Hotel Ocean House Costa del Sol

“Lovely hotel but ………”

Lovely hotel but … We had a 4 night stay at this hotel mid to late May. The hotel is well kept, clean and good size rooms. We had a double suite and there’d be plenty of room for a longer stay. There was a small fridge and kettle. Hairdryer in bathroom was the usual you’d find in a hotel- not brill… more

Lovely hotel but … We had a 4 night stay at this hotel mid to late May. The hotel is well kept, clean and good size rooms. We had a double suite and there’d be plenty of room for a longer stay. There was a small fridge and kettle. Hairdryer in bathroom was the usual you’d find in a hotel- not brilliant as suggested in other reviews. Breakfast was a very good selection of hot and cold choices and a separate gluten free section. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. As mentioned in other reviews towels are removed from reserved sun beds which most people don’t have an issue with, if you’re away from the sun bed after 1045 a ticket is left and it seems the time is monitored. The poolside was busy to full from around 1030. The downside to our stay was the block our room was in. We were beside the neighbouring Sol hotel and overlooked the main road and Sol hotel (with some lovely sea view too). The noise from the neighbouring hotel entertainment was incredibly loud and late at night. Once this finished the noise from the street went on until 3am. It kept us up most nights which was very frustrating. There is access to the beach from the hotel - during the evening there is a large amount of “street sellers” right outside the gate which was really quite tatty for such a lovely area. I’d recommend this hotel but only if you were guaranteed not to be by the noise (if that’s someone you’d like to avoid).

less

“Overall a great short stay”

Seperate lifts for the different blocks. We had a suite which had a seperate sofa are with a sliding door between the areas. Balcony door is quite heavy to slide across. The beds weren’t as firm as some of the reviews said, pillows were soft. Maid attended the room daily. The wall sockets are stil… more

Seperate lifts for the different blocks. We had a suite which had a seperate sofa are with a sliding door between the areas. Balcony door is quite heavy to slide across. The beds weren’t as firm as some of the reviews said, pillows were soft. Maid attended the room daily. The wall sockets are still the EU style so I didn’t have a wall adaptor but got one from the shop. The rooms could do with a little freshen up by looking at the details. (Marks on lampshades, dirty grout, purple flaking paint headboards, a few more coat hangers for clothes) there are no drawers for clothes so I’m not sure what people do for long stays. Shower water seemed to take a while to come through hot but once it did it was piping. There is a fridge with water. You can hear the toilets flushing from other rooms due to the pipe work. Hotel overall is clean and tidy. Check in seemed a little slow and we arrived at 2pm but was told our room wasn’t ready till 3 which is fair as that is check in time. They have a luggage room which we used twice once on check in and check out. Nightly entertainment in the lobby usually around 9:45pm. The hotel was busier than I was expecting for early May. Pool doesn’t open till 9am they have a barrier up so people can’t reserve loungers etc. You are given a towel key card to collect and return towels, If you don’t return it’s €20. There’s a dj playing music at the pool bar around 4pm. Didn’t use the beach loungers as you had to pay for them. We had a cloudy few days so no one was at the pool but as soon as we had a sunny day by 11am most the loungers were taken up. There is pool entertainment some days on the schedule. Breakfast was great, large selection. I loved the fresh artisan breads. Hot counter buffet and cold selections too even Prosecco if you fancy. Coffee machine is ok but there is a paid for Starbucks machine at the lobby if that’s your preference. Out of the back of the hotel there is a few small supermarkets which is handy. Local area is cheap for food and drinks. Sangria out and about is around 4-5€. Lots of beer happy hours. Beach access at one entrance of the hotel turn right to a small harbour that’s where we took the 2 hour dolphin trip for €20pp and we saw dolphins so well worth it. Turn left out the beach side of the hotel and there is an abundance of beach bars loungers restaurants the choice is overwhelming! You can keep walking all the way long to torremolinos it was a bit further than we thought up the steps. Dont forget to explore the back streets behind the main promenade - we almost did but there’s some small independent places along a long narrow street. We attempted the bus to Marbella annoyingly to find out that the coach style bus that runs there is cash only but most the other buses are both. Used Bolt taxi’s it’s very efficient. The nearest metro is a good 10/15 min walk away but it is direct to and from the airport, also used this to go to Malaga city.

less

“Anniversary 3 Day Stay”

We stayed here for 3 days to celebrate our anniversary. We had come from a wedding in Benalmadena so arrived early ( we fully expected to wait for our room ) so put our bags in the luggage area. We were given our double room at 3pm, it was a lower room at the front of the hotel with closed in balco… more

We stayed here for 3 days to celebrate our anniversary. We had come from a wedding in Benalmadena so arrived early ( we fully expected to wait for our room ) so put our bags in the luggage area. We were given our double room at 3pm, it was a lower room at the front of the hotel with closed in balcony ( we believe also used as a disability room, but heaven knows how it had so much furniture in it you couldn’t move ) the next morning we opened the patio door and were overwhelmed by the smell of smoke, it smelt stale to us but we were told it was probably from the people standing out the front of the hotel. We asked to be moved and were told we would need to check out of the room by 12 and could have a room by 3pm. Another day with our bags in the luggage room ! We finally went into a new room again on the lower floor with a closed in balcony, you couldn’t barely open the door it was so stiff and you had to climb over the arm of the sofa bed to reach it. We had no dressing table, no drawers to put clothes, no safe place to make tea no toilet brush and no shower gel and the strangest little shelf under the tv, the shower handle was also loose. We had to use the sofa bed for our belongings make tea precariously on the shelf by the tv and put few things on the tiny bedside table. Not quite sure what the big lamp was for either ! I’m not sure how people would manage in this room for a length of time given that we were only there 3 nights we actually just couldn’t be bothered to ask to be moved again. However if you are planning on sleeping in these rooms think again. The toilets are so loud when you flush them that you actually think it’s your one each time one is used ( bearing in mind a lot of people use them through the night ) we had to laugh in the end and just make the most of it but it would be really disappointing if you were there for a proper holiday. On our 3rd day we did find out that the hotel was no longer owned by Melia and had been taken over that day so they probably would not be bothered by any of our comments anyway. I’m sure the new owners will be making positive changes. You could not fault the location, cleanliness, food and other areas of this hotel. The absolute best thing about this hotel is ALL THE STAFF they are absolutely faultless and would do anything to help anyone. They are a credit to the place and given all of the above negatives would be the only thing that would bring us back. This was our second stay and hopefully will not ultimately be our last

less

“Sun bed gate”

We recently stayed at Ocean House Benalmádena and had mixed feelings. The location is excellent and the entertainment staff were fantastic, creating a great atmosphere. However, several issues need addressing, especially given the high prices. The main problem is the shortage of sunbeds. The new p… more

We recently stayed at Ocean House Benalmádena and had mixed feelings. The location is excellent and the entertainment staff were fantastic, creating a great atmosphere. However, several issues need addressing, especially given the high prices. The main problem is the shortage of sunbeds. The new pool barriers, which stay closed until 9am, have made things worse, causing daily queues and a “sunbed dash” each morning — far from relaxing. The sunbed policy is also inconsistently enforced. Before 10:45am, belongings are removed almost immediately if you leave your bed, while later guests can be away for up to an hour. Fair rules are important, but they should be applied consistently. Most disappointing was the lack of empathy from guest relations when concerns were raised. The response felt dismissive rather than helpful. We also experienced problems with the air conditioning during our stay. This hotel has a lot going for it, especially the location and entertainment team, but management needs to improve organisation, consistency, and customer care to justify the price.

less