that bad! didnt borther us! If you are thinking of going - GO! xxx

I have just returned from a 14 night stay at the Bali with my wife and four year old daughter.
Though the Holiday was good value for money, the Bali has bad, as well as good points.
The Hotel is situated near the top of a rather steep hill, though i have known worse , it`s not really too bad.
The first negative is the room, the smallest i have ever known.sharing one room with twin beds and a sofa bed which wasn`t particularly child friendly .Though on a plus side the room was cleaned every day without fail.
The food was excellent, with plenty of choice and there was never any bother finding a table.
The pool area was a great bonus,with a choice of two , we chose the "lower deck" for a more private children's pool,again no trouble finding a good pitch.
The "entertainment" at the Bali was the biggest let down, though our daughter loved it , for us,the time we spent at the Hotel in the evening became rather a chore. The Animacion team worked hard , but sadly there attempts at song and dance were truly awful .
Another negative were the food and drink prices at the Hotel,little wonder many guests sneaked in there own,or judging by the number of guests there , stayed away altogether.
As for the resort itself , a dolphin trip is a must , as is a trip to Mijas , but give Tivoli World a miss ! not worth it at all
All in all, the Bali provided fare value for money.But would i stay there again , or recommend to others ? i doubt it .

Stayed at the Bali in May on HB basis. Rooms basic but clean, daily maid service. Food was OK, but not great if you are like me, vegetarian. Luckily I eat fish, otherwise I would have had to live off salad and vegetables on a couple of occasions. There is a kids club on site, which is always handy. The kids didn't get their T-shirts as promised because the new stock hadn't arrived and the reps had been 'forbidden' from handing out last season's design. We met some nice people at the hotel, including several Spanish guests, but inevitably there were the usual football shirt wearing, inappropriately tattooed ambassadors to the UK, waddling around all over the place. The first time we drank in the bar late evening we entertained by an altercation between a middle aged man and a young woman, I was reminded of the TV show 'Benidorm'. Thankfully, that was the only such incident we witnessed. Outside the hotel, the Marina is beautifully designed and thankfully devoid of the type of people I have just referred to. Nice cafe bars and restaurants, continental crowd. Great place to enjoy a long drink and people watch. There are some OK bars nearer the hotel, I recommend 'Kings' for their freshly made food and friendly service. Delicious home made chips! A ride in the cable car from Arroyo is worth the money, fantastic views. There is also an immaculate park with hens, peacocks wandering around freely. From Benelmadena is it easy to walk to Torremolinos or Fuengirola, both clean modern resorts. They also have better, and in my opinion cleaner beaches than Benalmadena. Further afield there are lots of of places to visit, including Granada, Seville, Gibraltar. All in all, a good place for a family holiday, but next time we visit the area we will try a different resort.

Have just returned from a week half-board at the Bali hotel and found it great value for money. My boyfriend and I booked this hol on Wednesday and travelled on Sunday so got a good deal on the brochure price, and everything (more or less) ran smoothly. Apart from the airport bus taking us all to wrong terminal at Malaga and subsequent hour long wait for luggage, after being up from 3am and some frazzled tempers! On arrival at hotel, we checked in quickly and the reception staff were very pleasant. Reception is bright and airy, large sofas and they also sell postcards, small souvenirs and snacks.
Half-board residents are in Bali 1, the block joined directly to the hotel, selfcatering guests were in Bali 2 and 3, accessed down a covered corridor. The room wasn't huge but it was clean, towels changed and maid service everyday. The bathroom was a good size with really powerful shower over bath (makes a nice change from usual trickle). We had room on 4th floor, all rooms have balcony and we overlooked the beach, whichwas lovely. We never had any trouble with noise from outside when the balcony door was closed. The air conditioning in the room was good and adjustable for cooler evenings. there was a safe in the wardrobe, 2euro per day and refundable 3 euro deposit on departure.
The hotel reps were lovely and the Animacion team worked really hard, though their shows were probably a bit predictable and geared at the kids. LOTS of kids around, toddlers up to after midnight in the bar while parents got drunk!! The bar was reasonably priced and the staff were helpful and spoke English. They are V strict about people bringing their own drinks into the bar, but this is understandable.
The resaurant serves breakfast from 8-1030am and dinner from 630-9pm. We made breakfast 3 times before trips so it was a bit rushed but they appear to have everything!Different cereals, cold meats and cheese, breads, fruit juice, toaster, yogurts and cooked selection (bacon, sausages, beans, eggs etc) and fruit. Dinner had a good enough selection but being a vegetarian who doesn't eat fish, i found it very limited for me. There was a cold salad bar with breads, 2 different soups and cold meats/cheese. The hot food section always had 3 or 4 different meats, fish, rice, potatoes and vegetables. Usually the chefs were cooking the meat on a hotplate and people could choose which bits they wanted. The food wasn't always the warmest but there was always plenty to go round and guests could heat their food in the microwave. Finally, dessert!!! There was always some kind of cake/gateau and mousse and cream. 4 different ice-cream flavours to self-scoop so guests could take as much as they liked and sauces and toppings for icecream. Then there was always fresh fruit for you healthy people!
The hotel is located on "cardiac hill", so-called because it is very steep and not for the faint hearted! I have no idea how people pushed wheelchairs and prams up this! The hotel is located approx 150yards up the hill and otherwise is in a good location. There are 2 supermarkets on the hill, and quite a few bars/resaurants. If you go up the hill past the hotel to "Bonanza Square" there is a taxi rank and a few resaurants. There is a Chinese restaurant "Panda" that does 3 course lunch for 4.50euro, well worth a visit!
The beach is close to the hotel but down 80 steps (then obv 80 back up!!). We didn't actually go on the beach but it appeared quite clean. The marina is approx 15-20 min walk along the promenade from hotel and is lovely to wander round. Restaurants tend to be more expensive here, but there are lots of nice places to try. We usually walked down and got taxi back (4.50euro).
Ps the Selwo triple pack is a great deal if u are offered it. Price iss 33euro for adults, 23 for kids and included 3 days out. The Selwo marina, a kind of marine animal park with exotic birds, penguins, seals etc. There is adolphin show but they were recuperating in Madrid?! apparently so that was disappointing. In exchange we got free passes for sightseeing bus (worth 12euro each I think). Not much consolation for kids though. The 2nd trip was the cable car, which goes up to top of Arroyo de la Miel area and is quite scary! fantastic views though. There is a birds of prey sanctuary at the top and a brilliant show. Finally the Selwo Aventura nature park. This trip includes transport, approx 1hr 15min away. Really good day out, coach drops you at door and picks you up again after 5 or 6 hours in the park.
Sorry this is so long-winded, hopefully somebody finds it useful!

Me 16, My mum 43 And Sister 9, All Went To Bali Hotel In Aug 07.
The Room At The Hotel Were Very Nice With Loads Of Space, And Air Con Which Always Helped. Only Comment No Coat Hangers.. So Take Some!
The Hotel Itself Was Very Nice.. The Food Was Lovely... My Sister Being As Fussy As She Is Even Liked It!
The Staff At The Hotel Were Always Nice And Friendly. They Always Kept My Sister Amused With Either Day Activites By The Pool Or In The Evenings. They Also Done Daily Bingo For My Mum ;)
The Hotel Is A Few Yards From The Beach Which Was Very Nice.
The Only Problem Is The Huge Hill.. Would Suggest You Dont Go There If You Find It Hard To Climb:P
However Due To How Much We Liked It.. We Are Returning This Year In July For 2Weeks!
Hope To See You All There
x

Just come back after possibly the best two week holiday we have had. There is a lot of refurbishment work going on at the moment so don't expect a lie - in. Food was okay, as we expected, a lot of the meat and veg turned up in different guises the next day and so on, the food in the pool bar was excellent and real good value for money also. Drink prices in the hotel are slightly high but the local bars are all relitively cheap, if you have children with i can recommend Chrissies ( halfway down cardiac hill on the righthand side nextdoor to the pickwick), Buzby's (bottom of the hill, turn right 10 metres, excellent entertainment) and also El Elfentes (turn left as you come out the hotel, follow the road round on the right about 150 metres, also excellent enterteainment but does'nt start til late.)
All in all a brilliant place, excellent holiday and lovely friendly people, will definetly be going back.

We enjoyed 5 nights self catering in a studio in the Bali in March. The studio was very spacious with plenty of storage space. One gripe is that they do not routinely clean the studios during your stay. You can request this at a cost of 9 Euros. Another is that the bathroom was looking a little tired and worn.
The hotel is a reasonable basic 3 star. We did not eat here or watch any entertainment. The happy hour in the bar on Tues, Thurs & Sat gets very busy! We never had a problem getting a sunbed around the pool.
Benalmadena itself is a huge resort of contrasts. If you are self catering it is worth heading up to Bonanza Square to the MAS supermarket. Otherwise, for us, Bonanza Square was a bit shabby.
The Marina is beautiful with loads of bars & places to eat. There are some really good two for one offers on drinks at this time of year!
Overall, we enjoyed ur stay at the Bali & Benalmadena.

We are 2 16 year old lads we feel that hotel bali is the best hotel in the world. Everything about it was perfection especially the entertainers lauh for her good looks and a good laugh, rowina for having without a doubt the best personality ever to have graced this wonderfull earth and then victor what a guy!!!!! (tacadac). When we where there soapstars jack and vera duckworth where there with there grandkids nice people. We reccomend this holiday more than any holiday in the world. Love james and chris. xxxxxxxx

Hotel fair food not as expected having stoped at its sister hotel down the road dont go in the Albatross bar over the road if you got kids with you as you won't get welcome

The hotel is very clean, maids cleaned our room daily and the staff are very very friendly. The pool and gardens were clean and attrctive.
During our trip, the hotel was 95% occupied by the 50+ age group so was still very quiet and no fights for the sunbeds!
Hotel food was bland - choice of 3 or 4 main courses & they had different menus - however, it rarely tasted as it sounded but again, it was fresh & hot. Lack of choice on the salad front.
Breakfast was the usual fried choice and a lovely continental choice - they could however have used some of the meats etc for the salad bar at night to give a better choice.
Excellent Chinese in the square as well as an Italian and El Carmen. All those restaurants had fantastic food, excellent service & a reasonable price list.
Finally, yes there is a big hill outside! Watch out at the bottom for the timeshare mob who loiter there - normally the morning after a busload have arrived!!! Simply refuse their "scratch cards" and walkaway.
Would we go back? For a quiet break - yes, for a fun-filled holiday-no - but it was early season. For a relaxing time, you couldn’t do any better and there are plenty of resturanys and bars in the resort