"We stayed at the Binimar for a week in August. It was me, my mum and my 3 year old. When we walked in to reception the queue to check in was out of the door and our initial thoughts were oh good grief…. But the process was quicker than expected and straight forward. There is a luggage room if your room isn’t quite ready, we’d packed a swimming bag at the top so were able to grab that and spend time at the pool and access our all inclusive drinks and lunch.
Overall I’d say the hotel is nice. It’s a large hotel with only two floors spread across a big area. The outside areas and gardens are kept beautifully.
There are 3 pools which are fine but a bit grubby. It’s a family discussion how English pools are so gross but foreign pools are kept nice…. Well, i’d compare this to an English pool! Getting a hair wrapped round your fingers every two seconds, the same plaster stuck to the floor all week, a massive clump of hair that just stayed wrapped around the steps for days. I didn’t see anybody cleaning the area down all holiday which you do normally see at a big hotel. The floor is quite dirty and where puddles form by the steps there is green algae between the grout and floating around. As everybody has mentioned, sun beds are a real issue. In fact, I’m not convinced it’s even the sun beds, it’s the shade!! I really feel like if they had more parasols or shaded bits then it wouldn’t be such a bun fight, but people want to sit under the umbrellas or shaded areas and that’s the issue. The umbrellas that are there are big, concreted in ones that don’t move or go up and down. The first day we arrived at the pool at around midday and got two beds at the ‘quiet’ pool, but they were in the blazing sun with zero shade and with a toddler that’s no good. The main pool and splash pool lock the beds up until 8.30 ish, at which time there is an actual fight for beds. The third pool, which we tended to favour, is gated and they don’t open until 10. Although a queue starts forming at around 9.30, it’s far less frantic. The pool itself gets very busy and overwhelming, but we did go in school holidays. It’s also a really warm pool, I’m not sure if it is heated or just the warm weather but it’s like a bath. This has its pros and cons, my toddler was in there for hours and hours without getting cold, but in reality it was a bit too warm and you never really cool down or get any relief from the sun.
What I actually felt overall was that this is a large hotel with lots of rooms, and the social areas are really quite small. Around the pool, the bar and the entertainment area, all lack space for a hotel this size. Yes it was probably full capacity when we were there but they should be able to cater for this if they offer the rooms. Bottom line is there should be more sun beds and more parasols, just because you go in school holidays shouldn’t mean you have to fight for a basic facility. They also need more space and tables in the entertainment area, if you arrive after the kids disco starts you’re unlikely to get seated. As a hotel, if you’re going to fill every room then you need to provide facilities for that many people.
The drink token system is fine once you get used to it. I cannot see how it’s greener and feel that it’s more to stop the need for staff having to clear down tables as you’re obliged to take your cups back. Unfortunately because they don’t do this, the tables in the bar area rarely get wiped down and that is probably the reason there are lots of flies around. The bar staff are quick and efficient and even if there is a queue you get your drinks quickly. Most of them are nice and friendly apart from the older guy who is a grump! AI drinks were fine, there’s a handful of cocktails included and good selection of soft drinks. One thing let it down, the only ice creams available through the day for AI were ice pops which were a bit naff.
Food is good, if somebody can’t find something they can eat then they must be super fussy. Freshly made pizzas every day, always a kids section with basic beige foods. Good selection of breads (although these were often a bit hard and stale). The main restaurant by the pool bar felt a lot like a school canteen, but could always get seated ok. The second restaurant downstairs from reception is much nicer for dinner time. It’s calmer, food is nicely presented and it’s just a bit more civilised. It is also freezing cold though, so take a cardy! The downstairs restaurant has a chocolate fountain most nights which the other one doesn’t have.
Rooms are basic but fine. Could do with a really good deep clean, you can see the dirt in the corners, the bathroom was grubby and there were quite a few stray hairs on arrival. Impossible to sit on the balcony with the huge air con vent pumping out boiling hot air at you which is a shame, so we didn’t really use our balcony. Also a strong smell of drains comes and goes in the rooms.
The beach isn’t far but it’s a steep old walk down some rickety wooden steps or a rocky slope. Not suitable for a pushchair at all and I didn’t trust my 3 year old to walk down them safely so we never ventured down which was a shame. My mum did and said it was stoney and seaweed-y! We heard people talking about nice beaches and coves not too far out but we never explored.
Entertainment team are great with the kids. We only really used the kids disco due to my daughter only being 3, but they work so hard to get them all dancing and involved. You see them about all day long doing this and that. There is a gap of an hour between the kids disco ending and the entertainment starting, where they give out a few certificates from the daytime and do bingo, but for young kids this is just boring and therefore we rarely made it to see the entertainment because toddler just got bored and tired.
Check out process was good. There is a big luggage room with showers, toilets, clean towels and an air conditioned area with sofas etc. it’s right at the back of the hotel but the transfer buses pick up from there which means you don’t have to lug your bags back through the complex. It works really well.
Overall this hotel was fine. Once you get over the general grubbiness you will have a lovely time. If you’re looking to book and you can get it for a good price then go for it. But in reality, would I come back, probably not…. Did we have a nice time, yes a really lovely week! I would maybe compare this to a Spanish Butlins…. Basic, hectic, everywhere needs a deep clean, but good fun for the kids and there’s always something to do"
