Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol

Thanks for very good stay. Very nice, new and modern hotel facilities  Good and helpful stuff Shuttle to golf course

General services were as expected of a Fairmont 5-star hotel, unfortunately housekeeping staff properly were not quite up to standard, one of the two sinks in the bathroom did not function properly as a result water was not draining through, the toilet paper holder was broken and the toilet paper was on the floor.

A beautiful hotel in a lovely setting overlooking the Mediterranean. However, the property is set somewhat 'out on a limb' meaning that the nearest life (probably Puerto Sotogrande) is a 15-20 minute car or taxi ride away. Our room was superb, everything one needed for a comfortable stay, including unlimited complimentary bottled water - a real benefit. Our only adverse comment about the room is that we found the duvet too thick and heavy for the climate. However, this is very much a personal view. A lighter weight duvet would have been preferred (by us). The hotel was running a "4 nights for the price of 3" promotion which resulted in a competitive overall rate for us as our stay was for 11 nights (ie 2 free nights). Everywhere was spotless, including around the pool area. As for the general ambience, we personally would have preferred less or even no background music around the pool - the music together with lots of screaming children sometimes made sitting by the pool a bit less calm and relaxing than it could otherwise have been. Talking about children, we (and a number of other guests we spoke to) felt strongly that at least one of the pools (probably the infinity pool) should be an "adults only" pool. It was often very difficult to find an area within the pools which was not being "bombarded" by children shouting and jumping in to the pool around you. An "adults only" pool area would be a big benefit (to guests without children !). The hotel does have its own very pleasant private beach with bar and restaurant and although one can walk down to the beach, the hotel provides a buggy service to take you and bring you back to the hotel. We ate in two of the three hotel restaurants and found the food to be acceptable (most of the time). However, on a scale of 0-10, we would give the food an 8, with some of the portion sizes being rather on the 'meagre' side considering the prices being charged. The main outstanding feature of the hotel was the staff. Every member of staff we saw or came into contact with were outstanding. They were always smiling, helpful, extremely courteous and came across as genuinely wanting to do everything they could to provide a top level of service and hospitality. The bottom line is that we very much enjoyed our stay at The Fairmont La Hacienda and have re-booked for another 12 nights in September.

easy to get to from either Gibraltar airport (you can walk across the border to Spain), or from Malaga (from where there is a cheap local bus if you want the scenic route!). Gibraltar is closer to the hotel. The hotel has lovely, welcoming staff who will show you where everything is and cater to anything you need. The food is excellent, and plentiful, and the rooms have a small balcony where you can spend time in private, Otherwise there is an extensive swimming pool and pool restaurant. You can walk down to the beach, or jump on a hotel buggy - it is a fairly steep walk on well maintained paths. The beach itself is lovely, and you can walk up to an old lighthouse or down the beach towards Gibraltar (which is about a 3 hour walk along the beach). There is a small cafe/bar on the beach about half an hours walk from the hotel.