I have just arrived back today from staying in this hotel in Benidorm. I've read some of the other reviews on here and agree that you have to visit it yourself and make your own judgements. The only thing i enjoyed about staying in this hotel was the staff, they are absolutely brilliant, they're funny, friendly and always willing to help.
The rooms are pretty much average. They don't look as good in real life as they do in the pictures. The maids did an ok job of cleaning it, although my bed sheet did not get changed the entire time i was there even though it was covered in sand (from my beach towel ha ha) and slightly stained from a drink i spilt on it.
One thing that did bother me was the smell that sometimes came from the toilet in our room, although any drain that you walk past throughout Benidorm stank so bad that we were heaving as we walked past it. We stupidly requested a room with a pool view, (as the other view is of other taller hotels or the main road out the front of the hotel), it was an ok view but as it was by the pools (indoor and outdoor) we ended up being kept awake when the kids stayed up till 1am screaming and shouting and playing pool. The food was good i loved the chips they had there, although was put off of my food when i saw a cockroach run past our table one night. The entertainment has gotten better from previous years (my mum and sister have stayed at this hotel twice before). They had a good variety, from spanish dancers to bingo and even bird and reptile shows. The entertainers themselves were brilliant, they were so full of energy and always smiling. They will not rest until they get all the kids up and dancing at least once before you leave, but the dances are fun to do so i didn't mind being pestered :). Lastly I'd like to comment on the overall look of the hotel....well, the front of the hotel has a large seating area where you are allowed to smoke, this area could do with a good makeover including throwing away the plastic cushion-type things ha ha. Really i think the entire hotel could do with a makeover as it desperately needs repairing and updating. Overall i think this was a pretty average hotel, its a case of you get what you pay for.
But the staff were GREAT!!! :) :) :)

Have just returned from a 9 night all-inclusive family holiday -
Arrival at Magic Villa de Benidorm (late Sunday 9 August 2008)
Arrived to discover the most filthy/grotty hotel we have ever stayed in.
Reception area - very dated and scruffy.
Club entertainment room – Very dated and scruffy. Reminded us of Pontins in the 1970s
Main hotel bar – Very very scruffy and dated. Drinks glasses filthy! Complained about the state of the glasses and was told it was due to the glass washer scratching glasses – does the glass washer put lipstick and filth on as well? Disgusting!
Cockroaches – Been in the hotel approx 10 minutes and was having a look round, when in the bar area there was screaming and panic, women jumping on chairs due to resident cockroaches!

First day round the pool
Found the pool area quite pleasant at first given our disappointment at quality of hotel on arrival. However due to absence of plastic glasses around pool, glasses were getting smashed and not cleared up for considerable periods of time). Hotel guests had to cordon off small pool area due to glass entering it. The outside pool toilets were often filthy and covered with excrement (agree problem being down to dirty guests but situation should have been rectified quicker than it was). Quite alarming that hotel entertainers happy to have music equipment (ie cd player) plugged in close to pool where guests/children splashing water about!

No supervision round pool area allowing certain younger guests to run wild causing serious safety concerns.

Indoor pool – closed and filthy. Could not see through windows due to filth!

Hotel security -Upon arrival felt reassured that a security guard was in place. Became alarmed when we found out that many guests had had their belongings robbed (handbags/purses being snatched in hotel restaurant and bar areas). Just outside hotel was a small but pleasant looking green area with seating. The ‘green area’ we found out was the locals toilet area for their dogs, the ‘seating’ provided a bed for the local tramps/thieves! One lady half way through our stay and much to her distress got her bag stolen from the restaurant area, two days later she was offered her passports back by the thieves for €50! Empty handbags were found in the bins surrounding the hotel!! One female tramp threw an empty hotel ‘champagne’ bottle at a guest which smashed near a large crowd of people! A gang of thieves operating together were pointed out to a crowd of us who were walking back and forth infront of the hotel rummaging through handbags! One of the ‘gang’ was recognized by a lady who had had her bag stolen in the restaurant.

Accommodation (room)
Reasonably sized very basic room for two adults and a child.
Various disgusting sewage smells frequented room which made us leave rooms far quicker/earlier than we would have done. Air conditioning unit was not working in room when arrived. Credit to the hotel staff, upon reporting it to reception the unit was replaced that day however, rather alarmingly was secured to the wall with strong silver sticky tape (‘air hole’ was left at side of unit for the ants to visit us!). Also just after new unit was fitted it started leaking and we were left with a large pool of water under it!).

The same day the air conditioning unit was replaced, we returned to our room at approx 11.30pm to find our door had been kicked in (door frame completely smashed). Nothing appeared to have been taken and a large group of children were running up and down corridor insinuating that they had been responsible as children were left to run ‘wild’ throughout the hotel. (Reception area seemed to be the wild child’s playground). The problem with the door was reported immediately to reception who advised at that time of night there were no maintenance staff available and therefore the door could not be fixed and that we either had to stay in the unsecured room until morning or be moved to another room which unfortunately was without air conditioning). Given we had a child in our family we again complained and were eventually offered a room with air conditioning. At approximately 12.30am we had to pack all of our belongings up and move to another room and then unpack! We also had to make beds up at this untimely hour! We were told the manager would speak to us the following day. However the following day reception was manic and the manager inundated with complaints mainly about the thefts going on practically daily (they were the ones we heard about! Probably far more!). We were told by reception that the manager would contact us later. The manager never came to see us and as we were nearly at the end of our stay at the ‘hotel from hell’, all we wanted to do was go home.

Due to all the thefts going on we felt uncomfortable leaving and stayed in hotel rather than getting robbed inside or outside. This was not acceptable, very distressing and on top of all that the entertainment was appalling.

24 hour all-inclusive service (food and drink) was good however all the drinks in the self service bar after midnight tasted off/stale.

We found out at the beginning of our stay that the Villa de Benidorm had been downgraded to 2*. In our opinion it should be completed refurbished or demolished.

We have never felt the need to complain about anywhere we have stayed before. We do not expect ‘The Ritz’ and just regard our accommodation as somewhere to sleep as usually we are out and about taking in the sights/ water parks etc. ‘Clean and safe’ are our priorities when going on holiday. On this holiday we were totally let down on both counts. We are now safely home feeling very depressed and exhausted!

Well.....here goes. Id read mixed reviews about this hotel so didnt know what to expect. I suppose you should go and judge for yourself but i shall tell you my experience. The hotel from the outside is very scruffy, its obvious it needs shutting down and refurbishing. its in desparate need of repair and modernisation. We were told it is being shut down in September for refurbishment. On arrival we were allocated our room quickly. The staff are the best thing about the hotel. They were lovely. The rooms are very small and look nothing like they do in their pictures! they are very small and have no balcony (which is why, apparently, the hotel is now a 2 star!!) The first room we were allocated stunk of fish, we reported this and the cleaner came to teh room and sprayed something, the smell went and we stayed there, however the smell was bad in the morning and the sheets stunk of sick. we asked to be moved. we were moved immediately. the reception, 24 hr bar and toilets are clean. the restaurant downstairs is clean but needs modernising. the main bar stunk all the time. the pool is not clean. the food is ok but as soon as i saw a cockroach i wouldnt allow myself or my family to eat there again. i have photographic evidence of them crawling on the food. the rooms really let this hotel down, we had ants in our room but we lucky, we spoke to a lot of people who had cockroaches in their room. as you walk along the corridors and rooms, there is thick scum on the skirting boards, cracked skirting boards with holes in them. door frames hanging off.
i could go on. there was also dry blood on the floor were someone had obv cut themselves and walked thru the hotel. this was never cleaned and i was there for 9 days. about 4 days in there was a leak in the ceiling right next to reception. nothing on the floor to catch the water, after a couple of days a bucket went down. a couple of days after that big metal barriers were put up and the builders turned up. they left everything there and on our last day the ceiling caved in. this was faulty towers but ten times worst. without a doubt the worse hotel i have ever stayed in. and what upset me more is that the Magic chain of hotels have a hotel round the corner called rock gardens which was like a palace compared to villa de benidorm!!! why arent all the hotels in the same group exactly the same????!!!!!! the only reson i have given this a 2 star is because the staff were outstanding!!!

On arrival to Villa De Benidorm, I thought that it was a hostel for back packers, rooms very small for family of three, tiny little air con unit stuck in the corner of what once used to be the balcony, (if you require balcony you need to pay a supplement when you book, this we were not informed of at the time of booking) Cleanliness of room is something to be desired, towels smell of bleach, bathroom constant smell of sewage, (this was in all rooms), upper floor solarium out of use as dip pools covered in dirt, indoor swimming pool out of action for no reason, probably that it needed a good clean also. Gymnasium exteremly disappointed no cardio equipment, hot tub located in gym was swimming with dead skin. Major problems with plumbing, laundry out of action of near 1 week, reception area looked like a builders site, room 114 (across from ours) banging from 0830hrs in the morning until well after 1700hrs. Many more negative remarks about this hotel but could go on for days, most defaintely not worth the money we paid, and it is certainly not a 3 star, should be demotted to either 2 or 1 star. The only good comment that I shall make is that the food was of an excellent quality. On our departure this morning (09.08.08) holiday makers were wishing it was them leaving, this is not a hotel that you wish to spend to relaxing weeks away from home at. Last night a lady across from our room was in shower and someone broke into her room and stole some vaulables, there is no secuirty guards on at any time day or night, but after that incident a secuirty appeared for the night, and this is not the first time there has been a theft in the hotel. Also the hall where they hold the entertainment at night (if that's what you want to call it) constantly smelled of urine, this was reported on numerous ocassions, but nothing was resolved. A full letter of complaint will be sent to Thomas Cooks CEO tomorrow.