Villa Del Mar

What can I say about this hotel.

It was amazing the views, the cleanliness just everything about this hotel was amazing.

If I had to pick any faults with the hotel it would be the air con. Sadly in the room we stayed the air con was not powerful at all. It honestly felt like someone just breathing on you. There was a wall mount to control the ac but when settings are changed or temperature is lowered it would revert back to the settings that are set by the hotel. As a larger gent in the middle of Spanish heat I did struggle quite abit with sleeping due to not being able to turn the ac fans up or turn the temperature down.

But other than that small problem the entire hotel was and is fantastic.

Location was great right on the beach, if you have a sea view room the road is quite noisy but worth paying for. The reception staff were the most unhelpful & miserable people I think I’ve ever met! The evening entertainment ( as there is nothing in the day time ) is awful, it’s downstairs in a room in the basement no windows nothing. The hotel was clean at all times which was one good thing. The food was ok breakfast is your bog standard Buffett breakfast, dinner was ok they did try but my only worry was that nothing was labelled for allergies & having a severe fish allergy I was reluctant to eat some things, & the staff didn’t really understand when I asked what was in things. Do not eat the snacks that they serve mid afternoon they look like all the left overs just reheated up. The one blessing was the rooftop bar, the staff were amazing, happy & friendly, also in the spa which is up there too I had a great massage. To sum it up very cheap & cheerful don’t expect to much.

We booked Benidorm as friends love it! We chose this hotel due to the location on the sea front and the All Inclusive option. When we arrived, we were greeted by Angelika on Reception, who was lovely. We had booked a premium jacuzzi sea view room and stayed in 308. It had a lovely view and the bed was comfy and linen clean. However, it is definitely due a refurb. Everything is a little shabby at the edges and our toilet seat was well worn, with the white scratched off in places. It just wasn't what we expected for the top priced rooms! The jacuzzi bath was lovely, but don't turn the jets on, as the stench was awful. Obviously stagnant water sitting in them. The windows are not great, as you can hear everything outside and the walls seem paper thin too, so sleep wasn't great and we often took an afternoon nap! The air con was really good though! The cocktails at the bars are all out of pre mixed cartons and not great quality either, but thankfully they had premium spirits. There are also fresh water dispensers on each floor, which was great! The swimming pool is extremely small, but looks a lot bigger in the pictures! The 2 lifts just aren't adequate. They are small and you wait for one and it's already full when it gets to you, so you end up walking the stairs! The one restaurant was quite small and they have a separate area for premium guests, which was a nice touch, although we were told off one day by a female staff member for sitting at apparently the wrong table!? The only member of staff in the restaurant who had a smile and sometimes banter and was super helpful was Ety!! He was fantastic!! Sadly, I cannot say the same for the others! They look like they don't want to be there, or huff and puff if you ask politely for anything! I was quite taken aback as I have never experienced this in any of the 10 other Spanish resorts I have been to! Do they just dislike the English there? The labels above the food are often wrong or missing altogether, so it's a bit of a 'lucky dip' of what you're eating! The food was quite disappointing, apart from the salad and the fresh bread was amazing! It all just seemed set out all wrong though. The bread was one side of the room, the butter was the other side!? It all just didn't flow well. All of the food gave us terrible trapped wind and bloating too! After a few days, we started eating out, which was much better and no side effects, so no idea what caused our tummy problems!? On our last day, I asked for a coffee at the bar, as I am lactose intolerant and couldn't use the machine, as nobody had come round like previous days and I was rudely told to go and get the milk myself at the cereal station, then after the lady made the coffee whilst huffing and puffing, she asked if I wanted white or brown sugar and then rudely pointed at it and said 'get it', even though it was closer to her! That just summed the week up sadly and I couldn't wait to leave! Also, nobody told us that because we were premium, we could have booked other restaurants in the hotel chain and I only found out by accident on the last day when talking to another guest! We would never go back to this hotel or chain again sadly. I have previously worked in hospitality and the way we were treated by most of the staff wasn't good at all. You put a smile on even if you're not feeling it! It's just unprofessional! We're really easy going people and we don't often complain about things, but this 'holiday' just seemed like a waste of money, especially paying for premium too!