I seldom leave a negative review, so I'll start with the positive. The location was amazing. Less than 5 minutes to be on the beach; lots of lovely restaurants in the area; shops of all kinds; easy access to public transit. The area is as beautiful as it looks!
However, the apartment was not what we expected. There was no bedroom as such. It could be advertised as a bachelor or studio, as opposed to a one-bedroom. The space with the bed (no door, no privacy curtain, no wall) opened directly onto the living area. It would be okay for a couple, but not so much for two people who would have appreciated a bit of privacy! There were ongoing problems with the electricity...some of these were with the apartment itself; others apparently with the whole building. The internet was borderline okay. I work online with clients, and there were frequent interruptions for brief periods of time... never more than 5 minutes, but very disruptive to what I do. There were also problems with the heat. The landlord replied to text messages, BUT he works out of town so was not available when things needed to be done. We had to deal with the electrician, coming to give an estimate for work. I have no Spanish and he had no English. We managed, but not an ideal situation.
I know we were there during the off-season, and that is when these places do their major repairs and upgrades. The water was off in the whole building, three separate days for several hours. Notices were posted to notify us of this. Annoying, but we survived.
The apartment was compact and well-equipped. Clean and has a lovely ocean view.
In spite of these challenges, I loved Benalmadena.
Overall, my trip was amazing. So, giving it a three star rating based on everything, not just the apartment, trying to be fair.