Albir Garden Resort

Amazing value for money

A group of 4 of us stayed at Albir Garden Resort in early September, having booked through Tui. The hotel is about 15 minutes from the beach, but there are several supermarkets and shops nearby, and the bus to Benidorm/Altea stops outside the hotel.

The rooms themselves were quite dated. We were in block H, and it seemed that these rooms had not been refurbished yet, except for the bathroom – which was very nice. Kitchen had all the basics, but was not needed as we were all inclusive. The main entrance door to the building was broken so propped open with a rock – not very safe, but did not cause us any bother during our stay.

The pool area was good. There are two pools, one deep and one shallower, the latter of which is the venue for most of the entertainment. The staff were very enthusiastic and there were regular games of volleyball and basketball, and who could forget aqua aerobics. There is also a separate pool, with some very good water slides – this was a lot quieter than the main pool. There were plenty of sun beds to go round, with sunbed reserving not being a problem at all. The staff at the pool bar were very friendly, and the choice of food at the snack bar was plentiful. My one point of improvement at the pool would be the sunbeds – they do not recline, and are very hard plastic!

Lunch and dinner are served in the restaurant, and again there was a wide choice. There is something for everyone, including a great selection of desserts and even an ice cream machine. You could sometimes tell that food had been out for a while, but this is to be expected – my advice would be to keep an eye out for the fresh food coming out of the kitchen! Sometimes there were queues to get in to the restaurant, but there is a list of busy times published at the entrance for information.

The best part of the holiday was both the pool bar and the main bar, both of which served the same all inclusive drinks (usual spirits, Amstel on tap, sangria etc). Being a party of 4, it was nice that the ‘one drink at a time’ rule was not enforced as one person could go up and get a round of drinks. The entertainment at night was varied and staff ensured that it catered for all guests.

I think that ‘average’ is a fair reflection of the quality of the hotel. Given we paid a little over £500pp for a week, it was amazing value for money. Yes, the food was not always to perfection and the rooms were dated, but it would be unfair to expect perfection at this price.

Albir Garden Resort is safe, secure and the staff are very friendly. It has a good pool area, with the added bonus of waterslides, and at such a good price I would recommend this resort.