Sol Pelicanos Ocas

We stayed at the Sol Pelicanos Ocas for 10 nights all-inclusive. We hadn't particularly had any ambition to stay here before, but we got a free child place and, despite the holiday still being majorly overpriced, it was the best deal we could get.

Having now stayed, I'd say it's nowhere near as bad as some people make out. It's not great, but there are some genuinely good features. Unfortunately, there are also some pretty significant issues.

The biggest problem for me is the condition of the Pelicanos building. We were on the 10th floor of a 14-storey building and the lifts were a nightmare. There are five lifts, but only three worked during our stay. Of those three, one had a maximum capacity of just three people. You quickly learn which lift you can and can't use, but it's not ideal when somebody new to the hotel gets in and doesn't believe/understand you when you tell them and you end up having to get out.

A fourth lift randomly started working during our stay, although it didn't exactly sound like it had just come out of the factory. What was particularly disappointing was that we never saw anybody actually come and repair or properly attend to the lifts.

Check-in wasn't great either. We arrived on a private transfer and were the only people checking in, yet it still took around 15 minutes. We've seen the queues at other times and they can be huge. I've heard people mention waits of up to two hours. The registration process seems ridiculously complicated compared with most hotels. Name, address, email, shoe size, favourite colour... OK, maybe not the last two, but it certainly feels like you're giving them your life story before they'll give you a room card.

The rooms are also looking tired. Loose shelves, walls that look like they haven't seen a coat of paint for years and, generally, a feeling that the Pelicanos building desperately needs some investment.

The contrast with the Ocas building is quite noticeable. That looks as though it has been renovated at some point and is in considerably better condition. Even the toilets tell the story: the toilets around the pool and in the Pelicanos building are pretty dreadful, whereas the Ocas toilets were actually good.

One of my biggest criticisms is that the hotel seems to be coasting on the back of the TV show. This is part of the Meliá chain and yet it feels like the poor relation.

I actually saw a clip of Benidorm where Geoff and Noreen were walking along the corridors and waiting for a lift. Before staying here, I'd always assumed those scenes had been filmed in one of the grotty apartment locations used by the show. Nope. It was the actual Sol Pelicanos. And looking at those corridors, they genuinely look almost exactly as they did in 2007.

It's such a shame because this hotel should be a jewel in the crown. It's probably one of the most recognisable hotels in Benidorm because of the TV show, and the potential is enormous. Instead, it feels like the fame of the hotel is doing the work for it.

On the plus side, the pool is fantastic. There are five pools in total, two for children and three for adults, but obviously there's only one pool everyone knows about. The huge pool from Benidorm, complete with the two jacuzzi sections, is brilliant. In my opinion it must be one of the best pools in Benidorm.

There was also no real need for the infamous sunbed rush. Some people queued before the pool opened, but honestly there was no need. As long as you weren't wandering down at 1pm expecting to find your perfect spot, you'd get a sunbed.

The pool snack bar was decent enough, offering the usual snacks and drinks, with more substantial dishes available to buy separately. What I saw looked pretty good.

Food-wise, we'd heard some horror stories before going. In reality, I'd describe it as standard hotel food. It's not going to win any awards, but it certainly isn't terrible. We always found something to eat, it was hot, and at times it was actually fairly good. Breakfast was probably the best part of the menu for us.

The all-inclusive drinks were also perfectly OK. Cocktails were available from a machine, although I didn't try them, and you could pay extra for premium brands if you wanted them.

For the drinks they have a system where you receive a token and exchange it for a plastic beaker around the pool and during the evening entertainment. You return the empty beaker when you want another drink. In the In & Out Bar, however, you can have a proper glass as long as you stay inside. It didn't bother us at all — we often just kept the same beaker until the next day — but quite a few people seemed very unhappy about it.

The entertainment was mixed. The kids' mini disco was good, with different songs each night so it didn't become repetitive. We had some decent main acts too, including ABBA and Greatest Showman themed entertainment, but other nights were less interesting.

One night the entire entertainment offering was basically a funfair with lots of bouncy castles. Great if you've got kids, but what if you don't? There wasn't really an alternative. For a hotel with such a large number of guests, I'd have expected a little more variety.

The children's activities were one of the highlights for us. There were plenty of different games, pool inflatables and activities, plus cinema nights. The adult activities were good too, with things such as aqua gym and spin classes.

The staff were generally fine. At worst they were indifferent, but nobody was actually unfriendly and some were genuinely friendly, particularly the children's entertainment team.

Housekeeping was another positive. The maids were in every day and we never encountered any problems with cleanliness, mess or bugs.

There were a couple of things that did annoy us. Despite designated smoking areas and the restrictions on smoking, we saw plenty of people lighting up wherever they felt like it, with seemingly nothing being done about it. We also saw some fairly explicit T-shirts being worn around children, again without any apparent intervention. For a hotel that is so heavily marketed towards families, I think a little more enforcement of the rules wouldn't go amiss.

There's also the famous swim-up bar, but this isn't included in the all-inclusive package. I didn't use it. Looking at the condition of that area, it's very shabby I personally don't think it is good enough to justify charging people to use it.

So, would I stay here again?

Probably not.

Unless the price came down massively or, perhaps more realistically, the hotel finally received the refurbishment it desperately needs, I can't see myself returning.

That doesn't mean I think it's a terrible hotel. It isn't. It's got a fantastic pool, plenty of activities, decent food, good housekeeping and it's a great choice if you're travelling with children and want somewhere with plenty going on.

It's just a real shame.

This hotel is so famous. It's instantly recognisable. It has one of the most iconic pools in Benidorm thanks to the TV show. It should be a jewel in the crown.

Instead, I think its potential is being wasted.

It was OK. It has some genuinely good features and it's nowhere near as bad as some reviews would have you believe. But with some serious investment, it could be so much more. Overall, I'd give the Sol Pelicanos Ocas 3 out of 5. It's not terrible by any means, and I think some of the criticism it gets is probably a bit excessive. We had a perfectly enjoyable 10-night holiday and there are some genuinely great things here, particularly that fantastic pool and the range of activities for children. But for the money, I think there are far better quality hotels in Benidorm that offer much better value. The biggest frustration is that this hotel has a lot going for it. It's famous, It should be absolutely fantastic. Instead it feel like they've simply been allowed to coast on the reputation of Benidorm. So 3/5 from us. Not bad enough to ruin your holiday, but not good enough for us to want to come back either.

Not many lifts worked, revolving door still not working, ate out a lot the food was horrible, virtually the same food every day, either burnt or cold, meat was tough and gravy like water, don’t get me started on the mash it ran from the spoon, very disappointing, no kettle unless you hire one for the week, some staff miserable, only good thing was it was central for everyone and the pool was good

Please ignore everything bad you read about this hotel. It is simply not true. After reading them I spent 3 weeks prior really worrying about our holiday but it was fantastic.

Here is an honest review of everything I can think of. We stayed from 22nd to 29th August 2026. 2 adults and a 14 year old boy in the Sol Pelícanos all inclusive.

We arrived at around 1.30am so only us and one other party to check in. It was a little slow as only one reception member on and you have to input all your details onto their iPads.

Room was perfectly fine. Beds were a good size, large wardrobe, balcony over looking the main pool. Bathroom was a good size and towels were replaced everyday. And room was cleaned everyday. On our last evening we had a leak from the room above ours, notified reception and it was fixed the same evening.

Restaurant was fantastic. Yes at times there could be queues to enter the restaurant whilst waiting for tables to become free. This is not the hotels fault, this is holiday makers taking ages to eat and chat at their tables. We never waited in a queue as we went for all meals as soon as the restaurant opened. Breakfast 8am, lunch 13.30pm and dinner 7pm. The food was great. Breakfast was repetitive. Full English items, cereals, yogurts, fruit, pastries, meats, pancakes etc. exactly what you would expect from a breakfast buffet. Lunch always had meat, vegetables, seafood, breads, pizza, chips, burgers, hot dogs, pasta, soups, sweets, jellies, deserts. Various different cuisines, tacos, curry’s, stew, steaks. Dinner was very similar to lunch. There was literally something for everyone. For a 3* hotel I really can’t see what more they could do.

Every food item was exquisite. Pizzas made from scratch, omelettes by request, steaks cooked how you like.

We only used the snack bar once on our last day as check out was 12pm and you loose the all inclusive privilege (we had an evening flight) but great options available there too.

Drinks. You receive tokens that you exchange for your drinks in reusable cups. When you return the cups you get tokens back. Brilliant idea.

Pools. We only visited the main pelícanos pool which was fantastic. Three whirlpools attached and the swim up pool bar (not all inclusive). Queues for the pool. Yes people queue from around 7am for 9am access, this is because people want to secure a parasol. This is COMPLETELY unnecessary. We never queued. Just went down between 9 and 9.30am and we always got a parasol. The only day we didn’t was because we went for a walk and didn’t get back to the hotel until around 12pm. There are PLENTY of sunbeds and chairs, this is not a problem but the parasols are in short supply.

Lifts. Now this is one that is a problem. The lifts are slow, very slow. But if you can time it right in order to miss the mad rushes you don’t wait too long.

I did not encounter a single rude member of staff. I DID encounter rude holiday makers so maybe the people who complain about the staff should consider how they appear themselves.

Entertainment. Day time entertainment is adequate. I can only comment on entertain around the pool though, not sure what else went on ie for kids club etc. There was aqua aerobics every day. Water carpets for kids and adults, bouncy castles were there 2 days and water polo. Evening entertainment is not great. It’s all over on the ocas side where there is a stage and only seemed to include a 1/2 hour mini kids disco around 9pm and then a show at 10pm. We had an abba tribute, flamenco dancers, shows put on by the entertainment team. Just not good at all really. This is genuinely the only downside of the hotel.

Please don’t take any notice of the negative nellys leaving poor reviews. This is a 3* hotel in the centre of Benidorm catering for a huge amount of people and they did this very well. I have been in much worse hotels in Benidorm !!