Elba Estepona Gran Hotel & Thalasso Spa

“Good hotel in a quiet location”

Stayed for a week May half term. Suite room was huge, with separate bedroom, living area, huge bathroom and a fantastic sea view. Hotel itself is generally very good. Staff are friendly, it’s clean, its location is nice and quiet, albeit with not much to do nearby. Only slight negatives for us we… more

Stayed for a week May half term. Suite room was huge, with separate bedroom, living area, huge bathroom and a fantastic sea view. Hotel itself is generally very good. Staff are friendly, it’s clean, its location is nice and quiet, albeit with not much to do nearby. Only slight negatives for us were the dining area is a bit drab and soulless. The food was ok but perhaps wasn’t of the standard it should be in terms of choice and variety. The kids club only opened on 2 days of the week for a short period. All in all though we really enjoyed our time here. Our kids particularly enjoyed the indoor pool.

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“Had a wonderful stay with family here”

Just back from a 10 night stay here with family. Had a lovely time. We could see the sea and hear the waves crashing from our bedroom which was so relaxing. The rooms were great, spacious and clean with lovely ocean and pool views. The staff was friendly and for the most part very helpful. Special … more

Just back from a 10 night stay here with family. Had a lovely time. We could see the sea and hear the waves crashing from our bedroom which was so relaxing. The rooms were great, spacious and clean with lovely ocean and pool views. The staff was friendly and for the most part very helpful. Special thanks for Julia at reception for sorting out transfers for us to a family wedding, as well as the Spanish staff member who lived in Connemara (sorry I can't remember his name!) who upgraded the honeymooners to a lovely, quiet room. Thanks to Pedro for taking such good care of us in the restaurant and Antonio and Alicia for wonderful massage experiences for myself and my four year old daughter! The food options were very good - we booked half board. More vegetarian protein options would have been good but all round we were very happy with the food on offer. The kids club was fantastic and our daughter used this most days so a big thanks to Paloma and Lucia for taking good care of her. All in in, we would recommend this hotel. Only things I would like to add - unfortunately sometimes the music was a little too loud in the lobby, although the entertainment was great. Taxis were expensive getting to and from Estepona and shot up in price according to demand which was unfortunate as sometimes the prices could jump to five times the regular cost. I'm sure a shuttle bus would be well used if the hotel was ever to consider this as an option.

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“Pros and Cons. but not a 5 star.”

Pros -Lovely views and right on the beach -Great breakfast buffet -Rooms and public spaces were clean -Spa was very very nice, would recommend. -No problem with pool beds, always got beds each morning. No rushing or reserving needed. -Hotel was nicely buzzing but relaxed. Mix of families and coup… more

Pros -Lovely views and right on the beach -Great breakfast buffet -Rooms and public spaces were clean -Spa was very very nice, would recommend. -No problem with pool beds, always got beds each morning. No rushing or reserving needed. -Hotel was nicely buzzing but relaxed. Mix of families and couples etc. There wasn’t any loud crowds. Cons -Hotel restaurant food was VERY expensive and NOT nice. We ate the first day, was shocked by the price and quality and didn’t eat there again. Drinks and pool drinks are VERY expensive. -10min taxi to Estepona centre, and taxis can be hard to get. So that could be €10-16 euro each way, each night! Just an FYI. -Staff could’ve been nicer, every morning at breakfast they didn’t even acknowledge us. -We would have liked music by the pool each day but there was any! Overall, nothing REALLY bad to review other than it’s not a 5 star. Would recommend if you don’t mind being outside of the town centre.

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“Beautiful hotel, but not truly dog-friendly”

We stayed at Elba Estepona Gran Hotel & Thalasso Spa and overall had a mixed experience. The room itself was absolutely beautiful – spacious, comfortable and very nicely decorated. We were really impressed with the accommodation and it definitely felt like a high-quality hotel. However, we were v… more

We stayed at Elba Estepona Gran Hotel & Thalasso Spa and overall had a mixed experience. The room itself was absolutely beautiful – spacious, comfortable and very nicely decorated. We were really impressed with the accommodation and it definitely felt like a high-quality hotel. However, we were very disappointed with the hotel’s pet policy. Although the hotel is advertised as pet-friendly, our dog was only allowed inside our hotel room and not in any of the common areas, restaurants, bars or terraces. As we did not want to leave our dog alone in the room, this meant that we actually had to take turns having breakfast while the other person stayed with the dog. This is not something I would expect from a hotel that describes itself as pet-friendly. I completely understand that dogs cannot be allowed everywhere, but surely there could be at least one designated outdoor area or terrace where guests travelling with dogs can have breakfast, a meal or simply a drink together. The breakfast itself was also disappointing. There was a good selection, but unfortunately we found the food surprisingly bland and lacking in flavour. For a hotel of this standard, we expected a much better breakfast experience. With a genuinely dog-friendly area and an improvement in the quality and flavour of the breakfast, this could be a fantastic hotel. On a very positive note, the room was excellent and definitely one of the highlights of our stay.

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