First I have to say that we are a really easy going couple who make the best of things if they don't turn out quite as we expect them to,.. but we have our limits, and this is where we found ours....please read on.....We went to the El Paraiso on our honeymoon...the first mistake of our new life together....on arrival we were made to wait 2hours for our room in the 40 degrees heat...all downhill from then. The room actually made me cry! Two disgustingly dirty beds pushed together with threadbare linen which was stained, as were the mattresses and pillow. The carpet was sticky to walk on, I struggled to find an area of carpet that wasn't stained and have patches of powdery mildew in the corners. The plug sockets were completely unsafe and broken, hanging off the walls, black mould growing in the bedroom and the bathroom, dirty paintwork on the walls as though people have rubbed muddy hands along them. I have the photos to prove all of this. Huge bleach stain on the hallway carpets, the big panes of glass at the back of the hotel overlooking the golf course had a covering of something that obscured your view, quite odd! The smell of damp and stale cigarette smoke in the room unremovable, even on opening the doors you could still smell it on the balcony. The patio furniture was dirty, one of the chairs was broken. The views are admittedly beautiful but the state of the bedrooms is totally unacceptable and so shabby and gloomy it takes away much of the pleasure of the scenery. The communal television lounge also doubles as the smokers room so beware if you are anti-smoking - be better to be given the choice. We went to reception and were greeted with a couldn't care less attitude and told to contact our holiday rep if we were unhappy with our room. We were polite when we spoke to reception - shame we weren't given the courtesy back. We explained that we were on our honeymoon and they shrugged their shoulders and said "So?" Staff very overworked, do not like the English, there was only one other English couple there all week. The food was cold at each meal, athough admittedly we only attempted to eat here for lunch and dinner the first day, breakfast the following two mornings, (we gave up and jumped in a taxi and ate in Marbella) ...we gave dinner another go 2 days later and it was even worse!,You could heat your breakfast in a microwave, but this was dirty and you really didnt want to use it as looked as though it hadnt been cleaned in a very long time. On our first day we went to have some lunch, we were the only people in there, probably because the birds were landing on the food, plates, anywhere and everywhere, and leaving their poop behind them. DISGUSTING! And don't bother going All Inclusive. You are treated like a second, no third-class person, and then we had the audacity to ask for a glass of Sangria,..were told "no, not included, you pay" - we said it was on our list of what we were allowed (believe me there are signs everywhere saying what you the paying guest are and are not allowed to do etc.,) and they asked us to prove it! So we did, after going back up to our room to get the list given to us by reception on arrival...their response.,."it is a spelling mistake but you can have this one tonight!" Humiliating or what...and I guess I should tell you we paid just under £2000 for our honeymoon here for 7 days....we got shouted at by the pool bar guy for saying Smirnoff instead of the name of the cheap local version of Vodka, totally unacceptable, as was the standard of hygiene. The guy was hot admittedly and working alone which doesn't help him(another management fault) but dripping sweat and wiping his face all the time with his hands and then making guests sandwiches and handling the glasses - even watched as he wiped his brow with a paper serviette and put it on the counter with the other serviettes. Not once did I see any handwashing. We did ring our rep 3 times, they were just as bad and on the third call said to me "what do you expect us to do about it, its Sunday, we'll move you tomorrow, or you can always move yourself." This is Lowcost Holidays who we travel with alot, and have spent £5000 this year alone with on holidays/honeymoon. We spent an extra one thousand euros just to get out every day and spend our time in the old town of Marbella and San Pedro. As soon as we got back to the hotel each night (we stayed out until 11pm most evenings and this is a major problem for me due to health) a definite gloom hits you as you enter the hotel. The pool area is very good but the indoor pool was closed all week. The sun loungers are 'claimed' by 7a.m with guests towels and quite a few are broken. I notice another reviewer stated they are free as are the cushions, but would you really want to use the cushions that are stained with god knows what??? Entertainment in the evening - nil. Courtesy bus as stated on the internet site - non existent. Mini-bar - no. Air-Con - if you're very lucky, but when it decides to work extremely noisey. Bathrooms - mouldy, plaster coming off the ceiling, damp patches and flaky paintwork, shower hose fallen/falling down, dirty plugholes. Clean towels every day:) Maids friendly, I feel for them, hard work to clean a very run down hotel and obviously working for a management team that don't give a damn about their clients comfort, they always managed a smile. I have a problem with mobility and this wasn't stated on the website either and there are quite a few steps to negotiate so if you struggle at all with your mobility this place is not for you. Nor is it if you need to take medications as there are no facilities in your room to keep drinks, let alone keep them cool in hot weather. Nightmare if you have kids here I imagine. No tea\coffee making facilities in rooms. 2.50 euro per small bottle of water. No public transport so you have to pay for a taxi and this is approximately between 8-10 euros each way just up or down the hill. We have been to Spain alot and this is definately the worst experience we have had and the worst hotel by far. We spent most of our time in Marbella where we found the people lovely, the service fantastic and the Spain that we love. We mentioned to several Spanish people where we were staying and they rolled their eyes mostly and said "no no, not good." Shame we didn't talk to them before having our honeymoon ruined:( and I will certainly read TripAdvisor before I book anywhere again as I have seen we are not alone in our disappointment with this hotel. I wish I could finish with a positive about this hotel but I really cannot - it needs a complete renovation in the bedrooms\bathrooms - stop the cost cutting, new management is an absolute must..This hotel may have 4 stars because it offers the pools, jacuzzi and fitness centre but so many things let it down you come away feeling it should be listed as a 2 star. I could go on but I think I've made my point and we won't ever go near this place again.

If you're after a cheap weekend on the Costa, look no further than the Paraiso. We picked up a great deal with TravelRepublic which included buffet breakfast. The pool area's great, there's also a gym and indoor pool (although that was closed when we visited). Would have no hesitation going back!

This hotel has many good things going for it. We had a spacious room with a balcony which overlooked the pool and had views of the sea and mountains. However, we were further from the coast than we expected as the hotel is situated in a residential area at the top of a hill about 8 miles outside Estepona. Walks down and back to the beach or to catch a bus were quite taxing. Its position is ok if you have a car of course, which we did not.
It would be great if there was a courtesy bus down to the main road and back a few times during the day.
The pool area was lovely and the pool the best I have been in in quite a while. It was a great spot to lie in the sun and relax.
The hotel staff were friendly and cheerful and there was a good choice at breakfast. What really lets this hotel down is the food at dinner. The choice was limited and unimaginative. My husband says the meat dishes were tasteless. There was always fresh salad and the fish choice each day was not bad but often chips (the only type of potato) were cold and anything coated in batter such as calamari was soggy.
If only something could be done about the food and the programme of refurbishment of the bedrooms continued I feel this hotel would deserve a 4* rating.

On arrival I was asked for payment up front which although a seasoned traveller I found very strange but after suffering 2 nights with no food or aircon I can fully understand why, as obviously I most definitely would not have paid (the admitedly cheap) bill.