Holiday Truths Forum

Going out next month.. am I right in thinking there is now an indoor pool, close to the big park by Benal Beach? Is it open to the public and is it open in Feb?
Thanks
Jim G

It is uphill from the park. Turn right at the roundabout by the Mercadona supermarket and it's on the left in the same building as the Ice Rink. As far as I know it's open all year round but they do have closed sessions (e.g. ladies only or mothers & babies) at certain times of the day.

Mike.

Thanks Mike.. is there an internet site, by any chance? We'll be coming down from Torreblanca and want to make sure of getting in.

Leaflet in Spanish in pdf format:-

http://www.clubdehielobenalmadena.com/i ... 8_MAIL.PDF

Excellent, Mike.. you're a star

You've got me blushing Jim !

Mike.

Well, we went along to Benalmadena pool on Thursday afternoon.. what an experience... total shambles.. after much explaining at reception that we weren´t nor had any wish to become members, we were able to pay 7 euros 80 for the two of us to have a swim.
We go into our separate changing rooms to find we need our own locks and locker keys.. go back out to reception and they can ony lend us one.. missus uses that.. I pile my stuff up poolside.. pool is divided into six lanes.. attendant tells us we must wait til one becomes free... fair enough.. we wait.. one becomes free.. we get in pool... attendant comes over again and tells us we need swim caps, obligatory... now he tells us... I go back out to reception in my swim shorts, ask for two caps, girl who never thought to mention lockers or caps hands me two and asks for four euros... like I usually carry four euros in my swim shorts?
Crazy... think we´ll stick to the outdoor pool in future...

Sorry, but I think this is a case of you not knowing the law in Spain before going to the public pool.
It's obligatory to wear a swimming cap in Spain, and it doesn't matter if you are bald, those are the rules.
While you were waiting for a lane to become free, the pool attendant probably thought that you had a cap amongst your stuff.
I'm surprised they didn't make you have a shower before you entered the water.

IMO: They should make it obligatory in the UK too because I used to be a serious breaststroke swimmer, and it's not nice surfacing out of the stroke with a mouthful of someone's hair....it also messes up the filters/pumps.

Sorry, but don't blame someone else for something that you should have known, and they thought/expected that you knew.

Sanji

Wasn't blaming anyone, Sanji.. total ignorance on my part, tho a smidgen of info from the girl on reception would have helped avoid.
No big deal, really.. just a lot of faffing about when semi-clothed tends to be a bit frustrating, so to speak... we actually had a laugh about it later

Whilst it is up to people visiting spain to aquaint themselves with local procedures, being a place so popular with foreign visitors you would also think the local pool staff would also be aware first time visitors could be ignorant of the rules in cases such as this. Just going to the local pool for a swim who really would even think about such a ruling? Its not somwthing you would check out really, unlike some legal legislations when travelling abroad.

jimg, I'm gald that you could laugh about it...laughter is the best tonic so they say .

Well, there is always the other side of the coin, and the person employed to take shrapnel and hand out a key all day, may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer.
You're asking someone to be able to speak several languages and believe me if they can speak several languages, they wouldn't be working for the minimum "council" wage.

If they put a sign up, it would have to cover a long list of nationalities who visit the Costa del Sol...and there again, it may be the case of not many tourists using the public swimming pool (apart from in the winter months) because they usually have one attached to the hotel, and the majority using the public pool would be locals/Spanish, and how many Spanish know that you can swim without a cap in the UK.?.so, it may never cross their minds to inform you that caps are required, as I believe other countries in Europe have this rule and not just Spain...so they probably clump all the European countries together.

Dont think you would need to speak several languages, all the nationalities that holiday on the cds tend to have english as their second language. Couldnt see too many tourists using the pool so really shouldnt be a problem for the staff. Councils in this country waste thousands translating into a multitude of languages. Would prefer the seas tbh on the cds.

Torremolinos pool has (or had) pictures on the wall similar to road signs which were self explainatory re swimming caps. No need for any language.
The pool I use have never had to wear a cap and they have both indoor and outdoor pool - imo caps are a waste of money anyway as they never work when you have long hair, spend more time pulling the damn thing back down.

I know I can be a big-headed you-know-what at times, but the cap they gave me was hilarious... pink and about two sizes too small... I looked like a blood pudding.