Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Marbella Resort

Our room was in the main building, which has a classic palace-style interior. I heard the annex building offers larger, more modern rooms, so it really depends on personal preference – I thought the main building was great! The outdoors features a golf course. Unfortunately, I know nothing about golf, so I could only watch various 'old money' types playing. The hotel has a very intriguing spa that’s free for guests to use. It's quite dimly lit, with a style that feels like a blend of ancient Roman and Arabian influences. They have various scented steam rooms (salt, lemon, lavender, strawberry, etc.) and saunas at different temperatures. Tucked away at the very back is a super comfortable and relaxing lounge area. Spaniards are so punctual when it comes to knocking off! The spa closed at 8 PM, and they turned off all the lights while we were still showering. We had to change using our phone flashlights. A heads-up would have been nice! We drove here, and hotel parking costs about 20 euros a day, but there's free outdoor parking just 300 meters away, which everyone uses. Breakfast was entirely a 'white people' meal, with an à la carte menu mainly featuring various egg dishes.

Our stay at Anantara Villa Padierna left us with the warmest and most memorable impressions. Initially, we were extremely disappointed with the reception team, who failed to take into account any of the requests I had made in advance when I visited the hotel a week earlier to organise my husband’s birthday celebration and our family holiday. However, we were exceptionally fortunate to be welcomed by Narges from the Guest Relations team. In a remarkably short time, she addressed and resolved all of the shortcomings in the arrangements made by the Front Office team, allowing us to enjoy a truly wonderful family stay. The excellent cuisine, beautifully designed and highly comfortable facilities, outstanding service, and complete privacy all contributed to a genuinely restful and memorable experience. We will be delighted to recommend this hotel to our friends and acquaintances. Yours sincerely, Elena

A very cozy hotel in a castle that was built only 25 years ago.

As a chain five-star hotel, Anantara consistently maintains high standards, offering welcome drinks and complimentary chocolates a few times. The hotel is surrounded by a large golf course, making it a popular spot for locals to play golf. Being adjacent to a golf club, its main clientele consists of golfing families, which might not be ideal for non-golfers, as the experience would be significantly less enjoyable. The villa area offers the best views. The breakfast buffet is average; guests need to actively order food and drinks à la carte, which can be challenging due to communication skills. Overall, the hotel seems primarily suited for golfers.

The hotel is located on a hill near Marbella, which is a little inconvenient if you don't drive. I checked in during the New Year period. The suite I booked was reserved for a far-away annex building. The room was very beautiful!!! But it was a bit far from all the facilities, and the front desk also reserved a room in the main building, which was much smaller. The breakfast was OK, the swimming pool in the hotel was beautiful, and it was surrounded by a golf course. It's just that the service awareness of the service staff was a little bit poor.

Perfect, will come again next year!