Mediterraneo Benidorm Hotel

food for the adults and it was piping hot, they had plenty of salads, pasta, meat on the grill that was cooked in front of you, chicken, chops, roast beef on one night, the desserts were also quite nice. The children\'s food however, was appalling raw beefburgers, cold frankfurters, yuk yuk yuk. Unfortunately I have the fussiest family in the whole world so they were not impressed.

I was also quite disappointed with the breakfasts, the bacon wasn\'t very nice, well it was thin Spanish type, raw sausages, the scrambled egg was ok, and the fried egg were fine, there was cereal also, cold meats, croissants, lovely bimbo bread toast etc.

The restaurant was spottlessley clean though, the staff were polite and friendly and didn\'t really stop the whole time.

The pool area was of decent size but could have done with more beds and parasols. Though if you got there before 10am there was normally plently of bed available before the sunbed dwellers reserved with their huge towels. There was a lifeguard on duty the whole time, no ball games are allowed in the pool. The main pool is 5ft all round with no shallow end, but it wasn\'t as cold as some people have made out in the recent reviews and not salty. Once again the pool area was kept very clean. There is a small shop next to pool selling bits and bobs. There was also the outside bar where you get you all inclusive drinks and icecreams, there is also a large bar inside also where you could get your drinks also if there was a queue outside.

The downsides:

First Choice sell this hotel as a family hotel and is exclusive to them as a Tour Operator, but there is a travel agent in Ireland who sells this hotel to group of young lads, whilst on our third night a group of 29 lads on a stag party arrived and were noisy and abusive and really ruined the hotel for everybody and put right next to us. We complained and was moved by hotel management unfortunately though to a room overlooking the entertainment round the pool which went on until midnight but it was better than being near the hooilgans. The hotel management tried to do thier best for us though and were very apologetic as they were unaware it was a single sex group as they try to discourage single sex groups and sent up some champagne for us.

I wouldn\'t worry if you were booked to come here, I would look forward to your holiday, just ask for a room not overlooking the pool if you want some quiet of an evening, I wouldn\'t say the food was up to the four star rating, but the hotel was.

The entertainment wasn\'t the best, but you are in Benidorm after all.

were a few high chairs, and we did have to wait for one on 2 occassions. I have got to say that the dining room staff were exceptional. They worked really hard in clearing the tables, making sure you had a drink and in being pleasant - especially with the children.

The location may be a downside for beach lovers, as the walk is 15-20mins with children. However, it will help you burn a few calories! I liked the location, as it wasn\'t in the thick of it. There is a main road out of the front of the hotel, but it posed no problems for us at all. The location was ideal for Mundomar, Aqualandia and Benidorm Palace.

There are lots of bars a short walk from the hotel. I was surprised to find that the beach bars in the evening seemed less busy than our \'local\' bars. I guess I wasn\'t up late enough to see Benidorm in it\'s night time glory!

There is a mini-market on the other side of the road, about 3 minutes walk from the hotel. This had plenty in stock, We tended to buy weetabix, water, baby food and wet wipes from here.

A Supermarket is on the same side as our hotel, but about 7 minutes walk. Here you can buy the big packs of nappies - which seemed good enough.

I found an Iceland which stored lots of English produce. It was just off of the main road, but quite a walk down. You could buy Huggies in there, but it worked out pricey. I was also able to buy some baby milk powder (C&G) which was a relief having run out!

Mundomar is a lovely Marine and Exotic animal park built on a hillside. To view the attractions, like any park there is alot of walking, but it is up hill. We took the day slowly and had a lovely time. There is a great dolphin show, and you can also pay to have your photo with a dolphin whilst you touch it.

We didn\'t go to Aqualandia, as it wasn\'t suitable for our young children.

The show at Benidorm Palace was quite nice, we didn\'t choose the meal option or transport, as it was directly opposite our hotel. I gotta say this show particularly appealed to my husband!

Like others have mentioned the evening entertainment was a little boring some nights for adults. But our concern was for the children, and they were very happy. We made lots of friends and really it was the company that made the evenings fun.

I have to say that the kids reps were fantastic! They had one night off (Thursday) so we made sure we went out that night. My 3 year old really enjoyed the kids club. I dropped in a few times to catch the rep - Izzy - reading stories and having circle time with the children. You have to attend the club cabin the day before to put your childs name down for a club the next day. There are limited spaces! My child attended one session a day without a problem, but I could see that in peak season places would be a problem.

There is a creche room also. I didn\'t leave the baby, but you can pay to leave your little one there if you need a break. I used this room to play with our baby, and found the staff to be helpful, friendly and professional. You can hire a push chair whilst out here, if there are any available. I did this for our 3 year old, as the walk in and out of town was too much for his little legs. Also night, we were able to go out, without having to worry about carrying him back to bed.

The Hotel has a park for the children which was well maintained.

The Childrens pool was quite small, and close to the main pool. The Main pool was of good size. Very cold to get into, but fine once in.

We had no problem getting a sunbed and there wasn\'t too much reserving at this time of year.

If I happened to go back to Benidorm, then I would use this hotel again!

dolfin show best to buy joint ticket. Adults 30 euro kids 20.

the main hussle and bussle of resort.

The restaurant was clean and the food was excellant! The restaurant manager was very friendly and new us all within a few days. You could have a nice bottle of wine with your lunch and dinner and food was always hot, and replaced quickly if not eaten promptly from the buffet. As with all All-Inclusive hotels food can get repetitive, but the standards are good and this is a Rui Hotel run restaurant.

Hotel 10 out of 10 - entertainment needs attention, but you are in the liveliest resort in europe!

My kids had a ball, mike 15, tom 11 and they made some great friends whilst we were there!

I would go back to this hotel, but only if it was removed from Benidorm! ( sorry Benidorm but youre not my cup of tea!)

one lady at reception that I must have rubbed up the wrong way when we booked in. I asked for a late checkout on departure, told to ask later but I asked if she could check there and then, she took a quick look at her screen and told me \"it was not possible as the hotel was full on our departure date\". I told her I would keep checking, just in case of a cancellation and I did for the next 4 days, only to be told by the same person the same story. My wife was coming back from the shops the following day, noticed a different member of staff, inquired about late checkout and was told \"no problem, I need your room card and 30 euros\". Don\'t figure?
When we booked there was no mention of a Gym, however there is a good gym available with a good mixture of cv machines and weight machines.

for the spanish residents. Okay if you have small kids but the older ones may get fed up.

Beware if you want to go to bed before midnight - you will not be able to sleep until the entertainment is finished because of the noise.

Pool is about 5 foot deep all over - which was just too deep for me as I am 5 foot and like to feel my feet on the ground when im in the pool. Pool attendant was on the ball. Please note that lilos and balls are not allowed in the pool. If you are wearing a tshirt in the pool it has to be white - my husband was told to leave the pool as he was wearing a blue tshirt and I saw a little girl being asked to leave also as she had on an orange tshirt.

Whilst we were there the policy of putting towels on sunbeds was not tolerated until 9am - if you broke the rules your towel would be removed and left at reception.

There is a small shop on site - only selling basics like water, juice magazines but was very reasonable as only 1 euro for large bottle of water.

apart from kids club and on our second day 4 kids walked out of. Hotel staff were very nice a good laugh,the reps were not that good.

Benidorm its self is very good but dont stick to the main street explore old bonidorm its a lot better.

spotless. Clean bedding and towels daily. Reception staff friendly and helpful and some of the waiting on staff in the resturant where ok. The pool bar staff never smiled and eveything seemed to be to much trouble for them. Entertainment staff worked really hard but some of the acts where boring. But the drinks made up for it.

First Choice kid club reps and First Choice hotel reps where always smiling and very helpfull the kids loved them and so did we for an hour and a halfs peace. Its 11 euros for an hour and a half in the creche and worth every penny as it gets too hot for the little ones.

The hotel is directly opposite the benidorm palace and is a 10 min walk up the hill from the water park and mundamar.

closeness of the beach as described in the brochure is a bit exaggerated, we only went once and it was crowed and we got a taxi. Too far to walk in the heat with young children. I feel this should have been worded better in the brochure. The busy road right outside the hotel put me off walking anyway, you take your life in your hands if you want to cross the road (remember Spanish drivers don't have to stop at crossings!).

The hotel staff were o.k. but the not the friendliest that I have met.

The pool area is very nice ,but not that spacious I would think there would be a problem with the amount of sunbeds and chairs that are available in the peak season as there wasn't enough when we were there and the hotel wasn't full.

The entertainment was what you'd expect in Spain. The Kid's club was good and the children couldn't wait to go there ( Nikki and Laura were excellent)The criticism of the club was the cost implications the majority of the activities did cost and when you've got more than 1 child attending it can be pricey.

Overall it was a great holiday and I would return to the hotel if it was in a different location, referring to Benidorm as the Spanish Blackpool is an understatement, but then again everyone