Hacienda del Mar - The Melia Collection

"My partner and I stayed in this hotel for 8 days. Well-located hotel, the room was immediately ready upon arrival. Room neat, spacious and clean. Hotel located in a quiet area, so a rental car is advisable. We booked a superior room. We booked a stay on a half board basis. Breakfast in the morning is very good, partly buffet and some dishes to order from a menu. You can order an omelet or a pancake from the menu. In the evening we could have dinner in the hotel's restaurant (bar). Beautiful modern bar with a wonderful view of the sea. Every evening a warm welcome from José was an addition to our dining experience. You can choose from three-course half board every day. There is a daily special with fresh fish every day. After 7 evenings it does get a bit monotonous. The portions are sometimes too big too. Dishes are very tasty and of high quality. Friendly service and pleasant ambiance. You can lie by the pool daily with lovely sunbeds and good towel service. You can also order drinks at the pool. We found the prices of drinks in the hotel abnormally high and disproportionate. We haven't encountered this before while staying in luxury hotels more often. For a glass of sangria at the pool, we pay for example 18 euros. Overall a great hotel characterized mainly by very friendly and enthusiastic staff. Everyone is friendly and nothing too much. However, the prices are also a point of concern, as the hotel was recently taken over by the Meliá group, the hotel therefore still seems to be searching for the right identity."

"We have been coming to this hotel for many years and before it was run by Meliá as a Kempinski Hotel. We were not going to come back but due to the advertised refurbishment we came back. Firstly they seem to have changed room category so what was a large Junior Suite is now a relatively small room. The refurbishment seems to be new furniture and not a lot else. Our room was old apart from new taps, but black old sealant, chipped old bath, shower going hot to cold. Only one restaurant open, average breakfast and so slow to get coffee. Staff amazing but what a shame, a four star experience for a lot of money. And please stop the troupe of time share sales guys trying to sell upfront loyalty packages. We won’t return to a favoured old resort !"

"Disappointing stay – check which facilities are open before booking! We’ve just spent a week at Hacienda del Mar in Estepona, and unfortunately, it fell well below our expectations for a 5-star hotel. We weren’t informed before arrival that several facilities, including the pool bar and restaurant, would be closed. Had we known, we would have booked elsewhere. Service was consistently poor, with around 40-minute waits just to order a coffee at breakfast and one meal at the beach restaurant taking over three hours. The staff we encountered were lovely and polite, but clearly overwhelmed and unable to provide an acceptable level of service. Despite advertised sunbed service, nobody came to take drinks orders. When we asked, we were told pool service wasn’t operating and we would have to walk to the beach bar. On another occasion, we were told a member of staff was too busy to bring us water. There were also very few parasols around the pool, which was particularly disappointing when staying with a baby. Having stayed at other 5-star Meliá hotels, this experience was a real let-down. The issue wasn’t the friendliness of the staff, but the lack of facilities, poor communication and apparent understaffing. If you’re considering booking, contact the hotel first to confirm which facilities are actually open. We certainly wouldn’t have chosen this hotel had we known what to expect"