Elba Estepona Gran Hotel & Thalasso Spa

Todo estupendo y muy agradable

Really wanted to like this hotel as some bits were very good but too many niggles to give it any more than 3 stars. Location - transfer from Malaga airport took around 1hr40mins as hotel sits on the edge of Estepona. There’s a small Aldi just across the road and a BurgerKing but not much else. Coastal path is literally outside with a small beach. Nice walk to the harbour that takes around 40 minutes, or get a taxi for €8. If you want somewhere quiet then this is the place for you. Also we were all inclusive so didn’t need bars/restaurants close by. Estepona town is a little further €10-12 in a taxi. Old town is fabulous and great to walk around. Full of character, colour and interest. Check In - all very efficient and a cold glass of cava was more than welcome after an early morning flight and the girl on reception took her time to give details about the hotel. Room - Very spacious and classical in design. Bed comfortable and large. Bathroom also large with a very nice shower. Plenty of room for clothes. Fridge, safe were ok. Small balcony with table/chairs and a great view down the coast to Gibraltar. The air conditioning was not good and virtually ineffective. The ceiling fan also had problems making a loud knocking noise. Reported to reception and told maintenance man had visited and fixed but no change. Took two further phone calls and visits before it improved. Power sockets weren’t great either. Only one out of three worked. Again took three visits from maintenance and we still couldn’t use the one by the bedside. WiFi very inconsistent and gave up with it in the end. Cleanliness - generally good but some areas could do with some maintenance. Tables/chairs needed repainting and some of the sunbeds needed replacing. Food - buffet style … breakfast with good choice of fruits, cereals, breads, pastries etc. Lunch and dinner buffet quite similar in style with a good choice and included live cooking with 3 meats, 3 fish. Tasty fresh salads were delicious and always different mixes/combinations. Fresh prawns, mussels, crab gave a real sparkling of seafood. Restaurant - had the opportunity to go a la carte and chose the Paris/Roma restaurant. Food was delicious and very nice setting overlooking the sea. Pools - nice pool area with main pool ideal for swimming. Also a smaller indoor pool. Numerous sunbeds so absolutely no need to reserve and 99% of guests stuck to this. No poolside service so yep I had to walk to the bar. Life can be tough ha ha. The one negative … on our last 3 days the hotel started maintenance on the outside rendering near the pool so a constant banging and drilling. Not good when you are trying to relax. Entertainment - quite varied but obviously down to personal taste. Some entertainers were ok but lacked a little energy and sparkle. Would have liked something a little more lively. One exception was Remi Lefox singer/guitarist who played rock/soul. Really enjoyed his music and talent. Drinks - we

I can only say that this hotel just kept giving from arrival at reception with a very nice Cava to wonderful staff , the most beautiful views , our room (s should I say omg stunning) the food and service second to none it was our 25th anniversary and the reception treated us like royalty with a little spa surprise that we had not expected the restaurants were fab as were the lovely staff the warren of hallways to our room was a trek but each corner has something to look at not to mention the beautiful architectural ceilings