Have just returned from this hotel via a booking with Alpharooms plus independant flights with Aer Lingus from Gatwick.
Overall my wife and I agree that we can't really be too critical of this hotel, it pretty much 'does what it says on the tin'
I do think we were extremely fortunate with our room, we requested a high room and didn't get 1 of the Studio apartments but got a perfectly adequate 1 bedroomed apartment on the 6th floor, right over the hotel's front entrance overlooking the mountains at the back and the sea to one side (see pictures).
Yes it has marble type floors which can make for some noise at night as people return to their rooms but I have to say that overall we heard very little.
The rooms had their towels changed every day, beds made every day and new sheets most, so absolutely no complaints there.
As I say, your room can make or break it and we had a well located and perfectly comfortable room. I heard an Irish woman who had just checked in complaining her room stunk of cigarettes and hadn't been cleaned and was quite upset but if you look at all the rooms I have to say (like most hotels) there are some locations I would definitely not want to have had our room. Yes I've had better rooms but I've also had worse and this is your usual Med 3* type room with a fridge, hob and a microwave even though we were there on HB basis. I'm aware the hotel is classed as 3* but I think that is because of the indoor pool and other Spa type things they offer. Effectively I would say it's a good 3* standard.

Food & Evening entertainment'

Had read other reviews before we went about people on HB saying the food in the evening was a bit mundane and sometimes not warm.
Well we thought the food was absolutely fine, breakfast was excellent, again usual Med hotel offerings, cereals, yogurts, toast and all the fry up options on a buffet basis. They will cook you an omelette if you ask as well.
Heard some woman moan about queuing for toast at the machine 1 morning which annoys me immensely, get a life quite honestly or use the toaster in your room!
Evening meals always had chips on offer for people who wanted that, pasta, boiled/roast potatoes, show cooked pork, lamb, chicken etc...
Yes ok they tend to overcook the sprouts and broccoli in these hotels but i don't mind!
Salad bar could have had a better choice to be honest, needed some of those big Spanish peppers more and sometimes the day before's food turned up in a rice salad.
But hey, no one had stomach upsets (which we have had), food was hot, well prepared, frequently refreshed, plates tidied from tables quickly, friendly and smiley staff.
Overall food was good we'd say but lacked variety a little and other places we've been to have had theme nights (Chinese/Italian etc..) which would help I think.
But don't want to be critical really, would have bored a little of 2 weeks of this food but realistically for the hotel for myself, my wife and our 5 year old daughter we paid £50 a night for all of us HB and what would you ever get for that back in the UK I challenge you, especially over Half Term?

Evening entertainment was good fun, our 5 year old couldn't wait to get to the mini disco and play the games. Even my wife and I got involved in a couple of the night's entertainment which was good fun.

Outside the hotel;

Firstly, the hill!! I've included some pictures and really folks it isn't that bad at all.
OK, if you're very old or pushing double pushchairs you might get a little fed up but it took us about 2 minutes to get up the hill, pop in through the garage and up the lift.... A doddle and our 5 year old didn't moan once about it after a lot of walking along the prom as well. It is honestly no big deal at all unless you're a little infirm or carrying a lot of extra weight in buggies etc...

Paloma Park is excellent for the younger kids, we went twice walking from the hotel, about 15/20 minutes.

Selwo (Dolphin/Sea Lion Park next to Paloma Park) was excellent we thought. Small but dolphin and sea lion shows are excellent and our daughter had a picture taken with a dolphin later for an extra charge.

Prom is very nice and tidy, walked all the way to the other end where the marina is and Sea Life centre and got a taxi back for 7 Euros..

So overall I'd say, fairly good experience, daughter loved it.
Would we go back to Benalmadena? Probably not, it's a bit too Spanish Brighton for me and been there done it now really. A lot of people keep going back I'm sure, but for us, it was fine but after a week of prom/bucket and spade, ceramic shops and a beach that is pretty good but not as good as some of the other Spanish beaches like Alcudia or Santa Eulalia etc..., we'd say, holiday was fine, hotel was ok, location was fine but we're not creatures of habit and will explore other parts of Spain in future.

Nothing wrong overall.

We have just returned from the ben palace and it was certainly better than we expected it to be. We arrive on a Sunday around 1.30 the room was spotless and there was a complimentary bottle of water and basket of fruit waiting for us! Our room faced the pool and we were on the 6th floor which meant we were up in the roof and the balcony was enclosed but as we have a 7 month baby who is starting to crawl that suited us fine. the rooms were on the small side but enough for the 3 of us. We were half board, the breakfast was superb a huge variety to choose from and it was the same for the evening meal, During the day we went arond the pool a couple of timesand the the indoor pool was great for our little one as it is a heated pool. and then the beach the rest of the time which was just at the bottom of the hill,the hill is very steep if your not used to walking up and down hills everday (which we are so we didnt mind it) i wouldnt recommend it to the elderly and people who have difficulty walking. The staff were very kind, polite and helpful. The entertainment was better than we expected including a magician,reptile show and singers. our baby was a little young to appreciate the childrens entertainment but it would have been great if he was older.

The hotel is very clean with excellent leisure facilities, and the staff ratio very good - they were all very polite and helpful. Room was cleaned every day. We were on a very cheap tarif thanks to Thomas Cook's "Accommodation and Flights" approach, which is not a package tour so we did not have any transfers or reps (you don't need them here anyway). But beware that you could end up in a (now famous) attic room which is a little spartan with limited balcony space. We did (as we sort of expected) BUT we were in room 702 which is a corner attic room with more space and two balconies, one facing southish and one facing eastish, so you get the sun from about 10.30 to dusk. If you are not too tall (sloping roof) this is just excellent. Whilst when sitting you can barely see the view, the advantage is the nobody can see you, which is excellent for sun-bathing. The other lower balconies are all exposed to other guest or public gaze. The apartment itself was fully equiped (except for a sharp cutting knife and a chopping board), with excellent plumbing and decor in the bathroom. Bed was comfortable. Also, maybe being in the roof space meant that the shower temperature varied with a timescale of about 15 seconds between just about too hot to almost too cold, which led to us doing a hoackie-coakie workout each morning. So a bit idiosyncratic, but we loved 702. However, other people in other attic rooms at a higher tarif than we paid might be a bit disappointed.

Benalmedina has a very nice prom that sort of just starts down the hill from the hotel (and yes, use the car-park lift on the way back up !!!!), with lots of bars, cafes and restaurants. Go through the pool area and out of the back entrance down to the Dia Supermarket. It has limited stock, but the prices are not too bad at all. The park behind the modern windmill sculpture roundabout is very pleasant, but the flea-market held there was a glorified car-boot sale. The trips on offer by the reps are a complete rip-off. We got the public bus from the Tourist Office to Mijas for 1.50 Euros each way, and you can get to Rondo from the same stop for about 8 Euros each way. Also the train goes from Malaga Airport to Arroya Station (a mile or so behind the Costa) for 1.60 Euros (ticket machines on platform give change from Euro notes), although you need to get a taxi from the station to the hotel for about 7 Euros. Dont try to walk it without a map!

So great value for a 7 night self-catering break, but some attic rooms might disappoint and those rooms facing towards Malaga will never get sun on the balcony. We would go back on another cheapie, but would ask for room 702 again.

Stayed at the Benalmadena Palace at the beginning of May 09 for 6 nights half board, my husband and I and our 6 month old baby.

We arrived at about 9 pm, and had a one bed apartment with a little kitchenette that proved invaluable, the first room we had was at the front of the hotel by the little road that leads to reception, asked to be moved the next morning as you could really hear the cars most of the night, the new room was at the said which was great. We were half board, the breakfast was fine but the evening meal was rubbish, hardly any choice, nothing that really went togther, if you are vegetarian you will be on pasta or potatoes all week!

Indoor pool and outdoor pool are good, didn;t use the rest of the spa or gym so cannot comment. the netrtainment may be okay if you are 80 or have little ones who enjoy kids stuff as the childrens entertainment goes on until about 10.30pm, then either a kareopke man comes on or some cabaret singer or another!

As with other reviews the hill is steep, going through the car park cuts some out but if you are elderly or with someone in a wheelcahir I would go to a more accessible hotel, we foud it tough enough with a baby buggy and we are in our early 30's.

Once you go out the hotel, go down the hill to the right there is a supermarket which is great. The harbour is a lovely walk of about 30 mins but you can walk along the promenade.

I would go back to Benalmadena but definately not to this hotel as do not feel it is worth the money or its 4* status