Holiday World Polynesia, Affiliated by Meliá

Had a great week here at this hotel, couldn’t really knock it too much! Can massively say the animation team (entertainment for kids and adults) work very hard all day with several activities everyday and have constant things to do and get involved with (not pushy either!). Our kids spent a very small amount of time in the indoor kids club but enjoyed the friendly staff, some time out of the hot sun. Loads of activities around the pool all day long. In the evening the kids disco and entertainment starts at 9 and is always packed out. Food and drink has been very good (all inclusive) and friendly staff too. The hotel is very clean and always see cleaning staff around throughout the hotel. We did go down to the other hotel that’s affiliated with this group of 3 hotels (I think?!) with a mini water park. Buses run between 10-15 minutes constantly between the hotels and then about a 5 minute walk into the complex. Your wrist band seems to work in the other hotels too. Our room was a junior suite with pool view, perfect size for our family of 4. Small kitchenette, sofa bed, shower/bath 2 double beds pushed together in the main room. Onsite shops sells most things and not overly priced as not sure there is any shops in close proximity. Transfer time from Malaga was less than an hour. The all inclusive bars operate a reusable cup system, you’re supposed to get tokens on arrival but we didn’t. Wasn’t a problem, we got cups for drinks and reused them as and when (dirty for clean etc.) Examples of stuff happening all the time throughout the day, foam party by the pool, water polo, crazy golf, kids pool activities, pool aqua robics (not all are on the same day).

Only slight negatives I would say is that the check in process took quite a while on arrival and rooms weren’t ready until 2pm onwards - so if you’re arriving on early flights, you may have to wait around the pool area etc. The sunbeds could do with upgrading to ones that have a moveable back rest and the surrounding area to the pool could do with resurfacing to be a little safer for younger kids. The hotel is rather large and you can get lost easily on the first day or so, as there are many floors and lifts all over the place along with places to exit and enter.

Overall, pleased we booked this hotel and all inclusive, really surpassed our expectations and the kids have loved everything. Can’t thank all the staff enough for a great experience and stay.

We stayed at the Holiday World Polynesia in August 2026 during the school holidays, for my son's 11th birthday, and had an excellent time.

The hotel is a little out of the way and isn't in the centre of Benalmádena, which was something that initially concerned us before booking. We hired a car from the airport, but we had such a good time at the hotel that we barely used it, taking it out just one day to visit Málaga. There are taxis that wait at the entrance to the hotel.

We stayed in a Junior Suite with a Side view, and it was excellent. We had a view of the sea and water park on one side, and the outdoor theatre on the other. It was a very comfortable room, with two large beds in the main room, and a sofa bed for my son in the living room. It had a fully equipped kitchen, although we didn't really need it as we were all-inclusive, but it was nice to have a fridge. The bathroom was also excellent, with a monsoon shower and a separate bath.

We hadn't previously been on an all-inclusive holiday, but recently in Spain it has become more difficult to spontaneously eat out, with many restaurants requiring reservations.

The food was excellent, with a wide variety of British and Spanish dishes. There was plenty to keep children happy, including pizza, pasta, burgers and hot dogs. And there was plenty of fresh fish like sea bass, grilled meats, salads and paella. Outside of meal times there was also food available at the bar next to the swimming pool.

We never had to queue for drinks, and the drinks were branded rather than generic. The beer was Cruzcampo, the gin was Gordon's. They do have a token system: you hand in a token for your first drink, then return the cup for your next one. This was not strictly enforced; the couple of times we forgot to bring the cups down from our room we were told to just return the new cup before we went up again.

The main pool area was excellent, and the entertainment team and children's club were always organising activities. There was music playing around the pool which was nice and not too loud, the atmosphere was very good.

The "Beach Club" water park was one of the reasons that we booked the hotel, and it did not disappoint. It was particularly good, with a wave pool, a cave pool and loungers in a pool with jacuzzi jets. Food and drinks are also included in the all-inclusive package when you're at the Beach Club.

The best and most unexpected part of the holiday was the evening entertainment. Each of the three hotels in the complex, Polynesia, RIWO and Village, has its own outdoor theatre, and each one puts on a show every night. Guests can also go to the other hotels to see their shows, and use the bars there. The shows were excellent, the Shakira and Rosalia tribute acts could have been the real thing. The magic show and the acrobats were also excellent.

The guests seemed to be roughly half Spanish, with perhaps a third British and the remainder mostly French. The entertainment was in both Spanish and English (which is a good thing).

Our rooms were cleaned every day and the hotel was always very clean.

All in all, I don't think you could find a better place to go on holiday with children, and this was one of the most relaxing holidays I have ever had.

For an 11-year-old, there was a particularly good balance between things to do independently and things to do as a family: the water park, pool activities, children's entertainment and evening shows meant that everyone had a good time.