We were on our way to Gibraltar and originally planned to stay a bit closer, but as we drove along the strip of hotel after hotel in Estepona (and area), we thought we would just try a random one that looked beautiful to see how much it would run us for a night. I believe we paid in the area of 140-150 Euros, including a beautiful, full breakfast. We got a reasonable price as it was definitely the off-season, but we felt we got our money's worth.

The hotel itself was quite opulent, as are the rooms. Our room did not disappoint, and we had a beautiful balcony overlooking the sea (and Gibraltar). We drove to a nearby town to have wonderful Thai food (at a remarkable price) and returned to have a restful sleep.

A highlight was definitely the breakfast, with fresh squeezed OJ and an omelet station, among many other options.

We would return, but I would be frightened to know what the costs would be in the high season!

I have given two stars to this hotel but I think I am being very generous.

First of all, note this hotel is advertised as 5 stars Grand Luxe. Considering service standards and facilities, this hotel should be given 3+ stars at the most.

On my arrival hotel was under reparation. Service is literally at 3 stars standards or lower: only one person in reception (quite impolite) plus one bellboy (even worst: from 2nd day of my stay the bellboy was in sick-leave). I had been promised a garage but once there they told me the garage was available but access was too narrow for anything bigger than a medium-sized car. Since there was no other parking alternative I left the car to the bellboy to park in the garage but the day after I found the front of my car scratched.

Cleanliness-wise, I regret not to be able to say anything positive neither: on my arrival I found a smelly shock a previous customer had left behind, and overall cleanliness was poor. Besides since the room was generally quite wear-off, overall feeling was unpleasant wrt cleanliness (e.g. bathtub looked dirty since it was scratched in different places which left you doubting whether this was dirt or a defect).

Service at the restaurant was as frustrating as the rest. Ages till get served, quite impolite personnel, not to mention a limited menu.

Rooms are wear-off although quite ample. Unfortunately walls seemed to be very thin since I could hear almost everything from rooms beside mine and had to suffer during all my stay a very noisy family with children hosted nearby.

Bar at the pool is service-wise as the rest of the hotel, and variety and quality wise even worst.

Pool area is very crowded and you better go early in the morning to grab a seat or you'll not find a spot near the pool if you wait until you're done with your breakfast.

Pool is so crowded for two reasons: 1) pool and surrounding area is small, 2) the beach is simply terrible: a 3 mts strip of black powder with stones. Warning: never go into the water without proper shoes or your feet will be damaged.

On the plus side I can just barely mention the spa: quite big and well served. Do not expect though complementary bath clothes (caps, shoes, swimsuits, etc) or price included in your room rate.

In summary, I consider offensive (to say the least) to tag this hotel as 5 stars GL. It is a 3 stars + at the most.

I will never return here again and recommend you to look for alternatives nearby. Mark my words or you'll be dissapointed (specially if you are really looking for a luxury hotel: simply just do not go to this hotel or you'll regret it). The Kempinsky is just a few kms away and should be a much better option.

We experienced this hotel at the weekend and it was great. We had a huge suite with a balcony, sea views and the room was luxurious, admittedly it is off season so it was excellent value, but I expect that with such friendly staff the experience is good all year round. There are some lovely touches here, for instance in the bathroom they pipe in sounds of the sea and the area is really large with separate shower and bath tub, and there were piles of big fluffy towels. The breakfast was all buffet but with food cooked to order in front of your eyes and all of a high quality. The only improvement could be that the pool area was not well lit at night and the water was too cold. The spa is in the basement of the hotel and quite spectacular, but separate to the hotel and you need to book ahead for treatments and ask about special offers. We will use this hotel again.

We stayed in this hotel in october, and we had a great time! The hotel is beautiful, and we had a fantastic view. There are 3 restaurants and several bars. The swimingpool is clean and there is also a swimingpool inside the hotel. We also liked the breakfast: a lot of choice and they even serve cava! The service is amazing. I didn't want to go back home.