Another last minute holiday for us back in 2019, our last before Oscar arrived. This time to Hotel Polynesia in Benalmadena Spain. This is one of the most unusual hotels we have ever stayed at but in a good way!

Cost

We booked this one on 30th September and we flew on 13th October – 5 nights for 2 adults, 2 children (8 & 9 years) and an infant in the 4* Hotel Polynesia, All inclusive from London Southend with EasyJet – This was £1694.08 – We also travelled with just hand luggage!

Flights

Flights to Benalmadena are again really short, around 3 hours if you fly into Malaga airport and a direct transfer is only around 20 minutes. Its a great location for a first flight or if your little ones get bored quickly.

We flew with EasyJet and I think they get a lot of stick but we have never had a problem with them.

Hotel

The hotel is huge, there are several lifts to help you get to the different levels and it has a huge waterfall in the middle of the reception area.

It is for sure one of the most unusual hotels we have ever stayed in, it was just beautiful.

To be honest you could spend hours just wandering around the hotel admiring all the wildlife from the turtles (they were outside our room) the fish in the waterfall section or the birds of paradise aviary by the kids club!

There is also an arcade with various pay to play rides and machines and a small playground round the back of the hotel by the outdoor stage. They also have a bowling alley.

The hotel also has a Spa with a pool and gym but we didn’t use it. It was for adults only and we could get booked in on the times the kids club could have Holly.

Room

We had a 1 bedroom apartment and it was pretty small once all 5 of us were in there.

There are suites with Jacuzzis and they looked much more fun but were unfortunately fully booked.

Pools

The pools were lovely, not too deep so they warmed up pretty quick, there are plenty of loungers around the pool or you can sit by the bar on the seating over there.

Food

Even the buffet restaurants were beautiful, the trees and foliage continued through these with massive tree trunks in the middle of the dining hall. The front is all open and little birds come and sit on the floor by your tables.

The food was standard buffet style, there were so many options and we all found plenty of things we would eat. The desserts were so good which is unusual at all inclusive hotels, generally I won’t eat anything.

There are also 2 themed restaurants – Chinese and Polynesian open 1st May – 31st October, these weren’t open when we went.

Beach

It was just a short stroll down to the beach and into he town where you’ll find lots of bars to see and take in the view.

Kids Club

The kids club area is huge and has this massive soft play climbing frame with a ball pit and slides.

It is free for over 3s and chargeable for under 3s – we paid around 10€ an hour for Holly.

Entertainment

Every evening there was a mini disco and games for the kids. Chloe and Lottie loved joining in, Holly didd a little bit too but she was quite happy watching

Waterpark

You also get free access too the waterpark, you can get the free shuttle bus or its a short walk (downhill going, uphill coming back so I would def recommend getting the bus back to the hotel!)

It has loads of different sections including a giant pirate ship and water jets.

Would you go back to Hotel Polynesia?

One hundred percent yet! The hotel is so beautiful, there is just so much going on from the second you walk through the door. Yet it is still super calming with the water features and big open spaces.

The waterpark is a great add on to the hotel and you could easily spend all day down there and the short flight and transfer makes it really appealing to families, especially with smaller ones.

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ChrissyJ xxx