Reviews of Gran Hotel Guadalpin, Marbella, Spain

Stayed here for 4 days as part...

Overall Rating:

3/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mr I Bailey

Comments:

Stayed here for 4 days as part of our honeymoon, we had asked for the honeymoon suite but when we arrived they gave us a room over looking a BP petrol station and the main road, nice touch!!! when i complained they said they had given the honeymoon suite to someone else and was not available for the duration of our stay, they did move us to another room at the back of the hotel in a very shaded corner overlooking part of the pool, as you can guess i was not a happy bunny, to top it all we had money stolen from my wifes bag as we were having lunch in the Aralia restaurant, we informed the Hotel and asked them to contact the police but they wouldn't and said we would have to go to the local police station our selves and report it and then they would look in to it, the Hotle manager was not bothered about what had happened so we decide to forget about it seeing so it was our last night at the hotel (thank god) The food was not up to much and the staff were rude and discourteous

the rooms were not up to 5 star standard, i do not recommend this Hotel especially for the price of 230 euros a night bed and breakfast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We stayed at the sister hotel in...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2006

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mrs F Harris

Comments:

We stayed at the sister hotel in Puerto Banus which was a good 20 minute walk into the Port.



They had a good offer for off season and we were very happy to stay at such a smart hotel. You feel very 5 star as soon as you drive up to the impressive facade.



The walk to the rooms all looked promising as it is such a new hotel, all the decor was to a very high standard. What a shame about the size of the rooms! We could just about walk round the bed and the small, small table and 2 chairs only just fitted and had to be moved to gain access to the small balcony. Yes the fittings were to an excellent standard but it was wasted as you can’t wait to get outside. Watch the LCD TV as it is positioned at head height and juts out from the wall.



We had to get the porter to show us how the shower and light switches all worked as they were ultra modern, you have to see them to believe it. Finally after turning the lights out, we counted 16 different red and green small dot lights all over the room from the TV, the light switches and the air con, very confusing.



The restaurants were all 5 star formal affairs and the Hotel was really missing a more casual eatery. Breakfast was extensive and of very high quality.



Please go to this hotel just to visit the downstairs black toilets! What an experience. They are modern design gone overboard as when you enter the cubicle you are sitting in a tropical garden. One way glass or pray the maintenance man doesn’t walk past - who knows! Sense of humour needed.



The plus about this hotel is the clientele and proximity to Puerto Banus. Smart chic hotel with smart guests. The hotel is also busy all year round so there is no ghost town feel even off season.



Would I visit again? No, we checked out early as the pokey room sizes were too big an issue. Especially when there are plenty of other 5 star hotels in the vicinity.

We booked into the supposedly...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Apr 2005

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mr T Williams

Comments:

We booked into the supposedly luxurious hotel Puente Romano just down the road from this hotel, but, after 2 disappointing nights (when they would not turn the air-conditioning system on), we checked out & found this hotel on the Internet.



As my wife is pregnant and struggling to sleep through the night, we ended up with a 2-bedroom suite for the same price as the one very disappointing room in the Puente Romano. The hotel is what you would expect for the price, though as with many others, the bathrooms where on the small side, but when you have one each that is not really a problem.


I would recommend this hotel, though we are about to go back & will be staying at its new sister hotel in Puerto Banus.

If you want to live in abject...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Room Only

Date of Holiday:

Nov 2004

Tour Operator:

Not Specified

Submitted By:

Mr PK Watson

Comments:

If you want to live in abject luxury for a few days, then this is the place for you! From the liveried concierge & bell-hops, with their gold luggage trolleys, to the luxury spa, this hotel is very deserving of its five stars.




The suites are sumptuous (if a little small - bedroom/bathroom wise, hence 9/10). The fact that the crockery and cutlery are Villeroy & Boch, the toiletries Hermes, gives you an idea of the standard that you can expect.




Food in any of the four restaurants is excellent, with the waiting staff being very attentive, but unobtrusive.




Splash out (literally, in the beautiful outdoor pool) and treat yourself!

An excellent hotel and an...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Room Only

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2004

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Mr S Nag-Chaudhury

Comments:

An excellent hotel and an excellent experience.



The hotel rooms were very clean, though the two bedroom suite we were in was a little small. The suite had a fully equipped kitchen, excellently appointed but a little compact, a compact living room with a large dining table, and a huge balcony with a dining table, day bed, two arm chairs and two sun loungers - perfect for evening dining.



Overall, it was an excellent stay as the food in the restaurants was excellent, the staff professional but laid back (as expected at a beach resort) and the services exemplary. The food is very expensive, and the hotel is a ten minute walk to the beach (though they have a modified golf buggy which takes you to the beach and back at 15 minute intervals). They also have their own beach shack on a nice stretch of the beach, a bit more secluded than expected in Marbella.



The hotels not really near to Puerto Banus (though expedia listed it there). The drinks at the shack are very expensive - about £5 for a beer in a paper coke cup. Our balcony had some broken tiles, falling off, quite dangerous for our baby, and one of the lights on the balcony did not work either - despite informing housekeeping on the second day of our stay, this was not repaired on any of the forthcoming six days. They apparently have wireless Internet access throughout the hotel, however, the suites on the sides do not have any reception, so if you do purchase Internet access and are in the larger side suites, you will have to go to the lounge areas to use your Internet access. We were overcharged in the restaurants on two occasions (by over fifty euros), so check your bills. Also, the concierge is not very knowledgeable - they sent us an hour away by taxi for dinner to a place where there was no restaurant, they sent us to Nerja with the wrong opening times and we arrived there with the caves closed. They also told us that they could not get us a reservation for a table at the best seafood restaurant in Marbella and that we could possibly get a table in two days time; they told us they phoned and pleaded personally with the management - we went there on the off chance - not a single other diner in the restaurant and we got a table (there were just a handful of diners there over the next few hours). They also advised me to park in the garage - you get a swipe card to enter and leave the car park as you wish, a really good system, but it’s quite expensive, and everyone else seems to prefer to park for free in the spaces in front of the hotel. Something we did from the second day onwards on the advice of the bell hop. There is excellent security everywhere so it’s quite safe to leave your car outside. Be wary of the rooms on the lift side of the hotel - they are building something there and it gets quite loud from 9am onwards with heavy machinery. And the last complaint: the balcony is too easy for small children to climb up the side of, so you can’t leave children unattended. My one year old almost got to the top of the railing; if he had been on one of the chairs, he could have fallen off the balcony.



I know this seems like a huge list of complaints, however, the hotel really is excellent. The food really is excellent. The Japanese restaurant is great, Mesana and Aralia will provide fantastic (but costly) dining experiences serving the best lobster I have ever had, and if there is a dish you want which is not listed on the menu, the chefs will cook it up for you given a little notice - let them know in the morning and they will send someone out to the market to get the produce needed. As for Gourmet Corner, it has the best cold tapas you could ever want to have (and it actually is very cheap). The staff at Gourmet Corner are also really great and friendly. The spa is wonderful and very reasonably priced for a top level spa, the hairdressing salon is superb (no English spoken there but you get a great haircut). The swimming pool is very clean (though the water is very cold) and really well maintained and there is an excellent little area for small kids to play in.



Whilst there, we bumped into a few British TV actors on our floor; and I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Some of the staff told us in the height of the summer they get quite a lot of minor celebs staying there, though the same staff told us to avoid the hotel in July and August, when they said the hotel goes mad. I must give a special word of mention to the driver of the buggy to the beach. He is excellent, friendly and knows everything you could need to know about Marbella and the surrounds.



Despite the many complaints I have made, it really is a great place. So good in fact, I have made plans to return soon.