MS Apartamentos Alay

Nice clean apartments, friendly staff and loved the pool, pool bar staff lifeguards all friendly too and if your lucky right up in top of garden you may find kittens we always manage too 🐱 shop next door on right is perfect for supplies and supermarket 5 mins up road and bus stops, or 5 mins down the road where you also find beach and marina, also best cafe in benalmadena is under the apartments the seahorsebar is a must

Booked a 1 bedroom apartment though jet2. Arrived mid afternoon to find room ready. Nice big living room/kitchen bedroom and bathroom. While unpacking opened the fridge to find a dead cockroach. Went down to reception who promptly sent people up to dispose of it and disinfect. We found the floors to leave our feet a bit black but they looked clean. Area brilliant for marina and beach. Overall a nice stay.

The Jet2 brochure does not show both sides of these apartments. The side shown in the brochure and online shows a lovely pool view. The other side of the building overlooks a busy road which is noisy 24/7 in I have to say a seedy area of town with massage parlours on both sides of the street and sex shops round the corner. The pavement outside was covered in black marks from chewing gum and neighbouring properties did not look after their frontages. I did ask at check in if a pool view room was available but was given keys to a top floor studio overlooking the road. It’s close proximity to the 24 hour square meant that throughout the night, every night the sound of drunks and loud mopeds and cars did not provide a good ambiance for sleep. It did not help that work was being carried out during the day on the pavement below, involving angle grinders so for three days not much peace during the day either. Not much fun to sit on the balcony. I feel these apartments are suited to those that want to be close to the nightlife, probably ideal for stag and hen parties. On the plus side the bed was comfy, cleaning was good, the pool was lovely and I swam every day. There were always plenty of sun beds. The couple running the bar were friendly but the bar was not open until lunchtime. Also due to Covid restrictions the toilets by the pool or reception were closed so you had to go back to your room If you needed the loo. The apartments were close to the marina which is lovely and a good selection of bars and restaurants nearby. This was my first visit to Benalmadena. Benalmadena is a great base for a holiday but I did not feel safe in this part of town and therefore would not book these apartments again. I often travel on my own so safety is always paramount to me. Also reception was unmanned most of the time so if you were to have an issue within the apartments it is not easy to get help. I would not recommend these apartments for anyone seeking a relaxing break or for families. My review might have been very different had I been given a studio on the pool side but you can only review on your own experience.

Stayed at MS Alay twice with a couple of my friends and both times, it was great. Would definitely recommend. Great location with plenty of bars and restaurants. Beach and marina are in walking distance. The Room: Both times we stayed there, we booked a one bed. The first time we were there, four of us shared the apartment, two in the bedroom, one on a sofa bed and one on a fold up bed. It might sound a little squishy but the apartment is quite roomy and the four of us had no problem living there for the two weeks. Both apartments we stayed in were nice and bright with a lovely little balcony over-looking the pool. The rooms are nice and clean, cleaners come in every few days to clean and change the beds. Air conditioning is in the bedroom and main room, it works very well and controllable from a little keypad on the wall. There isn’t wifi in the rooms but there is in the rec room but to be honest we didn’t really notice not having it in the room and this is coming from four people in their 20s. The kitchen has everything you need, hob, kettle, utensils, microwave, fridge but not an oven, however, it’s not that necessary on holidays. There isn’t a washing machine but there is a washing room in the apartment building that you can use if you need. The Apartment Complex: The pool is stunning, such a lovely big pool and plenty of sunbeds with a lovely pool café that has the usual foods and drinks you find at any beach café. There’s also a kid’s pool. The apartment building/complex is great, the staff are very helpful. There’re two lifts and a rec room with a pool table, wifi etc. and a luggage weight check machine too which is handy. Location: The location of the apartment is perfect, walking distance to everything. Up the street, there is a bar/club square which is great for a night out. There’s also plenty of restaurants and a bus stop which will bring you to most if not all of the attractions. Down the street is the marina and beach/promenade, the marina is delightful with loads of shops and restaurants. The beach is lovely with sunbeds and umbrellas available and those boats you can rent with the slides. The promenade is a fab with a couple shops and cafes, it’s also a stunning evening walk.

The Apartments themselves are basic but the location is fantastic. They are a two minute walk to the Marina and beach. There are plenty of cheap bars and restaurants in the immediate area and a really cheap Supermarket down at the Marina. A two minute walk the opposite way and you find yourself on a busy enough road where you can catch the bus to the nearby resorts. A 15 minute walk and you can get to the Train Station which brings you to the Airport and the City of Malaga. We were there in October and although the Temperature was around 20 degrees the pool was always empty, but it did look a decent size and had plenty of room for sun-beds and also had a poolside bar. Our Apartment was on the top floor and had an amazing view of the sea. However the balcony is fairy small. You wouldn’t want to be stumbling around drunk on it, or be leaving kids alone on it. The only drawback I had about the Apartments was the beds. They were rock hard and the pillows were tiny. I had to take clothes from my suitcase to prop them up. We stayed for five nights and I didn’t get one decent nights sleep.