Globales Los Patos Park — Hotel in Benalmádena

This is probably my first review ever but it's needed. Hotel is only a 4 star because of the water slides otherwise it should be a 3star tops. Starting off with the room. The room we had was clean but very small and very little storage space. Two double beds for a family of 4 but there was around 10cm between the beds. (Fire safety plans only show one double in the rooms of that size). I had to fix the wardrobe doors on arrival as both were off the runners. The tiles on the bathroom floor had a fair few cracks. Also two tiles on the wall were about to fall off, only being held in place by the towel rail. Couldn't switch off balcony light either. Lifts were a bit of a joke, could be waiting 15mins for a lift especially as we were 9th Floor. Many guests were complaining of the same issue. Pools were an exception to the rest of the resort. They were very clean and great fun for adults and kids. Water slide handle for the red slide broke off one day but was promptly repaired. On to the food. The choice wasn't great and the food also wasn't great. Meats were often left undercooked and cheap frozen burgers were left raw in the middle when being served in the restaurant. The food had no structure and was very random and repetitive. Meats were very fatty and most commonly pork, the fish choices were not great. Desserts were cheap and always the same for every course. Snack bar was basic with cheap hot dogs, very cheap frozen burgers or cheese and ham toasties (however this food was more often than not better than the restaurant). We left a lot of food and other guests we became friends with returned food due to the quality and to likes of pork being undercooked by quite a bit. Other guests had told us to avoid certain things as they're whole party had ended up with the runs! Drinks were not so all inclusive. Basic and common cocktails like Mojitos and Pina Coladas are NOT included. The rest of the drinks were not a great standard. Most being just drinkable. This opinion was shared by pretty much every other guest we spoke to. The staff serving were friendly apart from one really grumpy woman on the pool bar. She never wore a name badge, and was always looking for tips from those who were not all inclusive. She would smile and if she got a tip was happy and if not she would sulk. She was putting many guests off going to the bar and she took about 3times longer to serve anyone than the other staff. The entertainment during the day was very poorly advertised. Most guests including ourselves did not know what was happening or where. Night time entertainment was basic to say the least. Kids club was OK but again was fairly basic. Some of the kids animation team aren't suited to being around kids. I am only comparing this to other big chain brands like Zafiro, SBH and Iberostar and to hotels of the same star rating. We were told by many that it was a great hotel in the past but were very disappointed. Other returning guests that we met said it never used to be this bad. If you do go to this hotel you would be best going to the marina for food and entertainment its only around 7euros in a taxi where the food is better, the entertainment is better and the atmosphere is better. Only thing saving this hotel is the splash park and water slides. It's a shame as it good be such an amazing place if things weren't being done on the cheap and easiest possible way. I will be writing to Jet2 and to Hays Travel...

Absolutely LOVE Los Patos Park. Been several times over the last 8 years. Hotel is spotless, rooms cleaned and towels changed every day. Great selection of food, something for everybody. Microwaves for baby food. They even make warm bobo's for babies at the bar. Every room has a fridge and bathrooms have hair dryer.

Several different swimming pools, fun pool (knee deep), water slide pool (deep), family pool (shallow and deep) and baby pool. There's also a play park in the hotel. There is everything you could possibly need in this hotel to enjoy a week or too. The best about it. Is the safety - there is one door in and one door out, so you can happily watch kids play in the park from the outdoor bar.. they can't go anywhere.

Nearby - you can go to Selwo Park (dolphin and Bird shows), 7€ in a taxi. Parque de la paloma- a natural Park (free) that has giant cactus film, small animals walking about, play Park and cafe etc.. Marina - beautiful walk, lush shops. You can take a boat ride to see dolphins for 17€ and a drink on board. Kaleido is a FABULOUS resturaunt there.

Have seen some bad reviews about Los patos park regarding food and rooms and cleanliness so id like to clarify..... The rooms are everything you'd expect in a Spanish resort holiday... slide robe, double bed, 2 bedside cabinets, counter and chair.. oh and a fridge. was plenty of room for my husband and I, 2 kids... and on our big day I had 3 bridesmaids and a make up artist and we managed fine. Balconies are spacious and safe, glass panels too if you have little ones - they can see out.

For those that mentioned a "caravan park near hotel"... its not a caravan park... there was several film productions which had actors mobile homes parked up during production.

For those that got 'food poisoning'.. everyone on this earth is bound to eat a dodgy muscle no matter where u go... or maybe too much booze after scoffing the most amazing cake buns and desert selection los patos has.. also.. anywhere you go, people have colds, flus, bugs etc... so again, your bound to pick something up along your history of travelling.

For those that said the "pool turned their teenage daughters hair green"... thats a cheap nasty hair dye problem, its a "dont let your daughter put bleach from a bottle on her head" problem....def not a pool, chlorine or Los patos problem.

The staff?? Unreal... know them all now by name. Reception great, resturaunt staff great, bar staff great, pool staff and entertainment great, cleaning staff very pleasant and professional aswell.

I'd like to finish with saying that I love every single thing about this hotel and benalmadena that we decided to get married there this year... went to a venue for wedding.. and 18 of us back to hotel to celebrate... I didnt even tell the hotel yet the morning I was getting ready, the hotel sent me a bottle of champagne to the room with a congratulations card on behalf of the hotel.

I have got around the world rightly, done most of Spain, done all the canaries, done Europe, done Canada, done UK and Ireland and done America... if you want a resort holiday with lots to do, plenty of family time, then this is the hotel for you. Do not be put off by the odd review... promise you reading this that you'll have a ball!!!!! Reach out if you have any...

Stayed as a couple in September going all inclusive. Hotel generally ok. Not long transfer from Malaga airport, good location, 5 mins to the beach, near main road for buses (we went to Malaga for the day which took about 1 hour each way) and plenty of restaurants nearby if want a break from the hotel. |Pools - great for families as the water park with slides looks really good although we didn't use it. Also good smaller area with water slides for younger children. Other pool also available plus smaller one for very young children. Plenty of sunbeds available when we were there. |Daytime entertainment - activities such as boules, darts do take place but no information of where it is located. We had to literally ask and then follow the animation team member up past the water slides to the activity area. Would never have found it otherwise. Some map or indication inside the hotel where they advertise the activities would be a good idea. We felt a bit side lined during the couple of activities we tried as the person running the activity mainly spoke to the Spanish guests that were taking part. We only got 1 turn on the boules and waited for our next turn only to be told all done, somebody else had won! Tried darts the next day, similar experience so didn't bother again.|Evening entertainment - held inside with mini disco for the children, followed by bingo or a raffle, with main entertainment ranging from quizzes, magician to singers. Not easy to organise every night but the animation team really tried. Singers and magician were worth watching. Plenty of seating either inside or out by the pool.|Bar - plenty of staff although sometimes bit of a queue. Main complaint is that if all inclusive very limited on cocktails and drinks you can have without paying extra. Cocktails that were available not great, especially the ones with orange juice in as it is not fresh juice. Sparkling and white wine was better than some other hotels been too. |Food - just one main restaurant for all meals apart from snack bar by the pool. Limited menu on the snack bar and often big queues. Main restaurant - was ok for breakfast, lunch and dinner options varied in appeal but usually something to find that you could eat. Got a little repetitive on some evenings although there were a couple of themed evenings which were good. We ate out a few times for dinner as plenty of places nearby. |We did have one major disturbed night from other guests banging doors and shouting between 3am and 5am in the morning. Next day they were escorted out of the hotel by the local police. Understand they had previously caused disturbance and been warned so hotel handled it well. |Activities outside the hotel - Mijas up in the hills was lovely to visit. Malaga was good for the day and easy by bus. Really big street market in Benalmadena about 10 mins drive away - got taxi from hotel reception. Market is near the cable car so we did market and then cable car after. Great views from the top. Little further away as we hired a car is Nerja, which was really nice.|Overall, hotel good location for trips and amenities nearby, though average compared to others been too with only 1 restaurant, limited drinks menu and lack of comms on...