The good, the bad and the tacky. Benidom 18, day 2, the old and new town

[roxie2001]

Tuesday 13th February 2018

We woke at 8.30 after a great nights sleep, I loved that I could starfish in my own double bed.
I forgot to mention yesterday that you can upgrade to a select package at the hotel, it includes a private lounge and outside area with help yourself beer and premium spirits and snacks all day plus a visit to the indoor pool at the hotel spa. I thinks its 16 euros per person per night, but only available on stays 4 nights or over. We could have booked it when we originally booked though, but thought we would see what it was like first.
The lounge looked nice, but it was quite a small area, so I dont know if it would be worth it for us.

Anyway, we pottered about and went for breakfast at 9.30.
The eggs were perfect for me, but you could ask the chef to cook them longer if you wanted.

French toast

I was happy to see hot chocolate available from the coffee machine and lots of sweet offerings.

Weather had improved and was warm and sunny.
We went straight out after breakfast, the plan was to walk to the old town and then find some Benidorm programme landmarks.
We headed towards the seafront and turned left.
Peacock Island.

Beach selfie

It was about a 15 minute walk to Placa del Castell.
This was used as a restaurant in a couple of the Benidorm episodes and it was lovely looking out into the sea and empty beaches.
Bit of a photo overload, but it was so pretty.

We spent a good half hour there, listening to the busker and enjoying the sun.
We walked back down and headed into the old town.

The old town consisted of lots of cobbled streets and alleyways with bars and shops with cars driving where they wanted. You could easily spend the day here.

We were on a mission to find the Solana hotel (Sol Pelicanos) and Neptunes (Morgans Taven) so we kept walking.

After a bit of googling and looking about, we made it. In reality it was really easy to get to, Matt actually found his bearing brilliantly and I mainly just followed him.

The hotel was just around the corner.

Unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment, I got this photo from the outside, but couldn't recognise it.

The sister hotel, the Sol Ocas was next door, so we went in there, it was like a smaller version, and although it looked nice, it would be pretty annoying if you booked it thinking you were staying in the main hotel.

A sangria and a beer was 7 euros

We went to the bathroom before leaving, and I discovered it was also a laundry!

The Benidorm market was next door, so had a quick look around but it was pretty small.

We wanted to find a hotel called the Medplaya flamingo oasis as we had considered staying there, but a lot of reviews had said it was too far out. It was just long the next street and looked good, plus you could upgrade and have use of a rooftop bar and separate eating area. Also along this road, you could but tickets for the HOHO bus, only 10 euros for 24 hours for 2 routes. We did consider it, but time was against us, so its on the list of things to do next time.

We headed back to the hotel, Matt did another good job of recognising where we had to go, and we were soon back at the hotel. Matt looked at our steps today, and we had actually walked 5 miles in total this morning.
That deserved a drink in the outside area next to the Montecarlo bar.

We were also peckish, and because the snack bar isn't open in February, we had lunch in the restaurant. This was about 2.30
Garlic potatoes.

Pizza was available every mealtime

Profiteroles, my new best friends, didn't like the other pastry as it had custard inside.

We took a couple of drinks to the room and sat on the balcony, well Matt did, I dont like heights so I sat just inside.
It was nice having a little afternoon rest, and then getting ready.
We went back down about 6 and had a drink in the lounge and then in the Metropole bar.
Cocktail time.

Random selfies

Dinner was 8.30 again

Kebabs were on the chefs section.

Back to the Metropole bar, we were just in time for a picture quiz. We did ok, but not one of the winners, which was good as all the top scorers had to dance to see who was the overall winner.

Then a singer came on, she was pretty good.

More drinks

These Spanish measures were going to my head tonight.

Matt had crisps

When the singer ended, the entertainment team asked if we had any song requests. I was pretty tipsy by now, so I asked for Scouting for girls, but said not to worry if she didn't have it, as its a bit random.
The all inclusive ends at midnight, so we had one for the road, and bless her, my song came on.
We discussed going out, but thought it was best if we went to bed.
We were too late for the biscuits, so no cup of tea tonight.

[Melbatb]

How different the weather was today!

The food looks delicious - lots of choice! Can't beat a nice profiterole for dessert! And you made good use of the 🍸 🍷 🍹

Benidorm looks lovely - I guess like many I have in my head a very crowded beach!

[mobeckwith]

great report,the hotel looks really nice and the old town is just my cup of tea x

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

How different the weather was today!

The food looks delicious - lots of choice! Can't beat a nice profiterole for dessert! And you made good use of the 🍸 🍷 🍹

Benidorm looks lovely - I guess like many I have in my head a very crowded beach!

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The weather was perfect, was really lucky it was sunny for our full days.

The drinks were great, Spanish measures are the way forward.

The holiday exceeded all expectations, although I dont think I would visit in the summer, Im sure its different then.

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by mobeckwith

great report,the hotel looks really nice and the old town is just my cup of tea x

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Thank you, I wish we had stopped for a drink in the old town, my friends went last year and found a rooftop bar there.

[Taffy1959]

I recognise the places from the TV show.

Looks like you had a good day and the old town looks nice.

[roxie2001]

Originally Posted by Taffy1959

I recognise the places from the TV show.

Looks like you had a good day and the old town looks nice.

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Matt is a bigger fan than me, but I did recognise the places. He is currently re watching the programme, and planning our next visit there.