Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Excellent rooms, service, food, entertainment |
| Disadvantages: |
Communication could have been better and too many machines requiring euros that kids bugged us for . |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
We have just returned from the first holiday abroad in ten years and a fantastic fortnight it was too. We stayed in sunny Costa Blanca in Benidorm at The Flamingo Oasis hotel. It is an entirely all-inclusive hotel and a pleasure to stay in.
We arrived after an hour's coach journey from Alicante airport to a beautifully spacious reception at around 7.30pm and we were seen pretty much straightaway by the friendly, English speaking staff. Check in was a simple and quick procedure, followed by our photos being taken and produced onto our all-inclusive cards, which you are meant to carry with you at all times for spot checks. Our daughter, who is only 2, really didn't want her photo taken and the staff were kind and patient, settling on a photo of her being held in my husband's arms. We were given our cards and told we were on the 18th floor in rooms 18-06 and 18-04, as there were 8 in our party. We had asked for adjoining rooms but none were available. This was a little disappointing but they said they could try and amend as soon as possible, although we didn't take them up on the offer as we found it to be satisfactory.
After waiting a little while for a lift, (which proved to be a continual pain) we dumped our cases into the rooms and returned downstairs to explore and have dinner. We found the restaurant easily and waited at the doors for staff to seat us. The restaurant is billed as being two restaurants but really it is just an extremely large one split by a hanging sign on the ceiling. We were amazed at the sheer size and variation of food on offer. There is a chef's special everyday, usually along the lines of roast beef/pork or salmon, or something like beef goulash and this was always extremely tasty. The beef was cooked beautifully and practically fell apart on your fork it was so tender. Alongside this were food types to suit everyone, even my father-in-law who is a bit fussy with his food. My love of sweet things was indulged to the maximum too with at least four different types of cakes, jellies, mousse and pastries, as well as mountains of fruit and cheese and biscuits. The other meals were just as fabulous, with cooked breakfast everyday or pastries, toast and cereal. There was a long time allocation for each meal, with a half hour closure in between before re-opening for snacks.
The pool area outside was amazing. The pool itself is shaped like a huge splash, with lots of different circular areas to it, the largest of which, starts very shallow at ankle depth, slowly getting deeper as you go in. The older kids jumped straight in as soon as they got an opportunity but the more reserved of us, gently got used to the water, which was extremely cold when you first enter. You soon get used to it though and as the heat of the day progresses it warms it nicely, although it is still a shock first time in. There are masses of sun beds round the pool area but despite warning signs about not reserving them, people still do and you will not get a bed poolside if you come down later than about 8.30am. This was annoying as we would have liked to have got closer to the pool to keep an eye on the younger kids but the area around the pool for sun beds is still extremely large so you will get a spot, close to the pool or not. There is also a kids pool of a fair size situated right next to the play area of climbing apparatus, which my two year old could stand up from length to length in so this was a bonus.
The bar located outside, by the pool area, is great. It opens from 11am to 6pm and serves food from noon, although this is just chips, burgers or chicken nuggets, it is still great for the kids to eat for lunch without having to get dressed to go in the restaurant. (You have to wear t-shirts and shoes during the day and no shorts or vests for evening meals in the restaurant.) This bar also give out the lollies to the kids and adults alike, which was great but the brochure did say free ice-creams and there was not any other than in the restaurant.
Inside you can find a number of other bars, which all cater for different tastes and needs. One has a massive cinema type setting, with hordes of comfortable chairs and a huge screen, which shows a daily film for anyone interested. They had some good ones too - I-Robot, The Island, Star Wars to name a few. There is also a café style bar that serves all soft and alcoholic drinks as well as tea & coffee and this was great after breakfast to sit here and relax for an hour or so. There are pool tables outside on the veranda here, which were always well used, but you never had to wait too long for a table. These were also serviced while we were there so they are well looked after. For more games there is a games room full of pool and air hockey tables and ridesd for younger kids.
In addition to these you also have the Piano Bar and Skyline Bar, located on the ground and 25th floors respectively, but these areas were for adults only so we never got to experience them, having four kids with us, however the Piano Bar always seemed to be very quiet when we went passed it and the Skyline Bar is not all-inclusive so I fail to see the attraction when you have paid a fortune to go somewhere not to have to pay for your drinks.
Our rooms were really spacious and the best I have ever stayed in. They sport two very large single beds (much larger than average) pushed together to create one extremely big double bed and two sofas which convert to nice size single beds. We had our youngest two children in with us and they actually slept in the beds with us, comfortably, which gives you a good idea how large they were. The balcony was very spacious too, with a table and four chairs and a pull out airer fixed to the wall to dry the towels etc on.
There are four large mirrored wardrobes with coat hangers and shelf space and the bathroom was big, with twin sinks and a bath and shower attachment, a loo and a bidet, which the kids found fascinating. The rooms were cleaned daily, unless you state otherwise, and towels changed regularly. The TV had Sky Movies and Sky news on it that was great for keeping the kids entertained while we washed and dressed for dinner.
For your comfort there is also individually controlled air conditioning/heating and a safe for valuables at 6 euros deposit for the duration.
##OVERALL##
I have had an excellent time here and found it easily lived up to the expectations we had before going. As it is a 4star
hotel, you do expect a certain amount of luxury and the sense of being looked after and we certainly got that. There is so much to keep everyone entertained everyday and night and we saw our 13 year old for breakfast and dinner and that was about it. The other kids were kept entertained by the staff, and the brilliant kids klub, run by the tour operators, which starts from age 3 up to 12, split into sections dependent on age.
Both my youngest learnt to swim there, with armbands, but unaided and practically lived by the pool, when not at the huge sandy Levante Beach, 10 minutes walk away.
The hotel also has a number of other areas like a hairdressers and sauna/massage centre but these were all chargeable and were quite pricey in my opinion. By the restaurant there is an indoor pool although this was locked for our duration and we guessed it only opened during cooler weather.
The staff in all the bars and restaurants always had a smile for us and welcomed us with no exceptions and a way of service that led you into friendly banter with some of them.
Disabled access is excellent all over the hotel, with lifts to get you everywhere you would need to go, this was great for buggies too.
The entertainment was second to none and the international but English speaking team who seem ever present in the hotel worked extremely hard to bring us a fabulous one-hour show each night at 10pm on the stage at the poolside area. They did their version of Grease, Starlight Express and the Michael Jackson Experience to name a few and this was always followed by a professional brought in to either sing or amuse us. We all got to know the team and some of them were amazingly talented with signing and dancing expertise. We never needed to go out of the hotel for entertainment, other than the beach, as it was so good. Of the professional acts that came in, there were a few that were unsuitable for children and on these occasions they always had a show, magicians etc, in another bar area for them to go and watch. This was really popular.
My one gripe was being awakened by the fire alarm one morning at 4.30am. Not sure what was going on we decided on the safe approach and dutifully woke the kid and began the long descent down 18 flights of stairs, along with hordes of other people, walking through what we initially thought was smoke on the 5th floor was pretty scary, although it turned out to be fire extinguish powder. Upon getting downstairs we all converged on the large driveway outside the hotel, awaiting instructions. None came. Eventually the fire alarm went off and we went inside waiting at the café area for someone tell us if it was safe or not. It took about 20 minutes before a member of staff came over and told a couple of tables it was a false alarm (set off by a stupid drunk man!) although he did not tell all the people and it was left to us to Chinese whisper the instructions or go to reception to hear it from the horses mouth. Thankfully it was safe to return and we went upstairs at 6am to start the day but we did feel communication could have been stepped up for what could have been a major incident.
Despite this episode I still have no reservations in recommending this hotel to anyone who wants a good family holiday (there were lots of kids there) with excellent food, service and accommodation.
Go to www.flamingooasis.com for a really good look at the hotel
Display pictures
Pool view from the 18th floor |
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