Occidental Puerto Banus

Really disappointed after spending so much to stay here. We are over halfway through our trip. Two days running the room has not been service. There is mould in the bathroom, it is very noisey from the surrounding roads The flooring next to the bed is bowed where there has been a leak previously. Some staff are lovely and some are just miserable

Unfortunately, my overall experience at Occidental Puerto Banús was disappointing, despite the hotel having a wonderful location. It is right in front of Puerto Banús, the stalls are just outside, and El Corte Inglés is literally around the corner. Location-wise, it was extremely convenient and definitely one of the strongest points of the hotel.

In terms of value for money, I found it to be on the higher side, and I feel you are mainly paying for the location. Considering the overall experience and level of service we received, I personally don’t feel the price was justified.

The reception staff were very mixed. Some were okay, while others came across moody and barely even gave a full smile. I simply didn’t like their energy or the overall vibe. When you arrive at a hotel, especially one at this price point, you expect to feel welcomed, and unfortunately I didn’t get that feeling here.

The pool service was another disappointment. The overall attitude and service did not feel welcoming or attentive, which added to the negative experience I was already having with the hotel.

Housekeeping and cleanliness were also disappointing. Amenities were not consistently replenished, there was residue around the shower and sink, and the toilet had an unpleasant smell and was difficult to flush properly. Whenever we needed something, requests were slow, which made the overall experience more frustrating.

Parking at the hotel costs €28 per night, which is already quite expensive, but what made it worse was how incredibly tight the parking spaces were. The space to manoeuvre and park was soooo tight! For the additional price being charged, I expected a much more comfortable parking experience.

Unfortunately, the final disappointment came at checkout. I called reception from the room around 3–5 times requesting assistance with our luggage, but nobody answered the phone. I eventually had to go downstairs myself and could see that reception appeared understaffed, with staff attending to newly arriving guests. This explained why my calls were going unanswered, but it also highlighted another issue — a hotel of this size and price level should have sufficient staff at reception to manage arriving guests while still being able to attend to the needs of guests already staying at the hotel.

There really should be more than one or two staff available at busy periods so that basic requests are not simply left unattended. I explained that I had been calling and only needed someone to arrange for our luggage to be collected, yet there was very little response or urgency.

To be clear, the porter himself was not the issue at all. The issue was the lack of response and coordination in arranging for someone to attend to our luggage, which ultimately resulted in approximately a 25-minute delay. Our driver arrived on time but then had to wait for our luggage to finally be brought down. Having to repeatedly call, eventually go downstairs myself, follow up and chase a basic request before it was attended to was extremely frustrating.

Unfortunately, by the end of the stay, my initial feeling about the energy and atmosphere of the hotel was confirmed by the experiences that followed. There was just an unpleasant and unwelcoming vibe, particularly when it came to the service. The location is fantastic, but location alone cannot make up for poor customer service.

I personally would not plan to stay at this hotel again unless there is a noticeable improvement in staffing and in the way guests are attended to. Management should ensure there are sufficient staff available, particularly at reception during busy check-in and checkout periods, so that both arriving and existing guests receive the level of attention expected.

It is honestly sad because the hotel has such a wonderful location and so much potential, but the service, lack of attentiveness and overall energy really let the experience down.