Hotel Palmasol

On Arrival Hotel was clean and inviting. Work being done on new hotel straight across road and I thought this was going to be a problem. It wasn't. Didn't hear them once. Hotel reception staff were friendly enough and room was always clean and tidy. Could have been abit bigger but that wasn't a problem. We worked round it. Shower was Fantastic in room. Toilet was in an awkward position. Air conditioning in room was great. We couldn't get near the pool during our stay as people queueing first thing in a morning to reserve sun loungers and maybe not using them to later on in day. Very disappointing. We ended up going to beach most days and having to pay 7 or 8 euro for a sun lounger. Most staff in Hotel were friendly. Breakfast at hotel completely put me off. Breakfast was Lovely and Great Variety to choose from but some staff were unfriendly and dishes were not clean. I lifted a glass to get a drink and it was rotten. Ended up bringing my own water from then on in. Completely put me off. Overall nice enough hotel but just needs a few things addressed and it will be a Great hotel.

The hotel in general is very nice, the animation team were Fabulous really got the crowd going and super entertaining, my biggest gripe is having to queue for the pool to open in 30deg heat waiting for the life guard to arrive, he’d put his clip board on top of the gate then go and sit in shade for 20mins then stroll back and open the gate at approx 0925hrs, the queue was from the pool entrance all the way back to the door leading to reception (approx 50mtrs) if you didn’t queue you wouldn’t get a lounger by the pool, there must be a better system, my other gripe is the pre payment band system which you use for drinks etc, if you pay cash get a receipt, we put some money on ours which wasn’t registered although we was told the till wasn’t over in takings, which it should be if the unregistered cash was present in the till, I must point out it did get resolved but leaves an element of doubt, the electronic lock on the room door was also temperamental sometimes you’d close door and be able to push handle down and walk straight back in, other times it would be fine, the bed was actually very comfortable but needed two pillows which the hotel sorted after we filled in a form enquiring about our initial thoughts of our stay, the air conditioning in the room was also super efficient and easy to use, lastly the position of the sink in the bathroom is virtually over hanging the toilet which makes everything very cramped, all I will say is the staff are all super friendly but this hotel needs some tweaks.

Palma Sol. - Palma Nube Reception - very poor They say first impressions last!!!! Upon arrival at the Palma Sol there was lack of customer care. We paid extra for a sea view but the photos say it all. Together with the lack of sea view , we faced a building site which was extremely noisy upon arrival. Horrendous site to look onto, let alone tolerate the noise. Told my daughter not to bother unpacking and we proceeded to raise complaint.

As we stood at reception, refusing to return to the unacceptable allocated room, a fellow guest came to raise a similar grievance. Receptionist unable to assist, asked if we wanted to speak to the Diuty manager. A male member of staff came and bluntly told us "you got what you requested" and advised us to contact our agent. He also assumed we would've been told about the building works. The female duty manager showed face after one refused to back down and had receptionist attempt to find the fellow guest an alternative hotel, (in Torremolinos). We were ignored but stood our ground, then informed there was no alternative room until the next day. This was false information as another booking platform was advertising a double room for that night in our hotel. Having initially been told by the abrupt, male member of staff, to contact our agent, I proceeded to contact our travel to raise a complaint.

Away from the room Issue, the lifeguard refused us entry to the pool at 1855hrs when it was open until 1930 hrs. The other nights people were there beyond 1930 hrs, so why were we refused on the first day? Did we have a black mark against us after the saga at reception? Next day was a local public holiday so we decided to stay put. Enjoyed a lovely breakfast at the hotel, even although one had to ask 3 members of staff before the granola got refilled. Two gems of girls did the hotel activities. Missed half the Pilates as reception said it was in the 'garden', that's where we were on loungers but the Pilates was on the stage in the bar area, not garden. The entertainment staff still did a short Pilates session with us, which was very kind. They also had us doing fun darts, well done to them for their friendly and professional attitude. Credit where it's due.

Due to moving rooms as promised, we had left our luggage at reception until we got room allocated. We asked twice before receiving an email to eventually get notified by email at 1520 hrs that the room was available. We were now finally able to get a change of clothes, shower etc Superior room, they said. Well, that was questionable. No bede, you could barely turn in shower without knocking mixer tap. Lack of space on 'table'. No plug for kettle other than on bedside. Basically, the layout was all wrong and one questions how they call that a superior room. The sea view however was now had, so we will give them that. We did however lookout to a massive tree and couldn't see the pool area, which was the only sunny spot early evening but you were put out after 7.30pm. This aside, our trip was fab. Benalmadena beach and port area, with some lovely eateries, was lovely. We also enjoyed a trip to the vibrant, arty Malaga city. That's twice I've been to the area and would return but just not to the Palma Sol as in our opinion it's poorly managed.