Hotel Magic Aqua Rock Gardens — Hotel in Benidorm

We’ve just returned from a stay at Magic Aqua Rock Gardens, and overall, we were sorely disappointed. Despite its four-star rating, the hotel is basic at best, with substandard accommodation, faulty facilities, and disinterested staff. While the hotel leans heavily into its "African" theme ( a cave-like reception area, quirky furniture, and plastic animals scattered about) it seems they’ve overlooked the fundamentals of running a good hotel.||||Positives First: The hotel’s location is a definite plus. It's just a five-minute walk from the beach and local shops, which was great when we needed a break from the hotel’s atmosphere. It is true that the hotel is on a fairly steep hill, and while this isn’t something they can change, it’s worth noting that it could be tough for anyone with accessibility issues or pushchairs.||||The Room: We booked a room for my partner and me, his 17-year-old daughter, and 14-year-old son. Prior to our arrival, we confirmed that the room would accommodate us comfortably and provide some privacy for everyone. You can imagine our disappointment when we walked into a cramped room with two double beds side by side. This arrangement meant teenage siblings of opposite sexes had to share a bed right next to their dad and step-mum—not appropriate at all. While space constraints might apply to all rooms, for a family set-up like ours, you’d expect better options like separate beds or cots.||||The room itself felt dated and extremely basic. There was barely any space for our suitcases, which we had to stack on the floor, and the wardrobe wasn’t nearly big enough for four people’s clothes.||||One thing that stood out to me was the lack of a dressing table—there was just a small desk in one corner and a mirror on the opposite side with no power outlets nearby for a hairdryer or straighteners. The bathroom had a constant smell of urine and stains that were never cleaned. On a positive note, the shower was decent, and towels were replaced daily, even without us requesting it.||||A funny touch was a notice in the room that said, “You may not have a balcony, but you have many facilities not available elsewhere.” We’re still not sure what “facilities” they were referring to!||||Hotel Navigation: Navigating the hotel was challenging. The signage was limited, and you’d often find yourself retracing your steps to figure out where to go. The lifts were another major issue. On our first day, our whole family got stuck in one, which was stressful. Although someone responded when we raised the alarm, their instructions were hard to understand and hear. We ended up forcing our way out after ten minutes, thankfully managing as it wasn’t between floors. This happened again, once with my stepson and once with me alone. Neither of us is claustrophobic, so we managed, but we heard another child panicking when they got stuck, which was upsetting. Many other guests shared similar stories, yet the lifts were just put back into use without any substantial repair.||||The Pool: As commented by others the pool was always cold, likely because it was overshadowed by surrounding high-rise buildings that blocked most sunlight (something the hotel can't really help). This meant kids and adults alike were shivering as they got out. No floaties or snorkels were allowed, which disappointed the kids, and the slides were only open at limited times, leading to frustration. While there were plenty of sun loungers, they were packed tightly and hardly ever in the sun.||||Dining: There was a decent variety of food, and credit to the kitchen staff for the impressive Halloween spread. However, undercooked items like raw meatballs and pink chicken were a common concern, so we ate cautiously. As a Coeliac, I’d confirmed in advance that gluten-free options were available, but it was still a struggle. Labels were often wrong, and there was no allergen information printed anywhere, so you have to rely on staff to guide you. For me, asking staff meant getting passed from one unsure person to another, so I stuck to plain rice and tuna for safety. If you have dietary restrictions, don’t risk it here.||||Drinks: A rule limits each person to ordering two drinks at a time. I get why they’d want to prevent waste, but it’s inconvenient for groups of more than two people. Cocktails were sugary pre-mixed drinks with minimal alcohol. We switched to spirits and mixers but suspected the alcohol was watered down after seeing large pours that didn’t taste alcoholic.||||Entertainment: We didn’t attend many daytime activities but found the evening shows underwhelming. The venue was cramped and too small for the number of guests. The one show we did witness was the reptile show; it was nothing short of cruel and uncomfortable to watch—loud music and stressed animals on display for kids to prod at. There weren’t enough seating areas for those just wanting to unwind, so we often ended up just taking our drinks up to the room and watching TV. One pool table is available but it was often out of order, and the VR/games room was reported by the kids as "boring because hardly anything worked". A few arcade games are available, but they do require extra euros so if you planning on this being your kids' entertainment make sure you've plenty of coinage!||||Staff: Apart from reception and the lovely Anna in the dining room, staff interactions were disheartening. Bar staff were often rude and seemed like they couldn’t be bothered. One pool bar server seemed more interested in her phone than serving guests, leading to incorrect orders - it came across like she genuinely didn't know what she was doing, and quite frankly didn't care. The young female lifeguard, too, appeared indifferent, staring at her phone instead of keeping an eye on what was going on in the pool for the slides.||||Other: Pool towels are available for a refundable €15 each, and reusable cups for pool drinks cost €1 each (also refundable). The safety deposit box in the room comes at an extra charge, which felt unnecessary given the price of the stay.||||Summary: This was my first visit to Benidorm, and it’s disheartening that the hotel dampened the experience. Travel agents need to reconsider promoting this as a four-star hotel—it simply doesn’t meet...

We arrived on a Saturday (2 adults, one teenager) and check in was easy, staff at reception were friendly and welcoming, the receptionist took time to explain the hotel workings and the food service. We upgraded at reception to Ultra All Inclusive - I had emailed the hotel in advance and been quoted €200 for this, I didn’t let reception know this when I asked to upgrade thinking it would be the same price, but he asked for €390! I showed the receptionist my email and he said he ‘would do it for that price’. In all honestly, I shouldn’t have bothered to upgrade, we couldn’t book much through the app as the Italian and rooftop restaurant were full but it was nice to have a restocked fridge in the room everyday - which was Pepsi and orange/lemonade and cans of beer. You use an app to make bookings which is simple enough. ||We used the UAI to visit Magic Robin Hood and booked the shuttle for this too - the shuttle didn’t show up at the hotel as the app said it would, after waiting around 15 minutes we asked reception and the said it picks up down the hill outside Burger King. I’m not sure how I was supposed to guess that to be honest but we ended up getting a taxi which wasn’t too expensive, around €12 each way. Robin Hood was good, there’s a great range of slides and they served us at the pool bar with no issues - I forgot to take the €1 plastic cups from Magic Rock so had to buy 3 more - at €1 I’m not bothered and ended up bringing them home as souvenirs. The lunch at Robin Hood was amazing! Such a variety of food to choose from and I would say better than Magic Rock. ||The food at Magic Rock is what you’d expect from an all inclusive. I’m veggie and they have a specific small veggie section and the salads were crisp and fresh, and available for all meals and snacks. There was also a kids section with plain pasta/chicken nugget type offerings. We always found something we liked every day and knew that the snack bar was there if we needed a top up. It’s great that the white/red wine and beer/cider is on tap. The snack bar was a great hit with my tribe, chips, kebab meat and burgers, and we loved the ice creams that you can help yourself to. My son loved the soft serve ice cream available in the restaurant at lunch and dinner. ||The pool is great, a bit chilly some days but nothing you can’t get used to. The slides were also good, saw a few head bumps on the fast slides though but quickly attended by the lifeguards. The sunloungers were taken up very quickly most mornings and there were queues at 9.30am for when the pool opens at 10am. As per usual, some people put towels on loungers and buggered off for the day quite regularly. The pool bar was great - certain bartenders love serving a lot of alcohol - around 5-6 measures in one drink. One bartender in the main hotel spoke only in Spanish and patronised myself and others by laughing to other staff members when we couldn’t understand him, but I just avoided him in the end. Everyone else in the hotel was friendly and fantastic, especially the entertainments team who worked really hard. ||The entertainment was geared towards the little ones most evenings which was fine, and there was bingo on a bit later for adults, and also a quieter bar with a vocalist every night if the main entertainment wasn’t to your taste. All what you’d expect, and similar to campsite offerings in the UK. There was a gaming room that my son loved that opens Wed - Sunday evenings. There was driving simulators, PlayStations and Xbox’s. Bookings through the app were for 30 minutes sessions but one of the lovely staff members who was on duty just let my son in anytime - he spent a few hours in there one night! Other staff wanted to see bookings. ||The rooms were spotless and cleaned thoroughly each day with fresh linen and towels. There were two double beds together, mattresses were firm and pillows were the long kind that take up the length of the bed with spare ones in the wardrobe. There was a sofa and coffee table along with a desk and chair. There is a safe in the room at €3 a day and €20 deposit for a safe key which I ended up losing in the restaurant so had to pay another €20 for a new one - the old one wasn’t handed in sadly, and a gift that was left out on a seat for a few minutes unattended while I nipped to the toilet was taken by someone so please be aware to not leave anything unattended. It’s such a shame there are so few rooms with balconies as this would have been great. Wifi was hit and miss in the room and better by the pool/main reception area. ||The location of the hotel was good, it is up a hill but not too bad. Taxis are quick to respond. The town has a good range of shops and there are lots of places to eat/drink around. The beach is stunning, the sea on Lavante Beach wasn’t clear and had some seaweed in which isn’t a problem for me but I know it puts off some people. There are lots of people around but there were no feeling of being unsafe at any time. ||We stayed on the 5th floor and the hotel would be quiet at night, we couldn’t hear the rooms next to us and each room had air conditioning and you can dry towels out the window or in the bathroom - they had pullover drying lines over the bath which were very handy. The room comes with a kettle, decaf coffee, green tea, shower gel (both decanter style pump and in little tubes) shower caps and soap. There is also shampoo/conditioner in a decanter style pump. There is a hairdryer in the room that worked well. The shower was powerful and as hot as you like. ||There are lifts either side of the hotel that take a bit of getting used to. Some lifts give you access to the over 16’s rooftop chill area which was a nice space to catch a few rays. ||Overall - I would 100% stay again. We had a great time and the weather was amazing to top it off. The food, drink and staff were...

We stayed at this hotel during the last two weeks of July. The hotel is situated up a short hill which wasn't as bad as some people make out but if you have some walking difficulties you will struggle. There are also lots of step areas in the hotel, they have lifts but the wait for them is terrible.

The rooms are similar to a Premier Inn, you get a bathroom and two double beds and a bed settee, with a small desk for tea and coffee with a small fridge built in. There are no balconies in general, they have a few but at a high price. The rooms are cleaned daily and in fairness spotless. The air con in the rooms was a welcome relief from the heat some days.

The food is good for an all inclusive. They have 2 main restaurants, a snack bar which is basically a smaller restaurant and if you upgrade they have an Italian restaurant. For those who go on all inclusive holidays you know what to expect. It can get tedious and that's why we try to eat out a couple of times to break it up, the red and white wine which is self serve along with soft drinks and Estrella on top was brilliant, they even have Cider on tap which is unusual!

The big down side of this hotel for me was the pool and pool area, it is too small to cope with the amount of guests at the hotel. It is a lovely pool with bubble areas in the pool, a swim up pool bar with seats, bubble loungers and a separate adult hot tub, but way too small, you keep apologising to people when you bump into them! No inflatables were allowed or balls as big as a football, generally a tennis size ball would be all that is allowed. The mian lifeguard loves his whistle and if it wasn't blown every couple of minutes at someone then it wasn't blown at all, he was very strict which caused some upset with some families. That said, during the daily waterpolo which on some days decended into fighting in the pool and chaos around the pool area, he was generally in the middle of it all with security trying to sort it out. The hotel has an aquapark, basically it's 4 slides which are quite dangerous and daily people were getting injured and treated. There is a large TV over the pool which is featured in the online pictures, but that just advertises what on at the hotel, I was expecting movie nights or live sport but no.... just rotating adverts.

There wasn't anywhere near enough sun loungers because there is not enough room, people queued from 9am ish until the pool area opened at 10 am, then it was run for your lounger! All were gone by 10.05am. In fairness, for the first hour they put 20 min notices on beds and removed the towels when they didn't return. As in the pictures, the loungers are packed together, if you like a little space between you and the next person, you're not getting it here!

If you like sunbathing then this is not the place for you! The sun first appears coming over the top of the hotel at 12 ish. You get around 4 hours sun and then it disappears over the hotel in front. If you get a lounger in a few certain places you get it a bit longer until it comes back for another hour or so towards the evening.

This is a popular hotel for Spainish families and it seemed to be geared that way, the entertainment team had little English, the main acts were duel but the sound systems were dated and poor which meant unless you sat right in front of the stage you couldn't hear what was being said. They have a singer every night in another on site bar but not very good quality and poor atmosphere. All the Entertainment is in doors in air conditioned rooms with very limited outside seating in the evening

The bartenders were hit and miss, a few outgoing fun ones and others that did their best to ignore you and look after the Spanish families.... one was asked did he even want to be there and said 'No'....

Remember to buy your cup vouchers at reception to exchange for hard plastic cups around the pool, the are 1€ but you get that back on return of your voucher.

I would stay here again if it was a cheap weekend away for the nightlife but I wouldn't for another family...