Alanda Hotel Marbella

This is not a five star hotel, nowhere near. Two positives. The breakfast and the sleep quality, and I will expand on these shortly. Our experience……… It all started before I arrived. I booked the hotel using their website and as we were attending a wedding there was a special discount code to enter. This gave us €500 discount. The website confirmed my booking with price and booking number. I took a screenshot to be on the safe side. I then received an email confirming the booking but the price had gone back to the original higher price! On arrival, I had a tough job convincing them that they should honour the screenshot price, which they eventually did. I had asked for a quiet room when booking and were given a room on the top floor (out of three) overlooking a very busy main road! The room was completely characterless, a rectangular shape, which reminded me of a cabin on a cruise liner. The quality of the fit was very poor, especially the bathroom door which wouldn’t close as the base of the doorpost had swollen, probably damaged from water ingress. We called reception and they would send someone straight away. Three reminder calls and nothing. I am still waiting and this was weeks ago. I insisted they give us another room. They moved us next door. This was OK, but the laminate was coming away off the bathroom wall. The toilet seat wasn’t fixed properly and kept sliding when sat on it. The bed was very comfy and we managed to sleep very well. There was a coffee machine and kettle in the room, together with iron and ironing board. There was a magnifying mirror attached to the main bathroom mirror but this was too low and couldn’t be moved so it proved useless. On our first day the room hadn’t been cleaned by 15.00 so I called reception to be told that we hadn’t mentioned we wanted it cleaning! Another issue. They left coffee pods for the machine and one teabag. I was told to call room service to ask for more. I’m still waiting. The swimming pool, again characterless, and devoid of atmosphere, had this DJ playing very loud, booming music. I had to tell him to turn it down. The pool, annoyingly, didn’t open till 11.00. The gym was tiny and we noticed someone took some of the bar bells to their room. The bar by the pool reached prices I’ve not experienced before. Two slush drinks and two ice lollies = €24! The breakfast was nice and the ability to sit in the garden was lovely. There’s a chef on sight who will make whatever eggs you wish. Good selection of meats, cheeses, breads, drinks etc. The staff were ok, though their English was weak. The hotel is about 200 yards from the beach front and the promenade there was really extremely pleasant. We walked to the Old Town one day and Porto Bonus the next and there’s an efficient cheap bus service (€1.30) that takes you straight back. There must be nicer hotels to stay. This one won’t get our future business.

This hotel is really for Muslim faith, as is located not from from beautiful mosque (turn right out of hotel front-2-300 meters in right). That’s why no alcohol or pork products, no western music. Rooms at front suffer from heavy car/vehicle noise as is 4 lanes of main highway. Best rooms are set back ones overlooking the pool. Hotel was spotless, enjoyed breakfast nice change from traditional western breakfasts. Pool area very quiet, hard to meet other tourists as those there tend to keep to themselves. Staff were ok’ish but reserved.

The Alanda hotel very nearly has it all, except for basic errors. The rooms are excellent, modern and clean. The pool and cafeteria are also excellent. The location of the hotel is perfect. Unfortunately there are several “own goals” and that is such a shame but they could be easily rectified. The general attitude of the staff is poor, sometimes confrontational, especially on the front desk, not everyone, but the majority. The check in process is tedious. The breakfast staff are mostly miserable, a welcoming smile at the start of the day helps and they drag the chairs constantly, the grinding noise is excruciating, train them to lift them. I understand the need for a parking charge, but I would suggest that you increase the room charge and include parking for residents, it causes resentment and delays when exiting. That’s fine for visitors, but not residents. The swimming pool really should be open before 11 am. The issue mostly talked about amongst guests is the ridiculous DJ music around the pool, it is so poor and monotonous, the guy just stands there whilst his friend holds his pipe & he plays such bad sounds. This isn’t the Hard Rock. This causes the pool & cafe to be empty, nobody can stand the music. Most of the hotel guests are in the Forum next door because of the pool DJ ! They should all be in Alanda spending money. If you can’t correct it, then play good recorded music. You can see that the above can all be rectified in one day with the right direction, ask your guests what they would like. This hotel could be the top rated hotel in Marbella with some operational changes. Then everyone would give 5 stars. I will be back, regularly, hopefully to see some positive changes, just train the staff to stop dragging chairs !

This hotel is exceptional. The location and the facilities are amazing. It’s alcohol free but you are allowed to bring your own. The staff are really friendly and helpful. The food is fantastic and the venues within walking distance are also brilliant.

Definitely not a 5 star hotel. The breakfast was cold every single morning. The pool is also not accessible until 11am which is ridiculous, you physically cannot gain access to the pool as they lock the gates. Walls are paper thin so it’s very noisy at night and you can hear constant horns due to it being located right by the main road. Rooms were not cleaned to a decent standard , just re stocked with fresh towels. €5 for a small bottle of water by the pool. The gym is tiny could probably fit 7 people max in there. Very disappointing