Cortijo Blanco Hotel

3 readers found this review helpful

thought i'd write a little about this hotel. i went during the 6 weeks holidays. i went with my mum, dad, big brother and boyfriend. it was my second time at this hotel. i went when i was around 10 and now, 16. both of these holidays have been excellent.
i've been to a few hotels. but this one always seems to be my favourite. so much that i am going back there in 2009... AGAIN, with my boyfriend as he also loved it. We found that the rooms were good, however we got upgraded to the air-conditioned rooms after the first night. GET THE SUPERIOR ROOMS! do that when you book otherwise they charge you boat-loads to upgrade ( its well worth booking them - air con was muchly needed when it hit around 41'C!!)
the food was very nice. it was a typical all inclusive buffet. it would have different foods for a week and then it would start at the beginning on the second week again. you can pile your plate up as much as you want, and go up as many times as you want ( much to my brother and boyfriends delight)
the entertainment, was the best part of the holiday! everybody waited for the evening. activities were good during the day, both for adults and children. me and my family loved the bingo man. he was just so funny that we ended up playing it every night because it was such a good laugh.
me and my family occasionally took a walk around spain. we walked to san pedro market, also got a taxi to porto buenos costing us 5.50 in egyption pounds. ( well recommended)
couldnt fault the bar stuff. esp, the "bald guy", always making jokes and can have a right laugh with you. restaurant staff very very nice, however, expect you to be fully clothed when dining - even the lads had to put a shirt on. snack bar was lovely. had the best burgers ever, also ham and cheese toasties were the nuts :)
if your looking for a holiday, where you can relax, then its nice because you dont get hassled and there is a quieter pool around the back near the new accommodation which is really lovely. also, there are always activities going on if you want to up and about.
I WOULD REALLY RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL. i could not fault it in the slightest apart from maybe the maid missing out my room once in the 2 weeks we stayed there, but we were never in room so didnt bother us :)
i hope you have a great time if you choose this hotel. i know i have and will when i go back (Y)

Had a fantastic Holiday,
The food was fairly good , but you get what you pay for.
I had no complaints.
You had to be on the ball in the mornings if you wanted a spot round the pool,
but thats normal these days.
The staff were very good, not much queuing at the bar.

stayed for a week had lovely weather and the hotel is great.
good service polite staff and the maids were really on top of there job.
the only problem we had was the road outside,you took your life in your hands crossing it.
and as we hired a car getting out of the hotel on to the road was tough,if you were heading to gibralta,which is going left so you had to go out of your way as you coundn,t turn left because of the traffic.

Overall the hotel was very good.
I went with my sister (both in early 20's) and shared a twin room. Check in could have been quicker but once we got to the room we were happy (room 136). the bed was comfortable enough (just ask for more pillows if you need), the bathroom was spacious and we had fresh towels and bedding everyday. the cleaners were very good - spotless!
the main pool was not the cleanest and if you got to the main pool any later than 9.30am you had no chance of getting a sun bed (sad losers got up from 7am to lay their towels out and then didnt even get to the pool until gone 11am) cheeky f***ers!
the best pool to go to was the one on the left hand side as you approach the hotel. there is shade there if you want it and you are always guaranteed a sun bed. the only downside is that you have to walk a bit further to get your drinks from the pool bar (situated in the main complex)
the staff are very hardworking and always trry to help. watch out for the short, long haired blonde woman with glasses in reception - she is useless lol.
the food was good, always a variety and differed every day. didnt rate the fruit though as it seemed like it was frozen!
great place for kids (unfortunately that got on my nerves) as it was all day everyday for them and hardly any adult entertainment. only a few hrs in the evening.
most of the entetainment was excellent. the tribute to the 4 tops was the best! unfortunately they were wasted on the guests at the hotel - they preferred tacky, boring unprofessional acts that i wouldnt pay a penny for.
although our pick up wasnt until 5pm we had to check out at 12 but the hotel provided a room that we could all place our luggage and another room where we could take a fresh shower later.
although i have rated this a 9 i still do not think i would go back as there were far too many kids and they took over the whole complex lol!!

Good Points: We went 20th to 27th July 2008, weather was excellent, we went on three trips, Morocco, Gibraltar and Ronda (Booked at Paquita supermarket).
Bad Points: Staff was not at all friendly with us, especially the man who worked on the Bodega Bar in the evenings, serving you drinks but never joining in with any conversation you tried to have with him. The room was OK but the shower was very unsafe, pressure fluctuated and the temperature changed from warm to boiling to cold. The pools did not look clean; we decided not to risk it. The public toilets were often dirty and loo roll was often not available. We found the food was barely warm and everything tasted the same, like cardboard. I and my partner had holiday tummy, which we have never experienced before.
Walk out of the complex apart from a few local shops across the side street there was little else there, and the couple of bars that were there only opened at night time. The old town (approx. 1 mile away) was nice but there were no public toilets between the hotel and the old town.
The beach is stone and dust, no sand, no working services, all toilets were closed and showers did not work.
General comments: I would not choose or recommend the Cortijo Blanco Hotel again, we found it unfriendly. Our rooms were facing recycle bins across the side street. The beach was a real disappointment.

1 reader found this review helpful

Returned to the UK this morning after a fabulous week at Hotel Cortijo Blanco. As we approached the hotel by the very very busy road I began to have that sinking feeling....however, how wrong I was. Once in the complex you could forget the main road was there. It was beautiful and we loved it. The room was basic but was spotless and hey, we only wanted to sleep, shower and change in there. The only downside was that our terrace stepped right out onto the games area so there were always young folk gathered round the pool table but they were no bother at all.
We had two young children who coped fine with the food. I was initially concerned that it would be pizza one night and chicken nuggets the next but this was far from the truth. The food was fine, I really enjoyed it.
Loungers did get hogged but we found that if we got out and about through the day then came down to the pool late afternoon then we got seats no probem and the pool had also warmed up. Plus it meant we missed the red hot early afternoon sun.
Staff worked tirelessly and were polite. Entertainment was good. loved the 4 tops tribute but not so keen on Havana V. Bingo was hilarious, wobbly quack.... Also 69 - dinner for 2 - had to have that one explained to me, I was a bit slow! Hoose!
A big thanks to one of the other guests who found my daughters purple poodle and refused to give up when the staff appeared clueless as to its whereabouts when he handed it in. We were really grateful.
I would definitely return to the hotel - top tip, ViVAndalucia were just down the road by the mini supermarker and newsagents for booking trips. See them at the start of your hol as they only go certain days and we were really disappointed to miss out on a trip to Gibraltar.

1 week there was enough. I have mixed views of this holiday. Firstly all the entertainment is in spanish so if you are travelling with young children they wont have a chance of understanding. Secondly 80% of the guests were spanish and took over the pool. You have got no chance of getting a sun lounger as people get up at 6 oclock to reserve them. The food was eatable a few selections but not much. Could not complain about the cleaners they started at 8am and didnt finish until late at night. The resort is situated on a main road and you have got no chance in crossing it unless you have a death wish. Your best bet is either the bus (about 1.20 Euro) or taxi (min 6 Euro). The town of San Pedro is pointless. Puerta Banus was fantastic but too expensive. The town of Marbella was nice but they shut between 12pm-5:30pm for siesta. Its a gud holiday if all you want to do is lounge around the pool and have a drink because thats all you can do. There is a supermarket in the next street. There are also 3 bars on the same street as the resort. The beach is a bout half an hour away but there are 2 maybe 3 cafes on the entire stretch of the beach.

1 reader found this review helpful

just returned from a late booked week at the cortijo blanco hotel with my girlfriend, room was all that we needed bed, wardrobe and bathroom plus t.v. although only spanish channels but still good enough when your hammered and its too hot outside.
food was actually quite good with quite a bit of veriety although being english obviously i always had something to pick at, (never happy). the evening entertainment was fun and varied and bingo is a must.
only thing i would strongly suggest is hiring a car as it gives you the freedom to venture around, gibralta is great and only about 45 mins drive down one road suggest you park in la linea though and walk through customs bus once inside is only 90 pence return to the town centre, remember though to check allowances as its only 200 cigarettes (£9.50) and 1 litre of spirits (£5.99 smirnoff vodka) but at the prices you could quite happily travel there everyday (maybe go in get stuff come out put in car and revisit a short while after wink, wink).
porteu banus (however spelt) is amazing like a millionairres playground and about 5 mins drive from hotel, full of farraris bentleys hummers etc etc.
Would go again, would recomend it to family and friends

1 reader found this review helpful

I have just had a brill week in the Cortijo Blanco with my partner and my 2 year old daughter.
The food was good and the service was excellent. Everyone was really friendly.
The rooms and the hotel were spotless and the maids were cleaning all day.
The pool area was very clean, i have to agree though you do need to get up and put towels on sunbeds and claim your parasol, especially if you have children!!
There are plenty of games during the day if you get fed up of sunbathing!
The evening entertainment was good and the bingo was funny, not bad prize money either!!
Will definatly be returning next year for 2 weeks this time (1 week was not long enough!!)
They even provided a courtisy room on the last day for guests to freshen up before they leave. (not many hotels do that!)
Excellent week in all.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just returned home last night from one of our best holidays yet in the lovely Cortijo Blanco hotel in San Pedro! and I want to go back! What can I say ... we saw NO clouds for the whole week! ( 15th to 22nd June ) Sun was shining down, endless amounts of lovely drinks and delish food, clean rooms, spotless hotel, fab nightly entertainment, lovely beautiful people ... apparently some fab daily activities also but I didnt partake! I took to lounging on my sunbed sipping sangria under my parasol all day! ( top tip ... make sure you bang your towel down and grab a parasol before 8am as the best spots do tend to go!! ) Non-stop work from the staff who were cleaning, tidying and attending to customers needs 24/7! 3 swimming pools, 2 small, 1 big ... big one full of young peeps and groups, small ones for families and peeps that prefer the quieter holiday. Safe deposit box facilities ( 24euro deposit for a week ) supermarket and newsagents just round corner. Cant fault it, best hol we have had together andwe have had a few! Thankyou Cortijo ... for a fantastic week!!! xx