Refined Modern Luxury at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin in Marbella

We recently stayed at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin in Marbella and had a fabulous time. We had visited this hotel in the past and were impressed by the facilities, so we had an interest in staying in the hotel sometime and wanted to experience everything in the hotel. I love architecture and was impressed by the architecture of the building.

The hotel has an underground car parking lot, so it was easy to leave our car there in a secure installation. I never like to leave my car on the street because of security. We went up to the reception and were attended by Javier Ingeño. This man was very friendly and answered all our questions completely and very professionally. This was a good beginning and we always enjoy being greeted in a friendly manner. We judge the quality of a hotel by the friendliness of the staff, and the facilities are secondary. How can you enjoy a hotel when you know that the staff do not appreciate you as a customer? At a five star hotel, you expect a nice reception, and we received a very good reception. Later Javier accompanied us to our room and explained all the controls.

We stayed in the two bedroom, two bath suite, suitable for 4 persons. One bedroom had a double bed, while the other had two single beds joined together. There was a living room and kitchen between the two bedrooms. The living room was large and decorated in a very sophisticated manner. It was modern, with beautiful fabrics on the comfortable chairs. The prints on the walls were classical, set in very good frames. There was a wide dining table beside the window. Beside one wall was a cabinet with a built in TV set. On the cabinet was a CD player. The kitchen was compact, but had a big refrigerator, a dishwasher, a clothes washer, a microwave, a cooking range and a coffeemaker. In addition it had cooking pans, plates and cups, and cutlery, in case you wanted to cook or prepare food. When we entered our room we had a gift of a big bottle of water, which was a nice touch. There was excellent lighting in the living room and the kitchen, with excellent controls.

Going to the bedrooms, one bedroom had a big TV set on the wall. The beds had very high quality bed sheets with a high fiber count, and were as smooth as silk on the skin. The curtains were very sophisticated, with an outer layer of cloth, followed by a layer of a sheer translucent cloth, and behind were blackout curtains, to help people sleep in complete darkness. On the beds were green terry cloth robes for every person, and cloth slippers too. The bathroom had two basins inset in a wood furniture that had a lot of storage space. On the wall was a magnifying mirror. There was a shower in a bathtub and the toilet area was separated from the rest of the bathroom with a translucent sliding glass door.

The patio really impressed us. It measured about 10 meters long by 5 meters wide. By one wall was a huge Jaccuzzi bathtub, set in a wood container. Beside this was a wooden floor made up of slats. The rest of the patio had a ceramic tile floor. There was a round patio table with four dining chairs. There were also two reclining chairs for taking the sun or relaxing. The view was very good because you could see the sea at a small distance away, while the huge swimming pool was below our room. At night the pool looked magical with its blue light. The wall of the patio had space for plants, and these were watered with plastic tubing, connected to a timer. In the morning you would find that the plants had been watered overnight.

The swimming pool at the back of the hotel was huge. It measures 36 meters long and is heated the whole year. This is good for people who like to have their exercise even during the cooler seasons of the year. The background of the pool were tropical plants, including banana trees. On the side of the pool is a water bar. The young pool attendant gives you the towels, and he is also a lifeguard. I observed him and found that he was very friendly and had a very good attitude toward the children at the pool. He was very efficient and would rearrange the chairs whenever people left. Since swimming is one of our pet likes, we thoroughly enjoyed swimming at this magnificent pool.

The restaurant where we had the breakfast was extremely good. It was a breakfast buffet that we found complete. On one side table were breakfast items for people on diets, and were sugar free. This is quite sophisticated in my experience, because other hotels do not do this. The food items offered were everything one could ask for. Many of the English clients at the hotel during our stay missed the pata negra, which is the most exquisite ham that Spain produces. I think that they were unaware of its presence or do not know what it is. Most other hotels do not offer this because it is very expensive. I especially enjoyed the baked goodies that the restaurant offered, because they were fresh and flavorful. There were all sorts of fruits, already peeled.

One who enjoys good architecture will notice the floors of the hotel. They are made of marble, with a very sophisticated pattern. The lamps in the restaurants and the rest of the hotel are quite original and beautiful. The elevators that take you to the upper floors have glass walls and one can see the big beautiful mountain that overlooks Marbella, so one is entertained in the elevator. The corridors have a lot of light and called our attention because of their beauty. The hotel also has a spa, which we did not have time to enjoy.

There is a minibus that takes you to the other Guadalpin Hotel, the one in Puerto Banus. This is a free service for clients of the hotel. The Guadalpin at Puerto Banus is right on the beach. Our bus driver was Antonio Rada, who was extremely friendly and gave us all the information we wanted. You can enjoy the beach at this hotel or enjoy its many restaurants. The bus brings you back to the Guadalpin Hotel in Marbella.

The beach at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin in Marbella is about a 10 minute walk away. You can also walk to the downtown Patio de los Naranjos in 20 minutes. You can also enjoy the paved portion of the paseo maritime near downtown. There are 4 supermarkets nearby. So for location, this hotel is the best.

I will rate the Gran Hotel Guadalpin with 5 stars, the maximum. The facilities are impressive, but the people we came in contact with were very friendly and professional. The maid service was very efficient also. After getting used to the luxury in this hotel, it will be difficult to enjoy other hotels in Spain, because few will meet our new expectations of luxury. We also enjoyed the quietness of this hotel. We could not hear any of the other occupants while we were in our room, so the hotel is quite soundproof, and one can get a good rest here. At night we especially enjoyed sitting on the terrace and watching all the lights while we had a glass of wine. This was truly a relaxing and very enjoyable experience for us, staying at this hotel.