Anyone been to Benidorm?

[venus]

Myself and SAS are looking into booking our first holiday abroad together. SAS is set on going to spain so we have now narrowed it down to somewhere like benidorm... we are looking for something that is fairly lively, lots to see and do, good nightlife, plenty of sun sea and sand and finally good food. Looking at the holiday brochures benidorm seems to meet all of these needs and also has a bit if a british feel to it,(yes i know the point of going abroad is to lose the british feel but this is the kind of atmosphere we want). I was just wandering if anyone has been to benidorm and could give us a bit of an idea what it is really like?

 

[Calaen]

I personally think Benidorm is a pile of shite.

Full of British scumbags that can afford a cheap holiday, so basically your going to a scumbag city full of scumbag English louts.

Having worked as a Holiday rep for over 1 year I would say head off to Majorca you can avoid an overly populated area but still be close enough to enjoy the nightlife when you want, with the bonus of it not affecting the nights you might like to spend chilling out.

Any other places you fancy? I can tell you about the good spots if u give locations.

 

[Trallisx]

I've never been to Benidorm but it was 1 of the places me and a friend considered going last November. In the end we decided to go to Salou (approx 1 hour from Barcelona).
Salou was excellent and great fun. It had everything that you have listed and some more!
Nightlife was great, lots of pubs/bars/clubs, food was great, the beach was 5 minutes walk from the main drag and relatively clean.
Plus being only 1 hour from Barcelona, there was many trips coach trips into Barcelona, or if organised trips aren't your thing, there was regular trains running to Barca.
Also one of the biggest theme parks in Europe is on Salou's doorstep, we never actually got to go there, but from what we saw we missed a good days out.

Anyway, wherever you decide to go, hope you have a great holiday.

 

[venus]

Calaen thanks for the reply.... well as i said SAS is set on spain, however i will mention your suggestion of majorca to him, it sounds good to me. The problem i have is that SAS has never been abroad before and i have never been to spain so i am not sure which the best areas are to meet our needs. To be honest i dont trust the holiday brochures either so would prefer to go on other peoples experiances of these areas. If we did go to majorca though again which would be the best area for us?

If anybody else has been to majorca your comments would be greatly appreciated

 

[venus]

I've never been to Benidorm but it was 1 of the places me and a friend considered going last November. In the end we decided to go to Salou (approx 1 hour from Barcelona).
Salou was excellent and great fun. It had everything that you have listed and some more!
Nightlife was great, lots of pubs/bars/clubs, food was great, the beach was 5 minutes walk from the main drag and relatively clean.
Plus being only 1 hour from Barcelona, there was many trips coach trips into Barcelona, or if organised trips aren't your thing, there was regular trains running to Barca.
Also one of the biggest theme parks in Europe is on Salou's doorstep, we never actually got to go there, but from what we saw we missed a good days out.

Anyway, wherever you decide to go, hope you have a great holiday.

omg now i am stuck that sounds perfect also AHH so many choices. Thanks for your reply that gives me another choice to fire at SAS when he gets home

 

[throdgrain]

Id sooner boil my own head than go to Beni-blackpool-dorm to be honest, though of course it takes all sorts .

 

[venus]

ok it after those comments i think "Beni-blackpool-dorm" as throdgrain calls it is out of the question.. anybody got any other good ideas for locations?

how bout magaluf?

 

[GDW]

Ive been to Mallorca quite a few times. Its a small island and you drive from the across it in a couple of hours. I think its quite a unique island. In the south the capital, Palma and outlying towns such as Magaluf and Palma Nova are full of great nightlife if your in your 20's. Yet to the North its a lot more scenic and laid back and a perfect place for families, so thats where you'd find me

Its got loads of things to do and places to see. Thoroughly recommended

 

[Tom]

Spain is an easy country to visit. I suggest Madrid personally. Benidorm is the sort of place where you'll find pictures of your food on the menu.

 

[Chilly]

Spain is an easy country to visit. I suggest Madrid personally. Benidorm is the sort of place where you'll find pictures of your food on the menu.

[little britain] ~points~ that one [/little britain]

 

[throdgrain]

Tell you what, just to be different, on the left hand side of Spain is a place called San Sebastian, nicest place I've been to in Spain, even if I was only there a day.

 

[Calaen]

Ive been to Mallorca quite a few times. Its a small island and you drive from the across it in a couple of hours. I think its quite a unique island. In the south the capital, Palma and outlying towns such as Magaluf and Palma Nova are full of great nightlife if your in your 20's. Yet to the North its a lot more scenic and laid back and a perfect place for families, so thats where you'd find me

Its got loads of things to do and places to see. Thoroughly recommended

I had the Pleasure of completing my Training in Palma in Mallorca, and it was great, even better when I went back to work there.

As said by GDW Mallorca pretty much has everything if you have then means to get to the places i.e. you can drive. Plenty of places to have a Drink, Eat and lots of beatiful surrounding areas from the main towns to cater for just about everyones needs.

What kind of people are you and SAS? this will help identify the best place for you.

 

[venus]

What kind of people are you and SAS? this will help identify the best place for you.

SAS and I are both in our 20's and like to have lots of things to do... We love our nightlife, but at the same time like a quit night to ourselves every now and then. We are not the kind of people to lie on a beach all day we like to be up and doing things. We dont like to have to travel around to much as neither of us are very good travellers. Therefore we would prefer places that we could get to the local sites either by walking or a fairly short taxi/bus drive away. We want to go somewhere where we find people of similar ages to us that has plenty of fun things to do maybe even with a theme park nearby or something. But at the same time somewhere we can relax. We both have quite stressful jobs so i want this to be an opportunity for us to completely relax and have a lot of fun.

I have had a look in the holiday brochures and i do quite like the look of this hotel and location. This holiday for 2 weeks half board in september would cost us £815.52 for the both of us.. seems a good price?

What do you think?

 

[Calaen]

SAS and I are both in our 20's and like to have lots of things to do... We love our nightlife, but at the same time like a quit night to ourselves every now and then. We are not the kind of people to lie on a beach all day we like to be up and doing things. We dont like to have to travel around to much as neither of us are very good travellers. Therefore we would prefer places that we could get to the local sites either by walking or a fairly short taxi/bus drive away. We want to go somewhere where we find people of similar ages to us that has plenty of fun things to do maybe even with a theme park nearby or something. But at the same time somewhere we can relax. We both have quite stressful jobs so i want this to be an opportunity for us to completely relax and have a lot of fun.

I have had a look in the holiday brochures and i do quite like the look of this hotel and location. This holiday for 2 weeks half board in september would cost us £815.52 for the both of us.. seems a good price?

What do you think?

Web page is down at the moment but i will look when i get home from work.

On a side note My Mother works for a travel Company and she can search through most of the Holiday Providers for holidays at cheaper Prices. So drop me a pm with you email addy on and I can give you a number for her, she can then check day to day and phone you when deals become available that suit your needs.

 

[Turamber]

Went there in 1996, had a good time - although it's not my usual sort of holiday. Probably helped by the holiday romance I had with an 18 year old Spanish girl who couldn't speak English, and my only Spanish is sufficient to order a bottle of beer and ask where the toilets are

I wouldn't go in high season as although it has a British 'taste' to it -- it's the part of Britain I don't much care for; lager louts who can't hold their liquor and cheap women.

 

[venus]

unfortunatly that site will not let me link directly to the hotel i have chosen but basically it is a four star hotel in Salou in the Costa Durada,

This hotel boasts a fun, lively atmosphere, perfect for families. There's a pool and playground for the kids and an open-air roof top gym, with a Jacuzzi, pool, beauty parlour and fitness centre exclusive for adults.

A 500m stroll from the beach and just 600m from the shops, bars and restaurants of Salou resort centre. Universal Mediterranea, with its fantastic water and theme parks, is just 1km away

 

[Munkey]

Perfect for families = screaming kids in the pool


at least in my experience anyway. But it sounds good.

 

[venus]

to be honest though i would prefer the screaming kids in the pool than a bunch of old foogies

 

[GDW]

Trust me,you will both love Mallorca.

 

[Calaen]

When you planning on taking this holiday Venus?

 

[Mobius]

Have you thought about Gran Canaria? I've been there tons of times since my nan has a place there. Its somewhere near Africa and Spain or something and its super hot with loads of beaches and restaurants.

 

[venus]

i am planiing to take this holiday in late september Calean

 

[DaGaffer]

i am planiing to take this holiday in late september Calean

In that case, the Canary Islands might be your best bet. Not much different price wise, great nightlife (on Tenerife or Gran Canaria - just make sure on Tenerife you go to the south - somewhere like Playa Las Americas would suit), and the weather's more consistent later in the year. Last time I was in Spain in late September (Jerez/Seville) it pissed it down.

 

[Sar]

Heh, the wife and I are going to Beni-blackpool-dorm the last week in April for a week.

I've never been (been to Salou a couple of times though - not bad), but I haven't been away in 8 years, so I don't give a flying fuck tbh.