Magic Natura: My Honest Review After Staying (The Best Family Resort in Spain?)
By Javier Sobrino
Founder of Discovering Stays · Stayed on the ultra all-inclusive
I stayed at Magic Natura, in Benidorm, on the ultra all-inclusive, to see from the inside whether it is as good as it looks. Terra Natura, a zoo, and Aqua Natura, a water park, both come with the booking, and very few resorts in Spain can match that.
It is in Benidorm, but not in the centre or by the beach. It sits about ten minutes’ drive from town, between the city and the mountains, and it is a sprawling resort of wooden cabins rather than a tower block.
If you are still weighing up the area, start with our guide to family hotels in Benidorm, where we compare them. Here I go deep into Natura, the resort built around the animals.
Transparency: we were invited on this stay
Magic invited us on this stay. I am telling you before the score rather than at the end, because further down I call this probably the best family resort in Spain, and you should know that first.
We were not paid to write this review, and nobody at Magic read it before it went live. The invitation covered the stay, never the opinion: the weak points are all in here.
My take on Magic Natura in two minutes
I give it 8.8 out of 10. It is a resort designed for a family to get the full experience: big cabins, a zoo, a water park, infinity pools, a Game Zone, themed restaurants and an ultra all-inclusive that makes all the difference.
It is not cheap. But if your budget stretches to it, it is one of the best places in Spain to come with children, and the parents will have as good a time as the kids.
There is one condition, and I come back to it below: this resort is only really worth it on the ultra all-inclusive. On half board you lose most of what makes it special.
And one drawback that no board plan fixes: the beach is a ten-minute drive away. If you want to walk to the sand, this is not your hotel.
The best and the worst of Magic Natura
The best
- Terra Natura and Aqua Natura, a zoo and a water park, inside your booking.
- Infinity pools that look out over the elephants.
- Renovated cabins for up to seven, with bunk beds and a hydromassage shower.
- An ultra all-inclusive that earns a straight 10.
- Peace and quiet: none of the Benidorm traffic or tower blocks.
The worst
- Ten minutes by car from the beach and from the centre of Benidorm.
- Inside Terra Natura you pay for food and drink, even on the ultra all-inclusive.
- The premium restaurant serves much the same food as the buffet.
Where Magic Natura is, and what that means for your stay
The first thing you notice on arrival is what you cannot hear. There is no Benidorm traffic and there are no concrete towers around you: just the entertainment team, families and, in the background, some of the animals next door.
It is not the usual narrow, vertical Benidorm hotel. It is a wide, spread-out resort of cabins, gardens and paths, with plenty of room to move around.
The arrival is well thought out. Golf carts take you and your luggage to your cabin, and back again when you leave, which helps with suitcases, a pushchair or tired children. While you check in there are Bali beds to wait on and a playground for the kids.
The price of all that calm is the location: you are ten minutes’ drive from the beach and from the centre of Benidorm. Heading out every evening to find a restaurant is not comfortable, which is one more reason the board plan matters so much here.
The pools: three areas, and the best one looks onto the elephants
The resort’s pools are split into three areas, and each suits a different moment of the day. None of them is a water park: the big slides are at Aqua Natura, which I cover in the next section.
The Bali area, for the youngest
It is the area closest to the entrance, next to a smaller cluster of cabins, and it has several pools. One of them is only about 30 centimetres deep, with elephants spraying water from their trunks and little slides at toddler height.
For parents, that depth is the whole point. You can watch from the sun lounger without the constant tension of a deeper pool. With very young children, it is the area I would head for first.
The central area
The central area has a bigger pool and lots of sun loungers. For smaller children there is a splash zone with a slide and a big tipping water bucket.
The infinity pools, my favourite
For me these are the most beautiful pools in the resort. They are infinity pools with a jacuzzi, looking out over Terra Natura and its elephant enclosure. You sit in the water, quietly, with the zoo and all its greenery in front of you.
It is also the quietest area of the resort. You do not swim with elephants in view every day, and it is the image that sells the whole place.
Terra Natura and Aqua Natura: the zoo and the water park
These are the two big reasons to stay here, and neither is a small extra. On the ultra all-inclusive, unlimited entry to both parks is included in your booking.
Terra Natura, the zoo
Terra Natura is enormous. You can easily spend a whole morning walking round it, and the resort has its own entrance straight into the park.
There are rhinos, elephants, tigers, reptiles and spiders, many of them animals that children never see in everyday life. It also has an educational side: it helps them understand nature, ecosystems and why looking after the planet matters.
If you stay at Magic Natura, Terra Natura is a must. Just bear one thing in mind: inside the zoo, food and drink are paid for separately, even on the ultra all-inclusive.
Aqua Natura, the water park
This is where the big water experience is. Aqua Natura has a huge lagoon-style pool, areas for small children with mini water parks, jets and very shallow water, and plenty of slides for everyone else.
For small children the play areas are compact and safe, with no need to go near the big slides. But if your children are over 1.20 metres or want more adrenaline, Aqua Natura wins a lot of points. The faster slides, some ridden on single or double rubber rings, suit teenagers and adults too.
When we were there, they were building new, taller slides for rubber rings, and we were told they would be ready for the summer season. That should make the park even more complete.
One detail that helps a lot: the snack bar at Aqua Natura is included with the all-inclusive wristband, so you can eat and drink without leaving the park. Magic guests also get reserved sun loungers inside at no extra cost.
The cabins: room for up to seven, and a jacuzzi if you can get one
The cabins are roomy and designed for families. The largest sleep seven people across three bedrooms, so they work for bigger families too. They have clearly been renovated, and the furniture looks modern and well cared for.
Inside there is a bedroom with bunk beds, a small living room, a kitchen area without a hob and a pleasant terrace with a table and a hanging chair. Depending on the category, some cabins add a private jacuzzi or Bali beds outside.
The bathroom has a hydromassage shower, and it is a detail you will be grateful for. After a day walking round the resort, Terra Natura or Aqua Natura, it makes a real difference, which is why the bathroom gets an 8.5.
The beds are comfortable and the pillows are good: the bed also gets an 8.5, and cleanliness a 9. It is not the biggest cabin in the world, but you never feel short of space.
If you can, book a cabin with a private jacuzzi. After a whole day at Terra Natura or on the Aqua Natura slides, that jacuzzi becomes the best plan of the day.
And because the resort is so big, choose where your cabin is when you book, not when you arrive. If you want quiet or do not mind walking, any will do; if you would rather be near the pools or the restaurants, check before you pay.
Travelling with children who love animals?
The food: a buffet that surprised me, and a premium restaurant that did not
The buffet
The buffet was a pleasant surprise. With a family resort this size and this many children, I expected a free-for-all, and it turned out to be pretty good.
There is real variety: meat, vegetables, fish, hot dishes, salads and desserts. What I liked most was the service: plenty of waiters clearing plates, cleaning up quickly if something was dropped and asking whether you needed a drink.
It is busy, as you would expect in a family resort, but it never felt chaotic. Lunch and dinner score an 8.5 each, half a point above breakfast.
Breakfast
Breakfast is good and has plenty of choice: cold meats, sausages, eggs, pastries, fruit and sweet things. There are also sugar-free pastries, and some of them were really well made, which matters if you cannot have sugar.
What I missed was omelettes cooked to order. They make them, but you pick up ones that are already cooked, instead of choosing cheese, tomato or ham as in other hotels. It is not a wow breakfast, hence the 8, but it is complete and good.
The premium restaurant and the themed restaurants
The premium restaurant did not feel as different from the buffet as it does at other Magic resorts. The food is very similar; what you gain is calm, fewer people and a more relaxed meal.
So I would not choose premium for the food, but for the peace and quiet. You get it by booking one of the premium cabins, a bit like choosing a junior suite in a regular hotel.
The ultra all-inclusive also covers three themed restaurants: a rice restaurant, an Italian and Tangaloa, which serves exotic meats. Up to four nights you get one visit to one of them; from five nights, one visit to each.
They are booked through the Magic app, like almost everything else, from the spa to pizza in your cabin. If you do not use the app, you will miss half of what you are paying for. The exception is the Bali beds by the main pool, which you ask for at the towel hut.
The ultra all-inclusive: the board plan I would choose
After many hotels, several of them Magic resorts, I am clear about this one: if you come to Magic Natura, take the ultra all-inclusive.
The resort is designed to be enjoyed as a complete experience. On half board it is still a good hotel, but you lose much of what makes it special. And being ten minutes from the centre, popping out for dinner is not easy.
It gets a straight 10, my highest score for this resort. This is what it includes:
- Food and drink all day, from the morning until the last bar closes, with snacks, coffees, pastries and premium-brand drinks.
- The three themed restaurants, with the number of visits depending on your nights.
- Unlimited entry to Terra Natura and Aqua Natura.
- The Game Zone: PlayStation 5, virtual reality, Just Dance and car simulators, one hour per booking.
- Food and drink at the Magic Beach Clubs, whatever the length of your stay.
- The spa, for over-16s: one hour from four nights, two hours from seven.
- A daily minibar refill and pizza delivered to your cabin.
- Visits to other Magic resorts nearby, booked through the app.
From four nights you also get tickets for the Desafío Medieval, a dinner show with knights, princesses and duels at the castle of the Magic Robin Hood. For us, it is the best show we have seen at any hotel in Spain.
One rule to know before you go: visiting another Magic resort lets you use its facilities, not its restaurants. Your buffet and your restaurant meals are the ones at the hotel where you sleep.
The kids’ club and the Game Zone
Magic Natura is a resort built around children: activities, children’s pools, the two parks, the Game Zone and the kids’ club. It is not a hotel with a pool; it is a resort designed to keep children entertained all day.
At the kids’ club you can leave children from the age of four, with the entertainment team and supervisors, in a closed and controlled space. There are three clubs, split by age. For families, being able to rest for a while adds a lot.
For older children, the Game Zone has PlayStation 5, virtual reality, Just Dance and car simulators, plus an arcade corner with a pool table. It is what saves the afternoon with teenagers, who are exactly the ones who get bored in family resorts.
The staff
The staff seemed very good to us. It is not the over-the-top, fawning kind of service, but they are friendly, quick to sort things out and attentive.
In the buffet they were always clearing plates, wiping up anything spilt near the food and asking if you needed a drink. In a resort this full of people and children, that makes the stay feel a little more premium, and it is why the staff get a 9.
The spa and the adults-only areas
Even in a family resort there is room for a break as a couple. The spa is for over-16s only, and it is included with the ultra all-inclusive: one hour from four nights, two from seven. There is also an adults-only bar.
Magic Natura or Magic Pirates Island?
With the ultra all-inclusive you can also visit Magic Pirates Island, Natura’s sister resort. It is one of Magic’s newest resorts, and its pirate theming is probably the best we have seen in a family hotel in Spain.
The idea is similar, but Pirates Island is a little smaller and livelier. Magic Natura felt calmer and more connected to nature. If you are staying several days you can enjoy both, and that is a real plus.
I tell the whole story in my Magic Pirates Island review. And if you are comparing Magic’s resorts with the rest of the coast, our Costa Blanca guide scores them side by side.
If Magic Natura is not for you
- Magic Pirates Island: the pirate-themed sister resort, a little smaller and livelier.
- Magic Robin Hood: the castle resort, where the Desafío Medieval takes place.
- Family hotels in Benidorm: the town’s options, compared in one guide.
Magic Natura discount code
The code magicDESCUBRIENDOVIAJES gets you an extra discount, and it stacks with whatever offers Magic is running at the time. Enter it in the promo code box before you pay; it only works on the official website.
Is Magic Natura right for you?
Magic Natura scores, category by category
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Overall | 8.8 |
| Cleanliness | 9 |
| Bed | 8.5 |
| Bathroom | 8.5 |
| Breakfast | 8 |
| Lunch | 8.5 |
| Dinner | 8.5 |
| Ultra all-inclusive | 10 |
| Pools | 9 |
| Kids’ facilities | 9.5 |
| Staff | 9 |
The ultra all-inclusive is the only 10, and for me it is the main reason the experience changes: drinks, snacks, coffees, pastries, both parks, the restaurants and the Game Zone. The lowest score is breakfast, an 8.
The bathroom is comfortable and roomy, and the hydromassage shower adds a lot. Lunch and dinner, both 8.5, were a little better than breakfast.
Who Magic Natura is for, and who it is not for
It is your resort if:
- You are travelling with children and want them entertained all day, with a zoo, a water park and activities.
- You want a complete experience, not just a hotel with a pool: cabins plus Terra Natura plus Aqua Natura is hard to beat.
- Your budget stretches to the ultra all-inclusive, which is when you really enjoy the resort.
- You want a quiet, spacious resort, away from the Benidorm noise but with the town within reach.
It is not your resort if:
- You want a beachfront hotel: the beach is a ten-minute drive away.
- You are travelling without children and looking for a quiet hotel for adults or couples.
- You want to save money on half board: this resort is made for the ultra all-inclusive.
- You expect the premium restaurant to serve much better food than the buffet: the difference is the calm, not the plate.
Do I recommend Magic Natura? Yes, on the ultra all-inclusive
Yes. It is one of the best family and themed resorts in Spain, and probably in Europe within its category. If your budget allows it, it is one of the best options for a holiday with children.
You do not come here just to sleep in a hotel: you come for the zoo, the water park, the infinity pools over the elephants and a board plan that covers almost everything. Just do not book it on half board, and do not book it if you want the beach on your doorstep.
And it is not only a July and August resort. In Benidorm the weather is good from mid-April to October, sometimes November, so you can come outside the peak season, with better prices and fewer people, and enjoy it just the same.
If you have stayed at Magic Natura, tell us in the comments how it went and how old your children were: for someone still deciding, your experience is worth more than any fact sheet.
Do you have questions or need more information?
We've stayed here ourselves and can help you. Tell us what you'd like to know and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.