"This is my second stay at the Gran Hotel Bali. The first time was in August 2024. This time I booked 18 nights in a suite on the 40th floor.
On arrival me and my daughter knew what was what. Reported to the check in desk around 2pm only to be told that the the computers had gone down and they couldn't check us in. The check in lady Suzanne said we could leave our luggage in the secure area and have a free lunch on the hotel whilst waiting for the system to come back online. Fantastic. We went back an hour and a half later and was able to check in. We were allocated a suite on the 40th floor.
The suite was everything I wanted it to be and more. Two seperate bedrooms, separate bathroom, separate wardrobe area, living room and spacious hallway. We had commanding views of the hotel grounds, beach and towards Benidorm as well as the mountains to the front of the hotel. The bedding, bathroom and floors were spotless. The aircon was easy enough to set myself, you can set it to your desired temperature and we found that 22c was best for sleeping at night after one night of freezing after setting the temperature to 16c! Haa! The fridge in the room was my only complaint. It would cool down then switch off producing a pool of water and warming up the contents. Reported second day, fourth and sixth, no action taken. Other than that, the extra cost for the suite is well worth it if you want separate rooms.
The food. We were on half board. We only ever made it to breakfast once in the whole 18 days! Breakfast is a mix of continental and meats such as sausages, bacon, baked beans, mushrooms etc. Everyone can be catered for. My daughter had pancakes and toast. I had a full English with toast and coffee. It met expectations. We attended dinner around 12 times. I'm lost at some of the comments on here regarding the food. There is a MASSIVE choice to cater for everyone's palate. There are two salad bars complete with smoked salmon. There are two chefs on hot grills grilling food in front of you, one doing burgers and pizza, the other doing grilled chicken. Piping hot. Top tip, if you want your burgers done a certain way, rare, medium etc, ASK the chef! One of the food bars does a different food type every night such as Thai and one night I had a lovely Argentina meal! There is plenty of fresh fruit and a lovely dessert and cake bar. In another room next to the restaurant is the American buffet room which is BBQ spare ribs, burgers, mac & cheese etc and this was always delicious. My only tiny, tiny complaint was that the coffee machines are switched off at dinner but that didn't spoil the meal just my desire for caffeine!
The hotel grounds. To me, these are massive! The foyer, the bar area and the pool area. There are loads of seating. You can always get a sun lounger or a seat in the sun. The whole areas are kept clean and whilst there, the cleaning lady always had a massive smile on her face and always always wished us Hola! The main pool is large enough to get a few lengths in if you want to work off breakfast and lunch. There is a medium sized pool for kids. None of these pools were ever packed out. Music is piped out around the pool, mostly Spanish traditional/modern music and if you listen enough you end up enjoying it! There is also British music too, mostly 80s/90s which suited me fine.
Night time in the hotel. This is a SPANISH run hotel. The singers at night are SPANISH. Every night is a different singer(s). They sing a mix of traditional and modern and some of the songs are sung in English. I'll add, they're all okay, but they're not the best of entertainers I've heard. For me it was background entertainment. There is a kiddies entertainment inside the bar area. It was well attended each night.
The bars. Well stocked, a large variety of different alcohol brands, even Strongbow for the Brits! Its priced good too. They had more staff on duty at night on the bars than what they had two years ago, but what slows the whole thing down is making cocktails. If there is a queue, its usually because some customers have ordered loads of cocktails at the same time! The bars also offer basic foods, pizzas, hotdogs, crisps and nuts. Top Tip - You can add credit to your room key card. This then gets you discount at the bar. Well worth doing plus you are not carrying cash or debit cards around all the time.
The gym. Yeah, its semi basic, needed a revamp, more space, but it has everything one would need for a good workout including music and aircon. Weights start at 2kg dumbells right up to (I think) 100kg weight bars for chest presses. Pulley weights, running machine, mats for sit ups etc. Its a basic gym with everything you need for a good workout and if you are a fitness god, the gym is on the 19th floor. Use the stairs to get up there if you REALLY want a good workout, I dare you! I managed 8 floors before admitting defeat in the heat!
The staff. Everyone, the ladies on check in, the security, the cleaners, the bar staff, literally everyone had a smile on their faces. All were attentive and well mannered. We felt so welcome. I really don't know what some of the comments are about when criticizing some of the staff. We found none of them to be negative. I know Brits have a poor reputation in Spain, but none of the staff showed this to me. Suzanne and Danielle are two ladies who are very attentive and know the whole area if you need help or advice.
The location. The hotel is not in Benidorm (thank the lord!). Its around a half hour walk or 15 minutes in a taxi. Taxi is around 10 euro, loads outside the hotel. This is what I would call a quiet area, mainly Spanish residents. Suits me. Across from the hotel are many restaurants, ALL are perfect for a meal. There is also a Mercadona supermarket across from the hotel which has everything you may need from food, drink, hygiene products, hair products, beauty etc. There are also 'trinket' shops dotted around the area. The beach is around a ten minute walk away, plenty of space on it, and you can rent a sun lounger for a few euros for the day.
The negatives. I have to compare 2024 with this holiday in August 2026. I believe management has changed many things at the hotel since 2024. First off, the bars in 2024 had a hot and cold food service which was perfect for lunches. The chef was from Iraq, a lovely man. He made 'club sandwiches' which were delicious as well as other lovely food. In 2024 me and my daughter dined on club sandwiches and fries almost every lunch time! The management has stopped the whole service and replaced with frozen pizza and hot dogs. Missed a trick there me thinks. That's a whole revenue generator lost and replaced with piping hot pizzas that are still frozen in the middle!! 0 out of 10 for that. Next, the night time entertainment. In 2024 it would start with a kiddies show, usually a Disney themed sing along. That's now stopped on the main stage. The singer(s) they have on now, hardly anyone is getting up to dance! In 2024 the dance floor would be packed, but these singers seem to put most people off. I would like to think that the management has a rethink about the evenings entertainment. Most nights the bar area would be half empty and I think people went elsewhere for entertainment which shouldn't be the case! A strong evenings entertainment is a revenue generator! A singer, a DJ, something for the kids, get all the family up on the dance floor instead of a man playing bongos and singing a song from the 60s! Better still, bring that bar food menu back online!! It must have been making money?!
The management. I believe the chap whose family own the hotel was there every single night in the bar area because I spoke to him one night about my 'negatives' above. Unfortunately, my Spanish and his English wasn't sufficient to convey my opinion. Lovely gentleman though. If he reads this, BRING BACK THE BAR MENU!!!
To finish. The Gran Hotel Bali is my kind of hotel. I booked in and was left alone to enjoy my holiday for 18 days. Everything was there in the hotel that I needed to do this. Its mainly Spanish holidays makers with a few Brits, Irish, French and I think, Russians! There was no drunkenness, no fighting, no trouble and very friendly holiday makers. I highly recommend this hotel to solo, couples and families. Its NOT a hotel for a gang of youngsters hellbent on getting drunk and having a party, you will be disappointed as the night time entertainment doesn't cater for this.
Thank you to everyone working at the Gran Hotel Bali. Me and my daughter had lumps in our throats the morning we checked out. I said if I won the lottery, I'd book a suite for 365 days! I wish everyone there the best of health, and see you in 2027 again!!"
