Lorni and I have now been in Spain for nearly three and a half years and we haven't had any time together for ages and ages probably six or seven years. So with my birthday fast approaching I decided we needed a break, The dogs were booked into kennels and I went searching for hotels in Seville hmm!! the problem was a lot of them were already booked up for Easter or were way too expensive. So I looked a little closer to home...Benidorm. I have been watching the wonderful Lucy's podcasts on YouTube "The Benidorm Enthusiast" since we arrived in Spain. So after five days in the Ambassador Hotel here are my thoughts on the resort.
The Hotel Ambassador Playa1 was booked as a 4 star Hotel with a room overlooking the pool area. First of all the Star Rating is I believe a Valencian Tourist Board rating not the usual star rating you find elsewhere. So if you are looking for valet parking an a la carte menu and bell hops to take your bags to your room or even a decent room service you are going to be disappointed. The Ambassador is a good 3 star hotel which is what it was designated before the refurbishment. The room was very clean a bit basic and slightly on the small side, you wont find deep pile carpets here or even an inside sitting area and strangely enough no mini bar either, but as a 3 star hotel it's fine. We drove to Benidorm in our car, I picked this Hotel as it it had parking facilities not all hotels have this, I was a bit disappointed to find that parking the car costs an extra 12 Euro a day so for a two week stay that is going to be a considerable extra cost and yes some folks do drive all the way from the UK we saw a UK registered van and car in the car park. Secondly there is a safe in every room but again this is at another extra cost something else to bear in mind.
The food? we booked half board, breakfast and evening meal, the dining experience is buffet style you get yourself to a table or shown one if the demand is high and then go help yourself, the food is good and mostly basic, at breakfast there is a wide choice from just fruit to a full English, Dinner was a bit different in that I found similar choices every evening with only the odd one changed but again for the cost excellent value for money. The staff were very helpful and the dining areas very clean, the tables likewise. I would guess with a maximum capacity of around 3000 people this is the only way to feed them with any efficacy.
Niggle 1 The pool area is great there are two larger pools and a small one for kids, the area is clean and there is a another bar next to the pool but, beach towels on the sun beds grrr this practice needs to be stomped out some towels were still there with no owners even as late as lunchtime.
Niggle 2 masks are supposed to be worn inside the Hotel not everyone was adhering to this but none of the hotel staff were enforcing this.(Since we visited the mask issue is no longer valid ATM).
Niggle 3 There is a dress code for the dining area. no shorts and no swimwear again this was not being enforced some mornings we were confronted by a group of young ladies with their arses hanging out of the clothes I do not want to see what they had for dinner the day before and there are families here as well with youngsters.. So to round up the Hotel, very clean, food is ok, two decent bars with entertainment every night, in fact everywhere was very very clean and tidy. Just remember it is a 3 star hotel really. A friendly hotel good for families, yes there a few niggles but it is probably the same the world over. Oh and before anyone chirps in I actually enjoyed my stay there.
Benidorm itself is a really lively place during the day there is a lot to do and there are places to visit, The beach is very clean and tidy the promenade is wide and there are bars and restaurants along every inch of the sea front, going back a street or two and the prices drop but it is still buzzing with people I was told there are over 1500 bars in the Benidorm area. Lorni and I managed a fair bit of walking we were very lucky with the weather indeed, most bars and their staff are very friendly and the food was brilliant. In our 5 days there we managed to visit a few of the "Star" bars that have been featured on the "The Benidorm Enthusiast" YouTube channel and even visited Lucy's bar Winners, Lucy was very busy at the time.
Now the big problem with Benidorm...night time!! I have no problem with people enjoying themselves. stag and hen parties etc but there are some sights not suitable for children. There is also a well organised seedy side to the resort with every street corner being occupied by some shady character trying to sell you anything from crack to women" this is well known and I have no idea why the authorities don't do something about it and you also get the usual hawkers and beggars doing the rounds of the bars in the evening.
The drinks? on Good Friday which was my birthday Lorni had arranged to take me to a cocktail bar which she had researched. At this bar...I wont mention names for legal reasons, I had three cocktails a woo woo a mai tai and a sunrise. what I got was cold coloured flavourless liquid I was so disappointed we moved on to another bar where I had three gin and tonics and two beers we then made our way to our hotel and where I had another two cocktails. Same problem as before? and three rum and cokes. I don't brag about what I can or can't drink but I am not a heavy or frequent drinker I walked back to my room and got up in the morning without the slightest inkling of a hangover and this repeated itself over the five days we were there....people, I don't care what anyone says there is no, or very little alcohol in the drinks in the bars that we visited in Benidorm and yes I have seen similar complaints elsewhere. A regular Benidorm visitor that I bumped into in the lift told me that you should buy bottles of spirits and beer from the supermarket and have a few before you go out and only drink bottled named brand beers. When we got home one of my friends here who has worked in Benidorm in the bar trade told me that yes the drinks are watered down to hell and even if you pick a known brand spirit the chances are it is full of "locally sourced" spirits. We did drink enough every night to sink a dam battleship with no effect at all???
I don't want this all to be negative as I said the beach area is great there are boat trips you can book but I would encourage you to book before you arrive at the resort as they fill up quick, there are day trips to all sorts of interesting places and of course there is the water park. There is every type of food you can think off available from curry's to tapas I don't think there will be any trouble keeping the kids happy. The one thing you can rely on in Benidorm is you will never get bored.
So to re-cap then lots to do in Benidorm all the hotels, well just about all of them have had a recent re-furb and are in great condition just do your homework before booking, lots of things to keep the family busy and entertained, would I recommend the resort? well yes on the proviso that you know what to expect would I go back? no! as I feel cheated and short changed over the drinks con but that is just me....?
