Ella Di.
A Pleasant Stay with a Few Minor Drawbacks
We stayed at this hotel for three days on a full-board basis, and overall, it was a very pleasant experience. The food was nice, and although I’m a bit of a fussy eater, I always found something delicious to enjoy. The reception staff were lovely and extremely helpful throughout our stay.
Since it was Valentine’s weekend, the hotel was fully booked, which meant some waiting times. One thing to note is that to enter the restaurant, you have to queue and go down a flight of stairs. This was fine for me, but there was no lift, which could be difficult for some guests with mobility issues.
The biggest downside was the bed, which both my partner and I found uncomfortable. The pillows were incredibly flat, but after requesting extra ones, we managed to sleep more comfortably. However, if we had stayed for a week or more, I think the bed would have caused some aches.
On a positive note, the view from our room was lovely, the hotel was very clean, and its location was fantastic, just a short walk from the beach and the beautiful marina.
Would I stay again? Possibly—but I’d hope for better pillows next time!
😉
Ribaz khalaf
The Worst Hotel Experience of My Life — Palma Sol Hotel , Benalmádena
If I could leave zero stars, I would.
We paid around 4,500 DKK (~600 EUR) for a 5-day stay at Palma Hotel, Benalmádena — and it has been an absolute nightmare.
Due to a national blackout, the hotel completely failed its guests:
No power, no internet, no air conditioning, no food, no preparation whatsoever.
We were forced to drink heavily chlorinated tap water. Even worse, the water we used to wash ourselves was brown — we even brushed our teeth with it before realizing how dangerous it was.
We barely ate anything all day (only two bagels and some potato between us), because the entire city was shut down.
When we attempted to grab a plate of food at the hotel, we didn’t even get to eat it before an aggressive waiter stormed over, demanding our room number — purely to charge us for food we had not even touched.
The little food we had previously stored in the hotel’s fridge? Completely spoiled due to the lack of electricity — no warning, no apologies, nothing.
And if that wasn’t enough, every single night there was loud music blasting until midnight or even later (00:00–01:00), with zero sound insulation in the rooms.
I have to work early in the mornings, and it was absolutely impossible to sleep — the hotel made no effort whatsoever to ensure a peaceful environment.
Adding to the absurdity:
I live and work in Spain, and my workplace informed me days before that the blackout would happen on Monday.
The hotel had every opportunity to prepare but, as always, they were too slow, disorganized, and unprofessional. Spain might be inefficient sometimes, but Hotel Palm operates at a true third-world level of incompetence.
When we tried to raise our concerns at the reception, we were treated with open disdain and accused of lying.
Instead of taking any responsibility, the staff dismissed us with arrogance.
We demand a full refund for the last day of our stay — the absolute minimum after putting our health at risk, destroying our food, ruining our sleep, and treating us like garbage.
This hotel is a complete disaster and a danger to any traveler.
Avoid Palma Hotel, Benalmádena at all costs.
Joanne Vernon
This is not a 4* ,maybe a good 3* but the room in a Easyjet budget hotel is bigger and better equipped!! The food basic and breakfast was cold. Also the hotel is cashless everywhere except reception, need a card to get electricity in room which is not provided. Location is good but it is not a 4*.
Amy Lambert
Lovely hotel. Breakfast was lovely. Jesus, Vitaliy and the lady with red curly hair are lovely! The animation team are also lovely. Lunch was also pleasant. Music around the pool with lots of sunbeds available. Rooms are clean, you have a fridge which is nice. Wifi worked great throughout to hotel. Facilities are clean. Nice outdoor gym! Also a jacuzzi which is small but nice as pool was quite cold. The hotel is in a great area, just next to beach and marina with lovely bars and restaurants. Not too far from airport either. Plenty supermarkets and pharmacies around the hotel. There is also a bus stop just up the road which is handy.
We are aware the power outage was out of the hotels hands however upon mine and my partners return to the hotel after power outage had just began, the bar was shut. We were told we could not get in to our rooms. My partner went to reception to ask for some water as no bar and at the time no access to our room to get our water to which he was told ‘go to the bar’ he advised the bar was shut and was told he could have water but had to pay. Bearing in mind we were told it was a cashless hotel and we were all inclusive. As we had been unable to take cash out due to outage, my partner had to use the last of his change to pay for water when we are all inclusive and in a cashless hotel! Around an hour later we saw multiple guests with free cups of water which was being given out. This seemed a bit unjust as the outage was also out of our hands and the least we could do was get complimentary water when we initially asked.
On the night time we were told they had ‘ran out’ of san miguel bottles so we were made to pay for beer even though we are all inclusive. After about an hour and paying for our beer, we saw some guests with bottles of san miguel. They explained to us they had complained and been given bottles. Again unjust that we were paying when all inclusive and told there was none left but guests were then being given it? It’s not the price of the beer or water it’s more the principle and I think the hotel could’ve went about the outage a much different way!
We also had a female member of staff be rude to us on a number of occasions during the day at the bar. I also witnessed her being extremely rude to other guests and explaining things ‘aren’t her problem’ and she put her finger in my partner’s face when he had the non-all inclusive menu advising him he was using the wrong menu (he wanted to pay for a wrap which was not on all inclusive and she did not give him an option to explain this). She would also come and take pints off our table that weren’t even finished without asking if we were finished. Just overall a bad attitude.
Beth Lyle
The pictures do not do this hotel justice! It’s modern, sleek and absolutely spotless. All the staff including reception, housekeeping, waiting on and entertainment are all so pleasant and can’t do enough for you. The view from our balcony was stunning. We were always happy with the selection at meal times. The hotel is in a fantastic location with so many places to eat and drink around. The beach is a very short walk away and supermarkets are all around for convenience. The facilities (pool, gym, sauna etc) were exceptional.
All around a great hotel! Would definitely recommend