I am trying to decide between Fuerte Miramar hotel near the old city right on the beach in Marbella or Guadalpin hotel about 20 minutes from the old city and a short walk to the beach. Anyone has any experience with these hotels? Last time we stayed at Melia Don Pepe but they have jacked up their prices. Guadalpin seems to look nice on their website but I am worried that its location is a bit away from the beach and the old town where all the restaurants are.

Thanks,
Igor.

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Igor,
We stayed at the Fuerte Miramar with bancotel coupons (1) and it was fine, especially the view--we were on the 7th floor facing the Mediteranean and the view was spectacular. If you can get an upper floor with a beach view, it would be very nice. The room itself was just o.k. (but a bargain for the price.)

We haven't stayed in the Fuerte Miramar Hotel ourselves, but we did check it out during the spring of '03' while in the area to check on some other hotels. It's not a bad hotel and the rates seem fairly reasonable. It is on the beach, what beach there is in Marbella, but it does have a nice pool and the staff isn't bad either.

Our preferred hotel in Marbella (off-season) is the Hotel Puente Romano, a nice, comfortable 5-star deluxe hotel and one of the leading hotels of the world. It's well worth the luxury it you're only going to be there for a short visit of two to three days. This year is their 25th anniversary and they are having a few special celebrations during July and August, but it is quite a bit more expensive than the Hotel Fuente Miramar, which is an excellent hotel-spa.

They also have a rental car service in the hotel which you may or may not find convenient if you?re planning on visiting the white villages during your stay.

Is it convenient to stay at Puente Romano if we don't have a car. We are afraid that without a car, we'll be stuck in the resort.

You really don't want a car if you're staying at the resort. Parking is extra and it's almost impossible to find a spot on the street. You can walk around the city. Marbella really isn't that big, but it is part of one big development along the coast. There is always the bus and a taxi service to take you just about anywhere you want to go except up to explore the white villages. I guess you could hire a car and driver, but it would be an expensive outing. A one day rental of a sub-compact car should cost around 50 euros and can be arranged through the hotel.