Holiday World Polynesia

Chris**as break with family and friends. Such a big hotel complex so much so it felt cold in the lobby and public areas if not somewhat quirky with waterfall and bird avery. Don't quite know why but was disappointed overall. Staff lovely. Hotel clean rooms nice and views beautiful. Too noisy, too big and yet too small for facilities fir the number of guests. One bar for evening entertainment. Was not good in my view the bar and seating area too busy. The p.a. System sounded awful so singers sounded off! Not that anyone was really listening or could hear above noise of the very many children. No quiet areas to play cards or games. Some guests left a lot to be desired with their drunken inappropriate behaviour.!! But that is not the hotels fault... Restaurant busy. Staff lovely. Food choices good but food more often than not was warm to L luke warm and No hot plates ever. Sometimes lucky as arrived just as some food being topped up. Not enough coffee machines to cope. Disappointed overall.

The hotel when entering gives a sense of granduer and high expectations. Came for a 4 night stay starting on 29th December. One outside pool open but as expected at time of year cold as not heated. There is an outside jacuzzi next to the kid pool and playarea. Asked about the indoor pool and was advised it costs €12 per child and €15 per adult for an hour in the spa and only in the morning no other options available. Snack food was warm burgers hotdogs and nuggets with the usual side of chips or a salad bar of hard boiled eggs lettuce peppers olives and a pasta of some sort. The main restaurant food was good with lots of variety and plenty of local fare to try. The staff were very slick and professional throughout and tried to make every query achievable. The mini golf needs completely replacing as crumbling and ball kept getting stuck inside tunnels and obstacles with exposed re bar on certain holes. The rooms are dated and run down with chipped mirrors loose fittings and limescale encrusted taps etc. The sliding doors don't seal properly and it was noisy and the smell of others smoking on their balconies coming into the room. Beds were decent and got a good sleep once you were able to sleep. All a la carte restaurants were closed just buffet available. On site mini mart is mega expensive. It does have a 3 lane bowling alley for €3 per player for 10 frames and a decent arcade for the kids. Other than that nothing else really to do. It's a fair walk to the beach and nothing in the waterpark area open. It was advertised by jet 2 as a 4* never more than a 3*. Taxi cost 37 euros from airport one way. Its about a 15 min taxi ride into benalemdena or fuengirola to visit nearby attractions. The NYE 6 course meal and party were absolutely brilliant and put scotland to shame for party . The morning of new year's eve we were awoken to the sounds of a trio of tenors singing classical songs in the main foyer. For its downs the staff food and sheer size and awe of this hotel make up for make up for. With all facilities open in the holiday season we would like to return to experience it.

Where do I start? We recently came home (one week ago) from our holiday to the Polynesia. I'd read reviews before going and was slightly worried about what to expect, but I was so glad we booked this hotel and so incredibly happy with our experience here. I can honestly say that this hotel is amazing, it's got such a wow effect with a huge water feature/fountain etc on the ground floor, a bridge, an area with tons of turtles, Easter island heads, trees etc. Everything is amazing to look at, even the dining room is amazing! We stayed here for 10 nights all inclusive- my hubby, 2 young children, my mum and I and we all had a really lovely time. There's so much to do at the hotel but if you're bored and want to venture out, there's the splash park a short walk away, or a free shuttle bus to take you nearer to it every 10 minutes. Soft play The hotel has what I assume is a crèche (part of the kids clubs) which we didn't realize until we got here, we thought it was just a soft play area that anyone could use but the children have to be a minimum age of 3 and there were no adults in there (apart from staff) so I'm assuming adults can't stay with the little ones. My two wanted to play here but I didn't want to leave them and only my daughter was old enough which is a shame, but nevermind there's lots to do instead. Arcade There's an arcade at the hotel too but this really really needs updating- half of the machines do not work and are left on, so some of them just swallow your money and there's no one around to ask to get it back. I'm not exaggerating when I say half of the machines are out of order, I even counted lol. Most of them are very worn but the ones that do work, made my little ones happy so that's a positive. Just don't rely on the arcade being great like you'd expect. Other activities/Spa The hotel has a bowling alley which we didn't use, but does look good. There's a cinema which again we didn't use or manage to locate. There's an indoor pool which is part of the spa, upon arrival we received a free spa token per person and so we did take the little 2 swimming on one of the days and they loved it. The water is really warm and there's a small pool for lengths etc, a pool with the bubbles/waterfall type bits and a separate shallow pool with ball pit balls for the younger ones to splash in- this one was great too. For those wanting to use the spa as a spa, there's a sauna, steam room, ice cold type shower things and some sort of rocks to walk on- I don't know the fancy details here. They limit times where they allow children in so that those wanting to use it as a spa, aren't interrupted by children. You're provided with a swim hat (compulsory), locker key and a towel each. The changing rooms here are tiny but other than that, it's brilliant and we had a lovely experience here. Swimming pools/Playground There's a main large pool at the hotel which is a beach type pool at a couple sides so you can walk in which is good for

4 of us stayed in a suite, the location is not good! 20 mins to the harbour and even that was pretty boring. The hotels food is absolutely awful! Unless you like chips! The pool bar food is beyond dreadful, sandwiches with no filling! The endless drinks are great but that’s not enough to make you want to return, The rooms aircon was dodgy and I found no air in the room unless you keep balcony doors open which is dangerous with kids not we couldn’t! The hotel was average at best. Only good thing was the childrens entertainment that was brilliant and the kids club was really good. The food needs improving desperately

Just arrived home from an all inclusive week here at holiday world polynesia, we were a little worried after reading some of the reviews the week before we flew out. But....There was no need. The hotel was huge and very well run. The rooms were spotless and all the staff were very friendly and always helpful. The food was decent enough. Agree with some of the earlier reviews saying the buffet could have been kept a little hotter but we never found it too cold to enjoy it. The selection on offer was always pretty varied and there was the obvious themed nights which helped mix everything up. Snack bar food always hit the spot as did the cruzcampo. Entertainment team worked hard for the kids although I do think some more adult games and quizes wouldn't go a miss. The evening entertainment was sometimes abit lacklustre in execption of the piano man in the piano bar on a Tuesday night who was very talented and kept everyone well entertained. The beach club was great and felt less busy with lots of pools to choose from - the food and drink here was still all inclusive too and dare I say it hotter! The location of the hotel was great for us - a little more out the way so your not stuck in the thick of it but there was a nice beach with plenty of beach bars etc about 10 mins walk fengurola way. The main towns are about 10 minutes away in a taxi and should cost you about 10 - 15 euros each way. Benalmadena marina was a must if you havnt been before with some lively bars and fantastic restaurants. All in all we had a great stay and would definitely go back.

Structure of building and inside was amazing, destination however was not, quite far from everything so had to get Ubers & taxis which weren’t that much €9 or so. When we arrived we had to wait at least an hour and a half for the room to be finished off being cleaned, though we were offered use off facilities, not really accessible with our luggage in tow. We weren’t offered to have it stored while we waited, reception staff quite abrupt and rude. We travelled my son and I for his 13th birthday, and we flew out on the actual day, so was slightly disappointing to get there, and have to wait for the room, for nearly 2 hours, it stopped us in our tracks so to speak! Good selection of food, breakfast was our favourite! The restaurant staff were lovely, warm and welcoming.

Firstly, don’t worry about some of the scathing views on here. We were genuinely worried but found most of these to be way off the mark. The hotel itself is stunning inside. Plenty of lifts and super helpful 24/7 desk. Room - clean and spacious. I would say we had to give housekeeping a nudge a couple of days to replenish things like soap. Theres no bolt on the room that stops the door from being opened from the inside. Our toddler managed to open the door and try and get out on numerous occasions including during the night so we had to block the door! Good - plentiful. Lots of variety and generally nice. Loads of room in the restaurant. The splash park lunch I would say is better than the lunch in the main hotel (also included if all inclusive). Each night is a different themed cuisine. If you want to eat out one night I’d go for the Wednesday - it was probably the least favourable, mainly because it was mainly fish. Pools - Firstly you NEED to go to the splash park. That place is amazing!!! The area for little ones is fantastic with a huge splash area, pool, play house and pool entertainment each day. The other side of the splash park has more water slides, pirate ship and bigger, deeper pools for the older ones. It’s definitely the best part of the hotel! I would say though that all hotel pools and splash park pools were not heated. We went the first week in May and they were very cold!!! The splash park has a complimentary bus running from the hotel every 10-15 mins that takes you to the area (a short 2 min ride). Location - not easy to get to nearby villages / towns though the 120 bus runs Marbella to Malaga. Beaches - Benalmádena beach is not very nice. There are other beaches along the coast that are. The marina at Benalmadena is stunning though and well worth a visit. Lots of nice restaurants there too. About €15 in a taxi. Overall we loved our stay, more so the kids in this wonderful family friendly hotel. We would certainly come back.

What can I say... from start to finish we had a fantastic time at the Polynesia. We didn't arrive until 11pm and no problem with check-in, getting our keys, told where everything was. All very efficient and friendly. The hotel itself is unreal.... water feature in the centre and trees, the turtle section. Next morning we went down for breakfast - where do I start? So many friendly staff to show us to our table, huge choice of food from the usual frys, pancakes, crepes, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurts, treats, fresh juices, tea/coffee... my kids didn't know where to start or end! Lunch and dinner were the same, massive selection of choices to suit everyone - chicken, fish, egg dishes, potatoes, chips, rice, pasta etc. My kids never once were hungry or didn't like anything they saw!!! Deserts again were plentiful and something for everyone... Now grant it, some of the food could have been a little bit warmer but over all we couldn't fault it. Pool area and pool were spotless, food was ok there - we only ate there once. The shuttle up and to the water park was a great asset. Saying that it was less than a 5 min walk at best! Bus to Benalmadena town centre was beside the water park and again only a short bus trip in. The waterpark was fantastic. My kids lived here for the week. Had something for all ages. Plenty of room and sunbeds no matter what time you arrived there at. Again all spotless and clean. Plenty of life guards on duty keeping an eye on everyone. The rooms were spacious, large bathroom and shower and separate bath. Cleaned every day, bed made and new towels left in. The sofa bed wasn't too comfortable my son said. No complaints about the pull out bed from my daughter. The two large single beds were fine and pillows just right too. Had a spacious double balcony with table and two chairs to sit out on in the evenings. Entertainment was ok, mini disco every night at 9pm for the kids, music in the bar and where the mini disco was as well, quiz one night, flamenco dancing another night. Drinks were good too. Games room was a hit with the older kids. There's a cinema and bowling also. We had an early check-out so missed breakfast on the day of departure. We had no issues with anything - all staff we encountered were pleasant, helpful and couldn't do enough for us. Would definitely be back again,