The Don Pancho hotel obtains the 2014 TripAdvisor Excellence Certificate

TripAdvisor has given the 2014 Excellence Certificate to the Don Pancho hotel, which puts the hotel in between the 10% of the businesses with the best results in this portal all around the world.

Every year this recommendations and travel web page gives its Excellence awards to those businesses which get the best opinions and recommendations from their clients. The Don Pancho hotel has been award with this certificate for the second year round which shows that the effort has its results on our clients' satisfaction.



What does TripAdvisor value with its Excellence Certificate?

Christine Petersen, President of TripAdvisor for Business, says that the Excellence Certificates are 'the recognition for all the businesses that offer a great experience as a client to the TripAdvisor travelers’.

The most well-known travel opinion web site in the world has a space for the tourists and visitors so they can give their opinion and rate all the businesses with a profile in this portal. To get the Excellence Certificate the business must have a global rate of four points over five, recent and popular opinions and a high amount of positive comments in its profile.

The businesses with the best rates in every destination will get the top positions in the TripAdvisor ranking.

Don Pancho hotel, proud of getting the 2014 Excellence Certificate

All the prizes are always welcome with pride, but the TripAdvisor one is really 'appreciated' for all the businesses, because it rewards the good work and the recognition of their clients.

This 4* hotel in Benidorm, Don Pancho, is proud of this award. It is a response to the clients' satisfaction for all the hard work and the consequence of the continuous bettering in the hotel services. This certificate is the recognition of the ones that really count, in this case, the hotel guests.



Hotel Don Pancho
4* Hotel in Benidorm
http://hoteldonpancho.es/en/index.php

Benidorm casino , a new attractive for the gambling lovers in Benidorm

Benidorm is a city with a wide number of tourist attractions: sun and beach, aquatic sports, gastronomy, night leisure...

And now, the opening of a new casino that will delight the gambling lovers or anyone that wants to get a new experience on his holiday in Benidorm. The Benidorm casino will be open for the summer, if everything goes as planned.

'Casino Mediterráneo', a reference in the gambling sector
After having a casino in Alicante and another one in Orihuela, Casino Mediterráneo can be considered a reference in the gambling sector.

This third new opening in the Mediterranean Avenue in Benidorm will give the change to any person that likes this kind of entertainment to find a special place to enjoy in a calm and pleasant atmosphere.

The new casino will offer every normal activity that you can find in this kind of complex: slot machines, casino gambling tables, poker room and pool betting. It will have a special area for national and international poker competitions, which is a very popular activity at the moment.

Mediterranean Avenue, an exceptional area to enjoy in Benidorm
The new casino will be located in the Mediterranean Avenue, one of the main roads in the whole town. Many of the most well-known hotels in Benidorm are located in this same avenue, apart from restaurants, cafeterias and lounge bars that will increase the leisure options for the casino visitors. The main benefit that this location will bring to the Casino Mediterráneo is the proximity to high quality hotel rooms for the visitors to enjoy.

The area where the casino will be located is only a few meters away from the Levante Beach. This urban
beach is one of the most renowned beaches in Europe where you will be able to get the sun and the pleasant weather of Benidorm all year round.

The Levante Beach counts with all the necessary to have a beautiful day on the beach and its promenade offers everything a tourist may want: a nice restaurant with the local gastronomy, a relaxing coffee cup watching the sunset or a drink in one of the many night lounge bars you will find. It is a place where you can spend some relaxing, enjoyable and gaming days without losing the comfort.

Hotel Don Pancho

Hotel 4 Star in Benidorm

http://hoteldonpancho.es/en/index.php

Benidorm Island, mystery and legend

The Benidorm Island, 'L'illa' or the Journalists Island is a small islet located at 2 nautical miles from Benidorm city. Due to its location, flora and fauna it is a special touristic attraction for Benidorm.

Nearly all the tourists that come for few days to an apartment or a hotel in Benidorm reserve a day to visit the island; there is no proper break in Benidorm without a visit to the island.

But if there is anything that makes this island different and attractive are the legends about its appearance.

The beginning of the Benidorm Island, legends
All the legends about the beginning of the Benidorm Island consider that it is a piece from the 'Puig Campana', a mountain located 10 kilometers away from the coast in Finestrat. The 'Puig Campana' has a big hole on the top and, normally it is related to a legend.

The Roldán Legend
Roldán was a Charlemagne major, and the main character of the Roldán's chant.
Long time ago, Roldán vented all the fury of his sword in a hand to hand fight with one of his enemies. He hit the 'Puig Campana' so hard that a big piece split and got to the sea. That big piece is the Benidorm Island.

The Bruno History
This other tale is a bit more romantic, it is said that Bruno, a knight in love, found out that his beloved one was very ill. He head for the top of the mountain to find a wizard that was living there. When he finally found the wizard, this one told the knight that he could do nothing to save his love’s life.

At this point you can find two different endings: the first one says that Bruno felt so helpless that he stuck his sword in the mountain, and, the second one explains that the knight, facing the imminent death of his loved one at sunset, decided to cut a piece of the 'Puig Campana' so the sun will no set. In both endings the piece of mountain will fall in the sea and will become the Benidorm Island. Either way, the legend has a dramatic finale where the knight's beloved dies and Bruno commits suicide sinking his boat in the Benidorm waters.

The Benidorm Island and the giant
The third legend is about a giant that was living in the Puig Campana. He felt in love with a beautiful lady from Finestrat town. As he knew that she will never fall in love with him he decided to kidnap her and took her to the mountain, but all the people from the village got together and rescued her. The giant got so upset that he kicked the mountain and a piece got out of it, arriving to the sea and creating the Benidorm Island.


The true story of the Benidorm Island is in geology
The truth about the Benidorm Island appearance has quiet little of a romantic side, but it still is interesting. All the geological studies that have been made to the island during the years got to the conclusion that the 'Puig Campana' and the Benidorm Island are rocks with different composition, nature and chronology, so there is no connection in between them.

Whilst the 'Puig Campana' dates from the Jurassic period, the island is made of limestone from the Lower Cretaceous period, if we consider this 'in years' we can say that the Benidorm Island is about 5 million years 'younger' than the mountain. Apart from that, numerous geological specialists agree that the Benidorm Island is one of the ends of 'Sierra Gelada', one of the most spectacular littoral ranges that you can find in the Spanish East coast.

The Benidorm Island, worth a visit
The Benidorm Island, as many others, is uninhabited, but you can visit it. Approximately every hour, depending on the weather, there is a ship leaving the Benidorm harbour to the island every day of the year.

During the summer months, you can ship in the Rincon de Loix. For approximately 14 Euros the adults and 11 Euros the children (these are guiding prices, you should confirm them with the shipping company), the company includes a trip in the Aquarium ships or Aqua scope, so you can enjoy the bottom of the sea around the island.

You can also walk around the island and look at the Benidorm bay. You can previously buy the tickets over their web site.

The legends, the sea bottom or the Mediterranean weather, any excuse is good to pay a visit to the Benidorm Island.

Easter week in Benidorm, a festival full of tradition

Benidorm is a city that can offer you more than just sun and beach, during the Easter week you can enjoy one of the most dug in traditions in Spain: the processions.

From Friday the 11th 'Viernes de Dolores'(Friday of Sorrows) until Sunday the 20th 'Domingo de Resurrección'(Easter Sunday), there are loads of very special processions that can be seen in Benidorm during the Easter week.

But maybe the real attractive thing of spending the Easter week in Benidorm is the possibility of combining the dug in traditions and the beach, the sun and the large leisure options that a Benidorm Holy Week can offer you.

The processions, the main attraction during the Easter week in Benidorm

Easter is one of the most loved and awaited traditional festival during the year. In Benidorm, you have to add to this its touristic attractive for the foreigners that get surprised with the light, the colours and the penitent outfits, all in velvet and with hood. Every single procession, with its different Passion float, refers to a scene and a character of the Bible showing the Passion Week that Christ suffer until his Death and Resurrection.

The Easter processions history starts in Spain at the end of the Middle Ages when the Franciscan priests started organizing them. Ever since then there have been some changes and times that due to the Spanish particular history these processions stopped or were reduced. Nevertheless, processions still come out on the streets every year, bringing illusion to the believers and an art and colour show for everyone.

One of the processions with more fans in Benidorm is the Maundy Thursday one: The solemn Our Lord Jesus in His agony on the Mount of Olives brotherhood that represents, as seen on its name, the Mount of Olives scene. It is a night procession like nearly all of them and goes round the Benidorm streets starting and finishing in the 'San Juan Bautista' church.

The procession of the Resurrection Sunday is an important one too in Benidorm. The thrones of the Lord and the Virgin come on the streets from the 'San Jaime' church for the Encounter Procession. It is very impressive when it starts early in the morning because of the special light that time a day.

Easter events in Benidorm

There are different religious events over the Easter week in which people can take part. A surprising characteristic about the Spanish eastern coast processions is the palm leaf specially prepare for the processions, you can blessed them in different churches. Other acts that you can enjoy over Easter are the triduums, the Stations of the Cross or attend to the special masses.

Apart from all the religious events, Benidorm will offer another dug in tradition in the Spanish eastern coast for the Easter week: bullfight. For this year 2014 two different festivals have been prepared: one bullfight and a shown on horseback.

Gastronomy, another interesting thing during the Easter week in Benidorm

The Easter week has a 'special flavour'. It is tradition to have a specific cake for tea time. The traditional. 'Mona de Pascua', made with flour, eggs, milk, oil and sugar and topped with a boiled egg. You can find them with plenty of different shapes: circles, animals, extra big... The enormous chocolate eggs are typical too. Another typical dessert on these dates are the 'torrijas', made with stale bread dunk in milk and fried after wards, although this dessert is more typical of the centre area of Spain.

Benidorm Easter programme

Friday 11th of April, FRIDAY OF SORROWS
20’30 h. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. Announcement of the Holy Week.

Sunday 13h of April, PALM SUNDAY
10´30 h. Ermita de Sanz. Benediction of the Palms followed by a Holy Mass.

11’00 h. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.

Church of San Jaime. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the streets Santa Faz, Paseo de la Carretera,Alameda, Mayor and Plaza de San Jaime, followed by a Holy Mass.

Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala). Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the streets Alfaz del Pi, Santander, Mont-Benidorm, Pajares and Plaza de las Tiendas.

11’30 h. Church of San Francisco de Asís. Benediction of the Palms and Procession, followed by a Holy Mass.

11’45 h. Church of Nuestra Señora del Mar. Benediction of the Palms and Procession, followed by a Holy Mass.

12’00 h. Church of El Buen Pastor. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.

12’30 h. Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen. Benediction of the Palms and Procession by the surrounding streets, followed by a Holy Mass.


20’30 h. El Buen Pastor Church. Solemn Procession of Our Father Jesus of Health and Humbleness and Our Ladyof the Hope and Peace escorted by the music band “la Primitiva” from Callosa, , the Musical Society Virgen del Sufragio and the National Police of Benidorm.

Itinerary: Church of El Buen Pastor, Puig Campana, Roldán, Almendros, Limones, Maravall, Apolo XI, Jazmín, Plaza de España and Puig Campana, to get back to the Church.

Sunday 13th, Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th of April
19’00 h. Mass sung by the Choir of the Church and triple duet for Our Father Jesus Nazarene. Church of San Jaime.

Monday 14th , Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th of April
19’00 h. Triple duet for the Christ of the Forgiveness and Good Death and Holy Mass. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

19’30 h. Holy Mass and Confessions. Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala).

Wednesday 16th of April, HOLY WEDNESDAY
22’00 h. Solemn Procession by the Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Nazarene. Church of San Jaime.

Itinerary: Plaza de San Jaime, Mayor, Alameda, Plaza de la Cruz, Ruzafa, La Biga,Tomás Ortuño, Apolo XI, Almendros, Paseo de la Carretera, Santa Faz and Plaza de San Jaime.

Thursday 17th of April, HOLY THURSDAY

19’30 h. Holy Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord and Ritual Washing of Feet. Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

19’30 h. Holy Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord. Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala) and Church of San Jaime.

21’00 h. Solemn Procession of the Silence at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena with the Brotherhoods of the Last Supper, the Christ of the Forgiveness and Good Death and the Virgin of Sorrow.
Itinerary: Church of la Almudena, Ginés Cartagena, Capitán Cortés, Castellana, Velázquez, Acacias, Goya, Jardines, and Ginés Cartagena, to finish in the Church.

21’00 h. Solemn Procession of the Brotherhood of Our Lord during his Agony at the Olive Trees Mountain.
San Juan Bautista Church (La Cala).

Itinerary: Plaza de las Tiendas, Pajares, Mont-Benidorm, Vicente Llorca Alòs, Murtal, Santander, Mont-Benidorm, Pajares, Plaza de las Tiendas, to get back to the Church.

23’00 h. Holy Hour and Way of the Cross at the Church of San Jaime.

23’00 h. Holy Hour at the Churches of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Francisco de Asís and El Buen Pastor

24´00 h. Holy Hour at the Church of San Juan Bautista (La Cala).

01´00 h. Holy Hour at the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Almudena.

Friday 18th of April, GOOD FRIDAY
07’00 h. Procession from San Jaime Church going to Monte Calvario (Old Graveyard), where the Way of the Cross and he Sermon of the Seven Words will take place.

20’30 h. General Procession of the Holy Burial, with all the Brotherhoods, departing at San Jaime Church.

Itinerary: Plaza de San Jaime, Mayor, Alameda, Los Ángeles, Pintor Lozano, Ricardo, Martínez Alejos, Paseo de la Carretera, Santa Faz and Plaza de San Jaime.

23’30 h. Way of the Cross. San Juan Bautista Church (La Cala). Brotherhood of Our Lord during his Agony at the Olive Trees Mountain. Departure from the San Juan Bautista Church going to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Sea (Tossal).

Sunday 20th of April, EASTER SUNDAY
08’00 h. Procession of the Encounter of the Lord and the Virgin. Departure from San Jaime Church.

Afterwards “Embassy”.

Hotel Don Pancho

Easter Holidays Benidorm

http://www.hoteldonpancho.es

Tapas and canapés competition, an opportunity to enjoy gastronomy in Benidorm

One of the biggest attractions in the Costa Blanca and Benidorm is their gastronomy. Due to the big amount of people from different parts of the world and the different cultures that meet in the city, Benidorm has a wide and delicious gastronomy worth knowing and tasting.

As we can find different ethnic groups living in the city, you can take advance on it through you holidays in Benidorm and have a gastronomic route round the English, Indian, Chinese, Italian ... restaurants. Also in the restaurants of hotels in Benidorm you can find a wide selection of dishes from different cultural origins.

Although the Benidorm own gastronomy and the Mediterranean cuisine are the ones that get normally more followers.

Typical Benidorm dishes

Like many other coast towns, Benidorm is famous due to its rice and fish dishes, quite typical in the Mediterranean cuisine. Two of the tastiest ones are the 'arroz caldoso' (soggy rice) and the 'arroz a banda', which is one of the most typical dishes of the Alicante gastronomy, to prepare it you make a fish broth with the called 'morralla' (small and cheap fishes) and you cook the rice with it. Coming to Benidorm is the perfect excuse to enjoy a good rice dish.

Another Benidorm typical dish is the 'coca farcida', made with flour and oil dough and normally filled in with tomatoes, tuna and peas. The filling can vary depending on the people’s preferences, but is always a tasty and attractive appetizer.

The Benidorm typical sweets and desserts are mainly related with the Christmas time or special dates, as it happens with the Jijona or Alicante turron, although you can have them all year round. In one hand, you have the 'Bollos de San Blas', a dessert made with almonds and with lemon, that is why you can call them 'Bollos de limón' (Lemon sweet bun) also. On the other hand, you can find, mainly in Christmas time, the sweet potato cakes.

Different tapas and canapés, a luxury for your mouth in Benidorm

The gastronomy is a very attractive aspect for tourists and visitors into Benidorm, so taking into consideration the importance it has for the tourism in Benidorm, a Tapas and Canapés competition has being
organize every year. Visitors and residents can enjoy the gastronomy in a different way, but not forgetting the traditional part of it.

The Benidorm Tapas and Canapés competition is celebrating its fourth edition from the 31st of March until the 6th of April. During this week, 27 Benidorm different businesses will offer very high quality tapas for 2€.

Every costumer will be able to vote for his favorite tapa in between the ones he has tried and, at the end of the week, 3 prices will be given: avant-garde tapa or canapé, traditional tapa or canapé and the special price from the public.

You can use this phone number: 626357507 to vote for your favorite tapa or canapé using Whatsapp or Telegram if you prefer it. Another option to vote is to go into the 'Concejalía de Turismo de Benidorm' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/turismobenidorm.

Hotel Don Pancho
Charming Hotel in Benidorm
http://www.hoteldonpancho.es

Celebrate 'Fallas' in Benidorm

Fallas festival is one of the most important and well-known in Valencia City and some other cities and towns in the Valencian Community like Benidorm for example. During the previous days to the 19th of March, the Fallas turn the Valencian Community in an explosion of color, fire and celebration.

The Fallas festival, an old tradition
We find the first information about the Fallas in the mid XVIII Century, but it is believe that it started with a pagan tradition. The purifying fire is present in many other festivities like San Juan or San Miguel; San José for the Fallas, because it is said that it was the carpenters (Saint Joseph's profession) the first ones to burn the wood waste from their workshops to celebrate.


Fallas in Benidorm
The main Valencia festivity is celebrated during the previous days to San José day in Benidorm and in the rest of the Valencian Community. This festival has been present in Benidorm for about 30 years; it was imported by Valencian people that created the first Fallas commission. Ever since then, Benidorm Fallas have been adapted, reinvented and bettered, so their characteristic fire, parody and smell of gunpowder transform them in one of the main festivals in the city.

During these days, this city is full with people who want enjoy the climate and the "Fallas" atmosphere. Hotels in Benidorm, restaurants, night clubs, all are ready to celebrate the "Fallas" and to host  tourists that want to enjoy a fantastic break in Benidorm.

There are 3 different Fallas commissions in Benidorm at the moment: Centro, Rincon and Els Tolls. Every one of them is in charge of placing one Falla. The 'plantà' is how these commissions show their Falla monument.

These monuments are made with wood and papier mâché representing day-to-day scenes from the current situations in a satiric and funny way. The Falla is not only a statue or a puppet; it is a special way of seeing the world.

Another important moment in the Fallas festivals is the 'Mascletà'. The Valencian people have a big connection with the gunpowder, and there is no festival without it. Every day at the same time for the 'Mascletà', the artisan of gunpowder prepares a pyrotechnic show with different kind of petards. It is a good moment to feel the vibration, see a beginning and finale on the air and to smell the gunpowder surrounding you.

During the Fallas days there are some 'Pasacalles' (parades) in the city streets, where the residents and the visitors can enjoy this colourful festival, listen to the music of the brass bands and see the 'Fallera Mayor' and the infant one, these girls dressed in the regional traditional costume are the protagonists of the Fallas.

The floral tribute to the 'Virgen del Sufragio' is very important in the Benidorm Fallas. Using the flowers that the Fallas people, the residents and the visitors offer to this virgin they will decorate the door front and the sides of the Saint Jaume church, dressing it with loads of colours for all the Fallas festivals.

'La Cremà', the end of the Fallas
The beauty of the Fallas monuments, apart from their satiric scenes, the materials and the well done work, lies on its expiry date. They are created to be burnt and reduced to ashes on the festival final day, the 19th of March, the 'Cremà' day. On that day, all the Fallas get burnt creating an amazing sight and the work for the next year starts again for the Fallas Commissions. In Benidorm, like in many other places, the adult and infant Fallas get burnt at a different time so people can enjoy all the 'cremàs' if they want to.

For more information Programme of Fallas in Benidorm 2014

Hotel Don Pancho

Luxury Hotel in Benidorm

http://hoteldonpancho.es

Benidorm, pioneer city in the introduction of accessible beaches

Too many times in the life of the mobility disable people they find difficulties to access some public places.

Pavements, promenades, public buildings... one by one the architectural barriers are being reduced in the cities to make life easier for those who for any reason need help to  have normal mobility.

And when people with some disability have to  select where go on holidays, the accessibility is very important.


Benidorm is become a pioneer city in the improvement of the mobility disable people's quality of life. Most of hotels in Benidorm have adapted facilities to receive disabled people and also Benidorm is pioneer introducing the concept of accessible beaches.

Benidorm beaches, ready to make their access easier

To consider a beach accessible for the disable mobility people we have to find different urban infrastructures that improve their quality of life: accessible public transport or special parking places (close to the entrance).

We can also find some other elements to help the people with  mobility difficulties to have a swim, like access ramps, changing rooms, shade areas or assistants (watch and rescue services)that can get in action whenever it is necessary.


Accessible services to enjoy a day in the Benidorm beaches

Nearly all year, and specially during the summer, the accessible Benidorm beaches offer special services to anyone that needs them, like adapted changing rooms, ramps, access walkways, amphibious chairs and crutches to swim, special areas or lifeguards as support staff.

You can spend your holidays in Benidorm enjoying its beaches, now you can enjoy it, despite your mobility problem.

Accessible points locations in the Benidorm beaches.

In the Levante beach, you can find the access point in the Murcia Street, around the center area of the beach. The Poniente beach counts with two different points, one in each side of the beach (Elche Park and Mont Benidorm Avenue). These points have been available for more than ten years and they have spacious areas, bigger than 100m2.

Services, infrastructures and personal assistance better the visit to Benidorm to the people with a mobility disability and help them enjoy a day on the beach like anybody else.

Hotel Don Pancho

4 Star Hotel in Benidorm

http://www.hoteldonpancho.es