Gran Hotel Guadalpin

My husband and I spent 5 nights at Gran Hotel Guadalpin 11-15th June. I chose this hotel after reading reviews posted on the web. We were not disappointed..yes we had to wait until 4.00pm until our room was ready only to be told there were no double rooms available and we were being upgraded to a two bedroom suite. We have absolutely no complaints regarding the accomodation. The staff may seem a little aloof but any requests regarding local attractions etc. they became extremely helpful. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Marbella, we found the location excellent for walking into town. I certainly would return to this hotel the next time we visit Marbella. In our opinion this hotel warrants it's 5* rating.

We stayed during the middle to latter part of June 2005. On our first night/evening, we had to endure the foul mouthed ranting of louts drinking lager in the pool area. It was scary to think that it could have been like that every day. Luckily, they had been moved on by the following day. I just hope it's because the hotel acted upon complaints or observations rather through coincidence. Nevertheless, don't let that put you off as we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there. AIRPORT From London, Malaga airport is the closest to the hotel. On exiting the main arrival area, a good English-speaking Spanish man asked us if we needed a taxi. Having already read up on what I should expect to pay for a taxi from the airport to the hotel, I was pleasantly surprised that he offered a taxi for 55 Euros. We were driven in a modern Merc-style car. It was a risk accepting a ride from a stranger, but you just have to assess it there and then on whether to take that risk (as it happens, it seemed the driver knew the porters at the hotel, so with the benefit of hindsight, that particular trip was perfectly safe). CHECK-IN All our bags were taken care of as soon as we arrived at the hotel. Check-in was immediate. Having read the comments about arrogant staff etc. I was more conscious about the staff attitude. If I were to comment, I would say that they are professional, but you have to say something first to get them to assist you (as opposed to hoping they will ask if you need assistance if you just stand there). I think perhaps the reserved English (of which I belong to that particular club) are either unused to or uneasy about that aspect, and you could be forgiven for thinking they were just being arrogant. Once the confirmation of the room was taken care of, we were briefly shown around the hotel by a senior member of staff before being shown to our room. That was certainly a nice touch. The bags came up shortly afterwards. LIVING ROOM We booked a Junior Suite. The room we were given was on the 2nd floor overlooking the loungers near the pool. The balcony had a round table with 4 chairs + a small rectangle table with a couple of comfy seats. There was 6ft divider partitioning the adjoining balconies from the adjacent rooms. The kitchen was adequately equipped (except it didn't have an oven or toaster as already mentioned in other reviews). Air conditioning was decent enough that automatically switched off when you opened the balcony door (which is fair enough I guess). BEDROOM The bed was a small double, which had the hardest mattress imaginable. I wouldn't class it as particularly comfortable. There was a flat-screen TV hanging off the corner of the wall. BATHROOM The fancy bathroom scales were useful, if not space wasting. I felt the bath was too narrow to have a comfortable stand-up shower and meant the curtain kept sticking to my arm when I did shower. The two basins were unnecessary because the bathroom was too small. The draws underneath helped for product storage. The complimentary bathroom freebies were quite good. No toilet brush, but a powerful flush made up for it (hope you're not eating you dinner while reading this!). There was also a bin and a hairdryer. MINIBAR This was perhaps a little confusing as there was a box of medium sized sherry near the welcome letter on the dining table. I didn't know if it was free because there was no mention (I just thought it was one of their tricks to get you to spend money). However, I definately knew it was free when I opened it anyway and discovered it tasted absolutely disgusting. We did try a few items and noted it down on the inventory price list like it stated we should do (plus hand it to reception the following day). Found out it wasn't necessary to do this at all as they did this for you (and tried albeit unsuccessfully to double charge me!). Not the most expensive minibar I've come across (but still a rip-off like any other). HOUSEKEEPING Mildly disappointed with the service. Didn't have the trouble other reviewers had with tardiness, but the quality was poor. The visually obvious part of the service was fine (e.g. bed making, tidying up), but small things like providing the replacements for the shower gel (I kept on getting shampoo instead, probably because it was in the same clear plastic bottle, but said "shampoo" instead of "shower gel" - don't need to be English speaking to tell the difference). Also, the bath was never once cleaned properly. I may sound petty, but to have this every day was very annoying. I also left a 5 Euro tip to see if they would do a better job. All I can say is, you're best saving your money. POOL AREA The pool area could have been bigger to accommodate the popularity it consistently experienced. I reckon there was always enough loungers to go round (but not umbrellas). The best ones positioned on the two sides of the pool were always taken early (unfairly in a lot of cases as towels placed there with no persons for hours apparently was accepted as a proper reservation of those loungers). The sun covered the whole area until about 5pm when the eastern side of the hotel created a shadow over more and more loungers as the Sun set. The pool itself was quite impressive (and deep in parts) and rarely crowded. The bar on the side (but within the pool, sort of) was quite cool. Despite what people have said, the pool is heated. Well, piddly jets of hot water is pumped from the pool floor from a few places. Generally, the pool is quite low in temperature (perfect when you're baking from too much Sun worshipping). I don't know if this is ubiquitous amongst all hotels in Marbella or Spain generally, but topless sunbathing (or even topless swimming so I'm told (I can't admit first hand knowledge of seeing this as my wife might be reading this)) is acceptable. I heard one snotty woman mumble negatively about it, but I guess when in Rome... The complimentary fruit on a kebab stick and cold towels every so often were much appreciated. FOOD & DRINK Taro - Japanese restaurant was superb and reasonably priced. Service was attentive, and the food was delicious (although I'm generally not a fan of Japanese cuisine). The dessert choice was not very appealing (Green tea or sesame flavoured ice-cream with beans - tasted pretty bad actually, but I guess it's an acquired taste). Aralia - The main hotel restaurant. Breakfast buffet has a comprehensive selection that never runs out. Lunch is pretty good. We ate there once for dinner, but were very disappointed. I forget what we had for starters, but my main course (Cod) was horrible. It was like it had been dipped in a bucket of salt. Absolutely sickening. My wife had the duck which was edible, but nothing special. To be honest, it was very overpriced for what turned out to be disappointing pretentious food. Mesana - Highly posh restaurant. It had a fully comprehensive wine list (or book) to choose from. We were given a couple of glasses of free champagne (reasonable quality). Little courses were intertwined with your main choices. The food was hit and miss mainly because of its exotic nature. I don't know if it's because I'm not gastronomically trained or because some of it was just bad food. Presentation was very good, but again it was a hit and miss affair. I imagine it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea (and at the prices they charge, you'd expect everything to be perfect). If they had charged what Taro priced their courses at, I would have nothing to complain about, but at 200 Euros for simple wine, water, 2 starters, 2 mains and a shared dessert? Pool Bar - Was great that they delivered ordered drinks to your lounger if you so requested. Prices were cheaper than the Aralia bar. One major complaint however is they do not know how to make a pina corlada. It isn't just Malibu and a bit of juice concentrate!!!! And at 10 something Euros a pop, I certainly expected better. SPA Outstanding. My wife and I both booked a 25 minute massage and facial (performed by the same person). The masseuse certainly knows her stuff as she pinpointed the minor problems I have with my shoulders and similarly the occasional problem with my wife's back (she didn't speak much English, but the concentration on those areas showed she knew what she was doing). Similarly, the facial was really good. HAIRDRESSERS Crap. My wife had a pedicure and manicure done. The woman doing it had to be reminded by my wife to moisturise her feet and redo certain aspects as it just wasn't a quality service. The prices were set at a level where your expectations were much higher than what was received. Apparently, a woman having her hair done was being delayed for unknown reasons and probably missed an arrangement to go out with her husband because of it. Avoid like the plague. SHOPS A few boutiques offering overpriced clothing that no-one seems interested in buying. CHECK-OUT. The duplicate minibar charge was sorted out relatively painfully. I didn't like the fact they refused to extend our checkout by an hour to 1pm. Apparently housekeeping need 4 hours to do the room (check in time is 4pm at the earliest). Anyway, we overstayed by 20 minutes until the inevitable phone call from reception wondering where we were (coincidently, we were on our way anyway). Their attitude in this regard was a crock of manure for sure, but at least they didn't try and charge us extra. TAXIS Very cheap to get to Puerto Banis. Make sure they look in their book to determine the charge. I had one cheeky driver charge me 10 Euros on the way back when I knew it was about 7.60 Euros because of an identical trip made the night before. Let's just say words were exchanged. Also, we got a taxi back to the airport. They drive like it's a personal race track and was at times quite unnerving. It made the potentially dodgy unofficial taxi ride to the hotel seem like the smarter choice. The cost was 61 Euros. We will probably be visiting again, although a bit wiser.

Had a great stay here in March 2005. the suite was immaculate, well decorated, and was extremely well serviced every day. We were lucky and had a pool facing room so didnt hear any traffic noise. beach is only a 5 min stroll away - not 10 mins as some of the other reviews have stated. Agree that the staff are somewhat arrogant, but this was more than made up for by the amazing breakfast and excellent facilities - one of the best 5* hotels we have stayed in. Also, dont pay the nightly parking charge - you can always get parked round the side of the hotel for free.

Just returned from our second visit to the hotel, having spent a week there in early October 04. Checking in was (as before) aggravating in so far as our room was not available until 4.00pm. We were lucky... others had to wait considerably longer. This is particularly annoying when checkout is ridgidly enforced at 11.00am! As before we booked ( and got ) a junior suite with excellent kitchen facilities, spacious living area and immaculate bedroom and bathroom. The double beds are only standard doubles and they ARE hard. Balcony lacked table and chairs which we asked for immediately, only to be told that our request was 'impossible!', 'absolutely impossible!!' They arrived 5 minutes later. Followed by the inevitable bottle of undrinkable sherry and two glasses. Unpacking is hampered by very little hanging space; only 5 coathangars between us. The piece de resistance is the safe. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it to date. It can only be locked ( eventually) by using your credit card. Now what do you do with your credit card? Hide it in the room? The majority of the bathroom floor space is taken up with a dustbin lid sized set of circular scales. Do not despair, not only do they knock off a few pounds, they also fit on their side next to the bidet. The biggest criticism on the room front is the much lamented timing of room service. 5.00pm is quite simply unacceptable. We can only comment on 'Taro', the Japanese restaurant which is superb. We have eaten there 5 times and have never been disappointed by either the service or the food. Try the set price 'degustacion'. Our favourite restaurant in Marbella old town is La Comedie, just off the Orange square and impeccably run by Damien and his wife. Worth booking a balcony table in advance. Cannot comment on breakfast in the hotel as we never tried it, preferring the privacy and great views from our own balcony. The main bar service was always prompt and friendly. The spa is fantastic and the gym perfectly well equipped and air conditioned. The pool side area is woefully inadequate when the hotel is busy and sun bed reserving at its most imaginative at the weekends. The location of the sunbathing areas are at the two long ends of the pool facing east and west. This effectively creates a morning and afternoon split. You takes your choice! The beach is definately only 5 minutes away and downhill all the way there. The private area for hotel guests is spoilt by surly, indifferent staff who appear to run the beach bar for their own pleasure. On one occasion they reserved 15 of the sunbeds for the 'owners' of the hotel and their party. Not a good example of customer relations. This time we used the facilities of the nearby restaurant and its adjoining beach. Well worth the 4 euros. Sadly the beach all along this section has suffered badly from winter storms and almost 50% has eroded leaving exposed rocks which make entering the water almost impossible without footwear. We were plagued this time by a itinerant shoal of jellyfish which took up temporary residence for a number of days. We felt it possibly churlish to hold the hotel responsible. To summarise: A beautiful hotel in a relatively good location. Good front desk and information centre. Wonderful Spa Excellent Japanese restaurant. Indifferent pool and pool area. Poor beach and beach bar staff. Unacceptable room servicing and check in delays. Would we go again? Probably but only after trying a couple of others first.

We stayed here for May half-term week. There were lots of (mainly British) families around and the hotel caters quite well for this, having the option of suites which are basically very high quality apartments with the facilities of a five star hotel to boot. The price we paid here for what is a very high standard two bedroom suite is lower than some (very) standard double rooms elsewhere. Some other places that are not as good would easily charge £300-plus a night for this size of room - we paid a lot less. We travelled with our three year old daughter and my mother and her sister and still managed not to get under each others feet . The two rooms were immaculate, and bathroom very good indeed with every ammenity. It's worth paying the extra for the jacuzzi (which worked perfectly) on the massive balcony which also had two sun loungers, a dining table and chairs and a four piece suite! I could really find nothing to moan about at all. The kitchen is very well stocked and there is a full size fridge freezer, diswasher (stocked by the cleaning staff), electric hob, microwave and to top it all a washer/dryer. OK, the staff are a little late in cleaning the rooms but this is probaly because there are a lot of suites and it's a big job cleaning each one - as well as tidying up the kitchen, etc. There is an excellent, well stocked supermarket just across the road where you can get freshly baked bread daily - a real bonus. Pool area is very clean but could be a problem in high season as far as space availability is concerned if you're a later riser (although I think the hotel was pretty much full when we visited and we still managed to bag a few places). Some may not like the fact that it's not on the beach but I hate sand in my toes and salt water anyway, so it's fine for me! You can get to the centre of Marbella very easily by strolling along by the sea of an evening or it's a three minute cab ride in if you're lazy like me. Good restaurants locally (La Pasquera right on the beach) and Da Bruno a Casa for good Italian (very authentic pizzas). In Marbella town stick to more traditionally Spanish places and you'll get a good value and high quality meal. Other places with more 'modern' approaches to food may not always be better (but certainly dearer) than you can get in an All Bar One here the UK to be honest. . . I've stayed in a fair few hotels around the globe and there is very little (if anything) to criticize here, especially for the money. It's by no means a bargain but if offers very good value. All in all an excellent place and I thoroughly recommend you try it - although not all when I'm there, please!

We've just returned from a short 5 night stay at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin in Marbella. I read the reviews here first (as always) and it seemed ok and we fancied somewhere different. Our party consisted of myself, my wife and our 2 small children (aged 2 and 6 years old). We had a std 2 bed roomed suite on the 2nd floor. I have to agree that you do get a lot of hotel for your money and I would certainly rate it as 5* (it's very upmarket) BUT I wouldn’t go again. Read on… GOOD POINTS 1) Large airy hotel, very modern and very clean 2) Very friendly, helpful and multilingual staff 3) Very decent sized balcony which had a nice dining table with 4 chairs. The balcony also had 2 sun loungers, a sofa, 2 arm chairs and a coffee table BUT see Point 1 in "Bad Points"! INDIFFERENT POINTS 1) Moderate sized rooms in the suite that were neither overly generous in size nor cramped. Clean and well kept rooms with nice looking mock period furniture which isn’t very practical! 2) There was a small kitchen with a decent sized fridge freezer, a microwave, large kettle, 2 ring electric hob, lots of cutlery, crockery and cookware. There was also a dishwasher and washing machine. However, there was no toaster; no clothes line and no oven (see Point 7 in "Bad Points") 3) The suite had decent aircon with separate controls/thermostat for each of the 3 main rooms. However, if you turned up the temperature to over 25 degrees then it activated the under floor heating which I'd watch out for if you have small children baring in mind that the floor is marble effect! Put it this way, the floor can get VERY hot if you're not careful and the aircon temperature control makes no mention of it also activating the heating. We found out the hard way! BAD POINTS 1) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Be aware that this hotel is right on a 4 lane main road so unless you have a sea facing room then expect it to be noisy - our room was at the side of the hotel and it was so noisy that we didn't use our lovely balcony because of the noise pollution that started at 7:00am everyday - what a waste! 2) The very tempting pool which is supposed to be a "heated swimming pool all year round" (quote from hotel web site) was FREEZING. The weather was fabulous during our stay (daytime temp circa 30 degrees) and, as such, this was a massive disappointment to our kids (and us) who love swimming but refused to get in because it was too cold! 3) Expensive room service, meals, drinks, etc 4) The hotel's beach is a good 5 minute walk but at least it's well signposted! When you get there it's a massive disappointment because that section of the beach is all of 10 feet wide with very dark grey sand - not very appealing! I was glad that we'd hired a car because we spent all of our time at other free beaches in Marbella. 5) If you hire a car then there's very limited parking outside the hotel and I had to use the hotel's underground car park at a cost of 15 euros a day 6) Even though we spent most days out of our room until 4pm the room very often wasn't cleaned until after we got back 7) Suite advertised on hotel's web site as having "Fully-equipped kitchen" but there was no oven - this was a massive annoyance to us because coping without it whilst trying to cater for 2 small children called for some very imaginative meals! VERDICT - I can see the appeal of this hotel to some people but we won’t be going back, we’ll stick to the Marriott Beach Resort in Marbella in future which is much more family friendly.

Far exceeded our expectations; the staff was great. They even upgraded us when we mentioned we had asked for a quite room. The suite they gave us was gorgeous. It was big with a beautiful view. This suite had more gadgets than we had ever seen in a hotel at one time, including an up-to-date kitchen and jacuzzi. The humor of it all was that they were so confusing to use, we spent a good percentage of our time trying to figure them out. It was almost funny. The only real complaint was the hard, small beds. Didn't fit the otherwise luxurious nature of the hotel. We were lucky with the weather, so didn't notice too much the cold pool. The hotel could use an less expensive snack, child lunch alternative.

Our family has just arrived home after spending a week at the Guadalpin. We were pleased with the reccomendation a friend had made (it's always nice to know that someone you know has stayed where you're interested in booking) and booked on Expedia...a two bedroom suite was 989 pounds (airfare not included). I have read the prior reviews and, I'm happy to say, we did not have nearly the bad results that other guests had. Our room was beautiful...so clean you could have eaten off of the floor and the cleaning staff were fantastic...although did not speak much English. Our bathrooms were well equipped...WITH EVERY AMENITY! I mean, honestly, shaving kits, deodorants, comb, toothbrush kit, make-up removers, bath sponge, tissues, in addition to shampoo and shower/bath gel (from Penhaligons) and perfume from Leowe. Our towels were always replenished and the hot water/water pressure was fantastic...I took a hot bath every night. It is true that often they were late in the afternoon getting the room cleaned, but we were at the pool anyway and if we came back for a nap we just put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door and they came back later. I was really only concerned with the beds and the towels, anyway. We never had a problem with our air conditioner...in fact, it was sometimes so cold that we turned it up. Yes, it does shut off when you take your key out of the main power box to leave the room, but it cools down in under ten minutes when you return and it was still much cooler than being outside! We used the washer and dryer every night (3 kids under 7) and used the grocery store across the street (it was sooo cheap!) for drinks and snacks. We ate at the restaurant for a few breakfasts, but wisened up after a couple of days (70 euro for the five of us!). Instead, we ordered fresh pastries and coffee from room service and it was half the price and we didn't have to deal with our two year old screaming in his high chair! We ate at the restaurant for lunch and dinner and, although it was tasty, it was way too overpriced....18 euro for a hamburger! We found the staff to be fantastic and very kind to our children. Our 3 year old son fell in love with Anna in the Gourmet Corner (great Tapas and beer). We were disappointed that the babysitter price was so high...30 Euro an hour for three children. It would have been nice to go out for a nice meal and actually finish a bottle of wine! This is not the best hotel for kids...there is only one pool and it is too deep for them (although, like a guest prior, it did not keep us out of it) and the beach is too rough to swim in. There is a kids' club, but it only runs on the weekends and everyday in July and August...you'd think that during half term they would have done something...there were a lot of kids! It might be wise to rent a car for the week if you have more than two children...we paid 160 euro roundtrip to the airport and probably another 60 euro in taxi fees just to get around town during the week. All in all though, Marbella is fantastic and we would definitely stay in this hotel again. We also looked at their new sister hotel going up in Puerto Banus ("Guadalpin Banus") and it is beautiful with a much better situation to the beach, however not fully completed.

Myself and my wife stayed at this hotel for two weeks in March of this year. On the day we arrived it was raining so I suppose that was not a good start! We had to wait to see a receptionist about 20mins as there seem to be a travel agents conference in the hotel and they took priority. When I eventually saw a receptionist she was very stern and abrupt! She informed me that I had arrived to early and my room was not ready! I arrived at 12.45 noon! So we had a stroll as it said the hotel had a parade of shops (it does but they are currently closed and look as though they are been refurbished) we did manage something to eat in the restaurant, somthing I did pick up very quickly is when they take your order and deliver your food thats it you dont get any more service (so best to order all of your drinks and derserts in advance!). After some presure from me we managed to get into an alternative room number for 4.30pm! I Booked a Junior suite with sea-view and whilst the view was breathtaking (we where on the 3rd floor) the finishing off in the rooms was poor, check out the grouting in the bathroom, the balcony floods when it rains, there where unfinished tilling and painting on the balcony, beds where uncomfortable. The hotel is surrounded by private spanish porperties and we where kept up most nights by a barking dog! The room was sort of cleaned every day but usually about 4-5pm in the afternoon and not to a particularly high standard. The mini bar was very over priced. The beach is a good 10min walk and I would not recommend this during the dark as you have to walk down a unlit alley way! The food in the main al a carte restraunt was poor, we found that some of the food they where passing off as 5* Fresh Food was available at the supermarket opposite in the frozen food section (Checkout the starters Potato and Ham Croquetts 8Euros on the menu or across the road 20 for 7.50 Euros in the frozen dept!). The waiters and the matre d where rude and very arrogant. The restaurant is very overpriced. I should mention I have stayed in many 5* hotels all over the world so I think I know what I am on about!! The prices stated on the menu are extreme with piece of meat been passsed off as a fillet steak and some greens for 38 Euros! (I returned this) The other two restaurants are over-priced and the food is 3* ! One of the reasons I booked the hotel is that it states on the website to the hotel it has an in door pool - which it does but it will cost you 15 Euros to use which it does not state and the reason it is 15 Euros they told me was because it is a Spa! The breakfast was excellent if you come down early enough as if you arrive betweeen 9.45 and 11am there is not enough tables to go around and you will end up waiting. If you do visit this hotel make sure you get a deal and I would not recommend a two week stay a week is more than enough!

We stayed at this hotel for 9 days at the end of May. On arrival we found we had been upgraded from a one bedroomed junior suite deluxe to a two bedroomed deluxe suite which was nice however it did overlook the noisier Lidl side of the hotel. We had specifically paid an additional 720 euros in order that we have a roof terrace and jaccuzi but when we were shown to the room we were disappointed to find that the jaccuzi had not been cleaned. We were asked if we intended to use it (strange bearing in mind it had been specifically requested when we booked!). It took a few hours for this to be done and for it to be in working order however a package containing a bottle of sherry and two glasses arrived in our room - we assume as an apology and this was a nice touch. For a hotel billed as five star, we were suprised to find that the glass doors to the ensuite toilets were faulty, one of the two doors was missing entirely and in the other room the second door was swinging loose which appeared to be dangerous. Also the television in the twin bedroom was hanging off the wall and the riser rail in the ensuite of the double bedroom hanging off the wall. The jaccuzi only seemed to work properly sporadically and on our sixth day (we were there for nine) it packed up altogether (as, it so happended had the air conditioning in our bedroom). When we returned from our evening out, we found a note explaining that the jaccuzi would be out of action for the remainder of our stay. As we had specifically paid extra for this facility, we called reception immediately to ask to change rooms the following day. We were informed in no uncertain terms that this was not possible and all that was possible was a deduction of the charge for the jaccuzi from the bill along with a comment that afterall, we had been upgraded to a two bedroomed suite (something we had never asked for - it was just given). We said this was not acceptable and after demanding to speak to the general manager, we finally spoke to the Duty Manager Juan Carlos who was very pleasant and immediately agreed that we could move (and that we would not be charged for the Jaccuzi). We finally moved rooms the following day around 1.30pm. Our second room was one bedroomed however it did have a better position overlooking the pool and did appear to be in a better state of repair however the decking around the jaccuzi was incredibly dangerous as bits of wood were sticking up and just begging to be tripped over. We ate in the hotel's Mesana restaurant on our first evening and recieved a glass of champagne on arrival which was a very nice touch. The food was very well presented with lots of pre starters and pre-pre starters but we have eaten better meals. All in all we did not feel that this was a true five star hotel experience (having experienced hotels offering true five star service such as the The Residence in Mauritius and The Royal Mirage Arabian Court in Dubai). Having said all of the above, there were some excellent points to our stay, the hotel was very pleasant and clean, towels were changed twice a day and bath robes were changed each day! The problems we had were eventually handled admirably and professionally by Juan Carlos and sitting in a warm jaccuzi at night was absoloute bliss - as a previous reviewer has said, the novelty of this never wore off. Would we go again? Probably, yes.