A lovely hotel where we spent a 11-night holiday every year in january and march to break the cold winterperiod in our own country. Last january however was the first time (out of 18 visits) that we did not enjoy our stay there as much as all the times before. When we arrived the room for people with a handicap was under construction and we were given the smallest room with side seaview (that is the tarif we payed for because booking for frontal seaview is not possible with dutch travelagencies) in which I could not drive my wheelchair. We asked for a bigger room and offered to pay an extra amount but this was not possible. On hour later it became clear why......all the bigger rooms with seaview were given to a big group of young footballplayers (age about 16/17) who, as it seems, had never visited any hotel before! They all got a free upgrade and made a lot of noise screaming from one balcony to another. After we complainted we got a great room the next day but the atmosphere in the hotel was totally different because of all the footbalteams. Due to the Spanish law the public spaces like restaurant and bar are smokingfree zones and the hotel used to have heatinglamps outside on the terrace which always functioned as a nice meetingpoint for those who wanted to smoke and have a drink outside. This year all the lamps had disappeared so many people went out to the boulevard where you can find many places where you can sit near the fire but this decreases the nice, cosy feeling you had in the bar of the hotel.
El Fuerte remains a very nice hotel with an excellent service and proud to their concern on the environment but we hope they will realise that many guests would love to have the outside heating back. We will go back in march for a short stay but january next year we certainly will not go back during the winterstopperiod of football.

Very welcoming hotel on the beach in Marbella, but also close to the town. Staff there were very helpful, most spoke excellent English, and if they didn't they would always find someone who could. The hotel Director was often seen about and always spoke to you. Very comfortable sea facing room, lots of space and, rarely, tea/coffee making facilities provided. Breakfasts were anything you could imagine, lots of different fruits, meats, cheeses, hot food, the chef would even make pancakes for you. Evening meals were buffet style, again with lots of choices, and this time the chef would cook freshly a wide choice of meat and fish. Easy access to local buses and a short walk to the fascinating old town with its narrow streets, boutique style shops and lots of restaurants. Only drawback going in January/February - lots of the restaurants were closed. Hotel right on the promenade for long walks along the sea. Easy to get to other places nearby: Gibraltar, Ronda, Cordoba, Malaga and all in between from the bus station.

We stayed for 4 nights in January for a winter break (20c in Marbella vs 10c in the UK!). The Fuerta is really well located - literally 2 mins from hotel room to the promenade and beach, right next to a number of restaurants and a short distance from the central park and old town. We paid c£100 per night, which included breakfast (which was available until 11am and on a self serve basis - good range and we found we didn't really need lunch as a result) and wi-fi. Staff were very friendly and helpful, room was clean and comfortable with satellite TV (several channels in English inc BBC1, 2 and 3), and a great shower. Hotel has a well equipped free gym, a large bar, swimming pool and terrace overlooking the sea. My only quibble was that the range of food in the evening was a bit limited and quite expensive. I daresay that the hotel is more expensive and hectic in summer but during winter this was perfect.

I stayed with family of 5 including 2 grandchildren. We had 2 junior suites on the first floor. Wonderful sea views! Hotel exceeded our expectations. Having stayed in a well known 5 star hotel in Marbella, we found the location of the El Fuerte second to none. Access to the lovely promenade and stones throw from the beautiful old town. Facilities especially the indoor heated pool were all very good indeed. Children also enjoyed the paddle tennis. We would highly recommend without hesitation and look forward to return soon.