We are very experienced travellers and unfortunately, our overall experience with this hotel was very disappointing and did not meet the 4 star criteria. Our disappointment started with the hotel not able to find our reservation and being given a shoe box room which after complaining was corrected on the second day of our holiday. The restaurant is underground so therefore no views and the choice at breakfast and evening meals did not reflect 4 stars! Thank goodness we only booked 3 evening meals at the hotel! Unfortunately, the Beach Bar which offers a very nice location for meals was only open at lunch times. The hotel location is in the middle of 'no mans land' between Marbella and Puerto Banus. The walk from the hotel to Puerto Banus takes a good 30mins as the majority is on the beach and heavy going on soft sand. The only sensible way to get to Marbella is by taxi which takes approx 20 mins. At night the hotel became a ghost hotel because most of the residents ate and socialised somewhere else either in Marbella or in Puerto Banus, which left a feeling of isolation and no atmosphere. Overall this particular hotel only provides what we believe is a 3 star experience and this was also shared by other holiday makers that we spoke to.

I really enjoyed my stay here although I would not classify it as a 4-star hotel. Somewhere between 3 and 4-Star (plastic chairs in terrace restaurant and plastic sunloungers!). The rooms were really nice, the bathrooms a little of a letdown - over-the-bath shower and a wall mounted hairdryer which didn't really do the trick! Adequate complilmentary toiletries, nothing to rave about. Slow service in bar/restaurant area, but everybody very smiley and helpful. Right on the beach with it's own little bar which is great. Would definitely stay there again.

Stayed for a week at the end of Sept 2007. This is a good quality hotel with very pleasant staff. Ask for a room overlooking the pool. Good facilities and next to the beech. The restaurant, despite being below ground floor offered good quality food although a little pricy. Room servicing is first rate. Use a towel once and someone comes along and changes it. Disapointing aspects : being charged €8 per day for the use of sun beds at the beech club pool and beech. (Free at the pool). The price of water from the mini bar and the use of the safe in the room, though provide, is not included. Available TV programmes is limited. (If TV is important on holiday). Its a trek into Porto Benus but worth the walk and very good for "People watching". Take a walk down to the beech, turn left to the first restaurant. Good English breakfast and lunch overlooking the sea. Try the restraurant "The Grill" across the road (use the traffic lights). Very popular with the Spanish and is top rate. Overall, a good hotel which we would recommend.

Having read some of the reviews before our visit I was rather apprehensive as to what we would find. I would recommend anyone to suspend judgment for 24 hours as this is a hotel that really tries to make you feel at home and the relaxed atmosphere takes a little getting used to. Firstly, the staff are absolutely excellent. The front desk is always well-manned and they will really look after you. The restaurant and bar staff are friendly and efficient, and the chambermaids are really conscientious and thoughtful. The porter will whistle up a taxi on demand. The hotel dates from 1990, and is arranged in a 4-storey "U" shape around the pool area. The design is quite interesting, the bedrooms in each wing being set around a central full height atrium that is open at the ends, allowing a pleasant natural airflow. Ponds and waterfalls with lots of greenery give the impression of a tropical garden inside each block, particularly as the ponds contain brightly-coloured fish and small turtles ( the East block has the most attractive selection). At ground level, you can just stroll out into the pool area where there are more ponds containing Koi carp and larger turtles to divide up the sunbathing areas and the sound of fountains and running water is very soothing. All bedrooms have good-sized patios but the ground floor ones facing the pool area are either not very private or somewhat swamped by bushes, Our room was on the opposite side of the West block and we got the afternoon sun very nicely - although next to a side street it was remarkably quiet and secluded owing to a good-sized wall and hedge. The rooms are a very good size and in excellent condition with air conditioning, TV and minibar. The beds are metal frames and seemed hard at first, but we got used to them. The bathroom towels were not the fluffiest, but they did get changed twice a day. Buffet breakfasts were so-so quality but there is a wide choice of hot or cold items- the rather sludgy coffee is a pity. The restaurant room is in the basement and seems a little dank and airless - you don't spend any more time than you have to there. The Beach Club restaurant we found to be absurdly expensive, quite formal but with mediocre food and service. The main hotel bar does quite good snacks but rather than have an evening meal in the hotel there is an excellent Spanish restaurant called "El Carcinera 2" across the main road and about 200 yards towards Marbella where they do a very good fixed-price 3-course menu for Euro18.50 per head. Don't even consider the Tony Roma's next door - you will not like it! The hotel beach is about a minute's walk across the back road and is very pleasant - sunbeds here or around the Beach Club pool cost 8 euros a day, whereas they are free and plentiful by the hotel pool. The earlier visitor's comment that the towels don't get washed I found unbelievable - we saw stacks of fresh towels being carried up from the laundry every day. The hotel lies about a 10 minute walk from Puerto Banus but you have to cross a 50 metre stretch of quite deep sand to get around the river near the town - a taxi to Puerto Banus costs about 7.50 - 10 Euro to Marbella. A bus to Marbella, Estepona or anywhere in between seems to be a standard Euro1.15 each. It's a fair walk to Marbella but the promenade is a good sand surface and lit for most of the way at night. There is not much entertainment particularly for kids in the hotel - the games room is poor with a shabby pool table and two video games, one of which was out of order for the fortnight we were there. However the ping pong table in one open end of the West wing is surprisingly good. The bar is very quiet most evenings but it is quite pleasant sitting in the open terrace area. Drinks and eating out anywhere in this area is quite expensive compared to the rest of Spain. The hotel bar is 3 euros for a beer or a coke and 8 euros for a gin & tonic, but in Puerto Banus you can pay twice this price. The minibar in the room is around the same price as the bar but a bucket of ice does cost 2.50 euros. We would certainly return to this hotel if we are in the area again.

The only nice thing about this s hotel was the pool, everything else was a major disappointment. And please be warned you will be charged for everything I mean everything , even a cup of ice 8$$$ When we booked, we were told we will have a welcome drinks, which of course never arrived and ladies bring your own hairdryers, the ones in the room are so archaic you can hear them but you can not feel them. Honestly you are so much better staying at a small pension in the old town, charming with helpful staff. And if you are looking for a pool go to one of the beach clubs, you will enjoy it a lot more. My personal favorite is Ocean beach Club. STAY AWAY FROM CORAL BEACH HOTEL Urszula Boston, MA