I am planning a family trip to Marbella next summer and am looking for hotel advice. We are considering the Marbella Club, although the prices are terribly high (could we go six days without eating?). I have also heard a recommendation for the Gran Hotel Guadalpin, which is a new hotel that sounds very modern and spacious, although not much of a "resort". It appears to be located near Marbella's Old Town area.
Does anybody know these hotels and/or their relative locations? I do not know Marbella at all, although I am from Ft. Lauderdale, so I certainly know a tacky beach hotel when I see one...

Thank you.

Hi Jeffm3,
We stayed at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin last year and were very pleased. It had just opened so it had some kinks to work out but overall was a beautiful hotel and the staff were very accomodating. We have two children, ages 7 and 10 and we had a 2 bedroom suite. Each bedroom had its owns bath. There was a living area in the middle with a dining table, sofa, entertainment system and a small, well-equipped galley style kitchen. The veranda was huge; with it's own jacuzzi, a large dining table and chairs, a sofa, coffee table and two chairs and 4 deck chairs and still room to dance!!! We lit candles many evenings,drank sangria or wine and enjoyed the jacuzzi after the kids went to bed. The suite was very beautfully decorated and extremely comfortable. We ate breakfast and often, lunch on the veranda (there is a grocery store about a block away). The beach is two blocks away and old town is about a 15-20 min walk or a cheap 5 min taxi ride. The pool was very nice, with a swim-up bar and they brought scewers of fruit and ice cold towels for your forehead around regularly - a very nice touch!!! The kiddie pool had not yet opened and they were building a tapas bar. We had dinner one night by the pool, which was a lovely atmosphere as they had tiki torches and entertainment. As to Marbella, we were somewhat disappointed as the entire area has been overrun by the Brits. Next time I go to Spain, I would prefer to go somewhere more "Spanish", but if you are set on Marbella, I highly recommend Gran Hotel Guadalpin. We also rented a car from the hotel to take a day trip to Ronda, which was an easy and beautiful trip from Marbella. The car was very nice and it was waiting for us as requested at 8Am even though the agency does not normally open until 9:30.
Good luck and enjoy

Have you considered Puerto Banus? I had a friend who went last year and got a great deal on renting an apartment right on the beach (in a hotel/apartment complex). I believe it's only about 15 minutes from the center of Marbella and is more upscale.

We stayed at the Marbella Club last September and loved it. The service was exceptional. They had a beautiful pool area with a fabulous lunch buffet each day. Great food! Really bad for those wearing a bikini! It is situated on a gorgeous beach with a walking path that runs along it. The rooms were nice. Ours was basic, but next time I'd go for one of the little bungalows which looked really nice.

We were in Marbella a few years ago and hated everything about it. Crowded, tacky, lousy beaches (we are from Australia so we know a beach when we see one), ugly buildings and full, full, full of English folk. Nothing against them in England, but we thought we were going to Spain.... silly us! Good luck.