Benalbeach, 20

I loved the apartments, which were equipped with everything I needed indoors and outside. Getting to reception was the funny part. I’d booked a first-floor room and arrived late, with nobody there in person, so my only contact was WhatsApp. I wanted to stop at reception before going back to the car for my things. I assumed reception was on the zero floor, but every time I pressed zero in the lift, the doors shut and opened again on the first floor. The stairs seemed blocked by chains, an X, and a wall! 🤣🤣🤣 It felt like the latest psychological horror movie. The woman I was messaging told me to take the lift to reception and asked what the problem was. I sent her a video, but she didn’t understand, even after I explained. Eventually I decided to climb over the chains and see what was on the second floor. Big surprise, reception was up there! 🥲🤫

The room was spotless when I arrived, and the kitchen made it easy to cook several times a day during my long stay. There was plenty of storage, a safe, a washing machine, and cleaning supplies. The air conditioning and heating both worked well, and the Wi-Fi was okay, though it dropped out sometimes. The bathroom was clean and everything worked, but there was no bath plug. I’d have liked a soak after a long day on my legs, though water can be an issue around here, so it wasn’t a major problem. The bed was much too soft for me and gave me back pain. It left a dip, so even trying the other side meant I rolled back into it. Getting to the beach, promenade, and transport was easy. Still, I’d avoid coming in February or March. Work on rooms was going on in the quiet season, as needed, but the hammering and drilling started early and carried on until early evening. The weather wasn’t good enough to get away from the noise, which made it difficult to work. The reception staff seemed to resent being there, and the building is an odd design and an eyesore on the coast. I spotted it easily while hiking and on excursions. It was confusing to find your way around, and the place felt like a mini-mall, with various businesses inside. That’s not something I’d come across before. The supermarket had good staples but too much junk food for my taste. After plenty of rain and thunderstorms, the sun finally came out and I wanted to use the open pool and loungers. There was nowhere to sit, and the grass was soaked, though I’d have been fine with a towel on the ground. I couldn’t see any staff or tell whether I was allowed to be there. I understood that the closed pools were being maintained, which is fair enough, but the haphazard layout and lack of signs made things confusing. The claim that the pools are heated all year is false. The water was at the ambient temperature of 17C, so anyone who doesn’t enjoy cold dips probably won’t like it.

The garden around the complex is really lovely, so kudos to the gardeners. The outside of the building could use some maintenance to freshen it up.

The pools are fab, though in busy August they need more cleaning. There was green scum around every pool. There were plenty of comfortable sunbeds for €5 per person, and the sunbed attendant was very friendly, as were all the staff. The location is great, the food is passable, and there’s a handy supermarket on the bottom floor with reasonable prices.