"We have just returned from our 2 week stay at Pierre & Vacances Benalmádena Príncipe, and unfortunately the negatives far outweighed the positives.
The apartment itself was 10/10 for cleanliness and the location was 10/10. The air conditioning also worked well once we got it going. Unfortunately, that’s where many of the positives end.
The hotel has 11 floors, yet during our stay only two lifts were working. We regularly waited 5–10 minutes for a lift, and when one eventually arrived it was often packed. On one occasion, other guests were actually trying to push and nudge me out of a lift so someone else could get in, despite me already being inside. This was extremely uncomfortable and is exactly the sort of situation that could be avoided if more of the lifts were operational.
The main pool was another major disappointment. There was no entertainment, and children couldn’t play without being moaned at by residents and lifeguards. However, it felt like it was one rule for some people and another rule for others. I wear a vest top over my swimming costume for personal reasons and was told to take it off by the lifeguard.
The 30-minute sunbed rule was enforced extremely strictly. I understand not wanting guests to reserve sunbeds all day, but the way it was enforced meant families couldn’t comfortably leave together to have lunch without worrying that their towels would be removed. There needs to be some common sense and consideration for families.
The attitude of the staff was also disappointing. Although the staff who welcomed us on arrival were friendly, our experiences with reception and bar staff later in the stay were very different. We found many interactions to be rude, abrupt and unhelpful. The maintenance man was also very moody and regularly snarled at me when looking at me.
For example, we bought two drinks from the hotel’s own vending machine and sat at the pool bar to drink them. A member of staff came over and told us we couldn’t sit there with them, despite the drinks being purchased from the hotel’s own machine. We understand there may be a rule about consuming drinks at the bar, but the way it was communicated was unnecessarily rude. Then, a day later, another family did exactly the same thing, and with food as well, and nothing at all was said to them. Again, it felt like one rule for one guest and another rule for another.
We also asked about a late check-out, which is advertised in the lifts and in reception, including the prices. We initially asked if we could keep the room until 6pm and were simply told “no”, with no explanation. We then asked about 4pm and were again just told that check-out was 10am. Eventually, after asking again, we were allowed to keep the room until 2pm, which we appreciated. However, the initial way the request was handled was poor customer service. Our transfer wasn’t until 8pm, and there were no shower facilities available for us to use afterwards, which was very inconvenient and meant we had no proper way to freshen up before travelling.
The private transfer arranged through our easyJet holiday package was also a very poor start to the holiday. The driver complained that we “should have had a minibus”, initially wouldn’t allow me to keep my hand luggage on the back seat, and only allowed it once it became clear that everything wouldn’t fit in the boot. His driving was also extremely fast and uncomfortable, and he spoke to passengers abruptly, including telling people to “move” rather than speaking to them politely.
What is particularly disappointing is that after experiencing all of this ourselves, we have since read other reviews and found other guests describing many of the same problems. That makes it difficult to see these issues as isolated incidents.
The hotel has some genuinely good points — the location is excellent, our apartment was exceptionally clean, and the air conditioning worked — but those positives don’t make up for the repeated problems with the lifts, pool, customer service and overall treatment of guests.
Unfortunately, this was not the relaxing holiday experience we were expecting, and based on our experience we would not return."
