The hotel Bali is with its 186 the
highest hotel of Europe. You don't have to stay there to enjoy the
stunning view from the top. For a small entrance fee, one can see
whole Benidorm from the highest floor of the magnificent building. I
visited the viewpoint on a clouded but warm day and took lots of
photo's for my blog readers.
The Gran Hotel Bali is in the Calle
Langreo at the end of the Poniente Beach. You can walk to it from the
centre of Benidorm (3 kilometer). It is a pleasant walk over the new
beach promenade. At the end of the new beach promenade, the fastest
way would be to take the Calle Villajoyosa, but I would suggest to
keep on walking the beachfront. Keep on following the beach on the
old promenade until you see the Gran Hotel Delfin (reconizable by the
big terrace). There you go to the right, the Av. de Mont Benidorm, at
the end of this street, go to the left. This is the Calle Langreo and
at the end you will see the huge tower of the Hotel Bali rising above
the other appartments.
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| The beautiful new promenade on the Poniente Beach |
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Keep on walking on the old promenade at the Poniente Beach. On your right
is the Hotel Bali, at the left you see Mont Benidorm. |
You enter the hotel through the
monumental entrance. No need to go to the reception, just go to the
right, to the elevators.
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| The monumental entrance to the Gran Hotel Bali |
There are a lot of elevators, but I
would definetly suggest the elevators at the end; these elevators are
at the exterior and have a glass screen. Sometimes you have to wait a
bit for this elevator (of course it is the most popular) but it is
worth it. You whiz up looking at the Cala de Finestrat.
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| The elevators of the Hotel Bali, take the ones on the right! |
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| Very cool elevator. Not for screamish people. |
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| The reception, here you will have to pay the entrance fee. |
Upstairs, you will have to pay the
entrance fee. It costs 6 EUR per person. Included in this price is a
coffee/tea or lemonade in the bar downstairs. Some say it is
expensive, I don't really agree, plus, not every day you have the
chance to stand on the highest hotel in Europe... After paying you
have to climb the stairs for one floor to get to the “mirador”.
This might be an issue for persons who have less mobility. I heard
people on the web complain that they didn't knew about the stairs and
had to go back dissapointed...
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| The last floor must be 'conquered' with the stairs. |
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| This is the viewing platform of the Gran Hotel Bali |
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| A stunning view over Benidorm. |
The view from the platform on the top
is marvellous. You have a really beautifull view over Benidorm and
the Cala de Finestrat. The towers around the Gran Hotel Bali all look
ridiculously small and you can see all the way to the amusement park
Terra Mitica. I would advice to bring a binocular or a camera with
superzoom. With my 40x zoom I could see my friends arriving on the
Mal Pas beach 3 kilometer ahead. Mind you the platform is outside. So
not a good choice if it is rainy or very windy. We stayed up there
for a half an hour. Taking some pictures and watching the skyline.
Then we took the spectacular elevator back to the ground floor and
took a coffee from the bar (of course you have to show the entrance
card of the mirador). We sat on the nice terrace. The hotel itself
gets mixed reviews. For me, the main disadvantage would be that it is
a long walk to the center and even a longer walk to the square (to go
out in the evening). I prefer a hotel in the center of Benidorm so it
is only a small walk to the square and to the shops and bars in the
cosy streets of the old center. Anyways, the terrace was pretty nice
to sit and watch the children play in the pools.
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| Enjoying a coffee at the poolside in Gran Hotel Bali |
To get back to the center of Benidorm,
you can always take a bus. A lot of buses stop just outside of the
Hotel Bali in the Calle Langreo. Just ask the busdriver if he goes
towards your destination or take a look at the info panels.
If you are not eager to get back, I
could also suggest walking to the beach of La Cala de Finestrat. It
is a small beach, lined with some restaurants and bars. 10 years ago,
we had a vacation there in the hotel Monika Holidays, and a lot is
changed since then. The whole area is full (a little to much if you
ask me) of big hotels and appartments.
Another thing to do, would be to climb
the Mont Benidorm. Remember, unlike the hotel Bali, there are no
elevators, you have to walk up a very steep road, and I believe that
one beautiful view a day would be more then enough....
All in all a nice excursion to do in
half a day and you get to take a look in a special hotel. Anyone who
has a buff for architecture and skyscrapers should go and take a
look, but it is a nice small outing for every tourist.
I included some more pictures of the
view underneath this article. Mind you that we visited the Gran Hotel
Bali in the early morning, so there was still a little bit fog left.
If you visit the viewpoint in the afternoon, you will probably see
even further...
Read more
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| A beautiful Skyline of Benidorm |
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| The famous -slightly higher- Intempo Tower from Gran Hotel Bali |
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| All the other towers look small in comparison |
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| View at the amusement park Terra Mitica |
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| Zoomed in on the Mal Pas Beach |
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| Mont Benidorm and the beachfront of La Cala de Finestrat |
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| The inlands with the shopping mall of La Marina |
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| Look close and you will spot the Penon d' Ifach (the rock of Calpe) |
Read more
