"INNSIDE Costablanca Benidorm Review
I stayed at INNSIDE Costablanca in January for three nights on a business and leisure trip, and unfortunately this was one of the worst hotel experiences I have had. I would not recommend this hotel.
I booked the Suite XL, which was falsely advertised. The room was described as having one king bed and two double beds. In reality, the king bed was simply two single beds pushed together, and there were no double beds at all, only a very small, hard, and uncomfortable sofa bed. What made this more frustrating is that a superior suite with exactly the same sleeping arrangement was available at half the price, making the Suite XL extremely poor value.
The only genuine positive was the view. The seafront location is excellent, with stunning balcony views and easy access to the old town, beach, bars, and restaurants.
Beyond that, the stay was unacceptable. There was no air conditioning, and significant noise disruption from pneumatic drills digging up tiles around the pool area directly below our balcony. The pool itself was closed and empty, and this was not communicated before travel. This level of construction noise made it impossible to relax or work.
The room also suffered from electrical issues, with some electrics not working at all. On top of this, the food was consistently poor. Breakfast and dinner were both cold, and during dinner there were no drinks available, unlike at breakfast. Vegetarian options were extremely limited, repetitive, and bland, to the point where dining became unenjoyable and I chose to eat out instead.
The most distressing incident occurred when we were trapped in a broken lift for around 45 minutes. Staff were clearly not trained to handle the situation, did not know what to do, and no one identified themselves as a manager. There were no name badges and no clear escalation process. I suffered a panic attack during this incident and was not checked on afterward. No follow up, apology, or duty of care was shown.
Staff behaviour throughout the stay was consistently rude, passive aggressive, argumentative, and unprofessional. Digital check in was heavily promoted via email and required passport and credit card details in advance. Despite receiving confirmation emails, reception staff argued that this had not been done and attempted to take an additional security deposit. This made check in a chore rather than the smooth process promised. Because of their attitude, we actively avoided raising further issues, as it was clear no one cared to help.
There was no offer of compensation, no manager involvement, and no meaningful attempt to resolve any of the problems raised.
The location and view are genuinely excellent, but they do not come close to compensating for false advertising, poor food, construction noise, broken facilities, untrained staff, and a complete lack of customer care.
The best part of this stay was leaving.
The worst parts were being trapped in the lift and the consistently poor food.
This hotel charges premium prices but delivers a deeply disappointing and stressful experience. Regrettably I had to give 1 star, as there was no option for 0 stars!!!"
