La Villa Marbella

Reviewed by Michael Soffe


MARCOS, MARCOS, AND YET MORE MARCOS..............

This Hotel has to be one of the most unique experiences on the Costa del Sol. Firstly, its location is superb, right in the heart of old town Marbella, just a couple of minutes walk to the famous Orange Square and its restaurants, a ten minute walk to the beach and a ten minute taxi or car ride to the playground and nightclubs of the rich and famous: the marina at Puerto Banus. Secondly, you have Marcos as your host, a truly caring owner and manager who will go out of his way to ensure that you make the most of your holiday and the area. There is nothing that he will not try and do for you – customer service is extraordinary! He invites you to a welcome drink on the roof terrace and gives you an “orientation” of Marbella and the surroundings.

With just four rooms in the main town house (a wonderful conversion of a 150 year old property), Marcos has now added three more buildings: The Cottage, The Lodge and in 2008, The Courtyard. In my view, people always feel short changed if they hear “annexe” or “just down the road from the main building”. This is definitely not the case here. The Cottage and the Lodge are a 50 metre walk away, the Courtyard is at 100m and all are stunning conversions. In fact the bedrooms in these three buildings are larger than the ones in the original townhouse!

Reception is manned from th 7:30 until 11:00am each day, but there is always someone around to help outside of these times. After 11pm simply dialing "9" from your room telephone puts you automatically through to Marcos' mobile should you need assistance. Personal service with a smile. You are given your own electronic key card and you just come and go as you please.

On the roof terrace with its views of the old town and the hills of the Sierra Blanca there is an “honesty bar” and tea and coffee making facilities. Breakfast is taken here if you wish. As there are no catering facilities on the premises or enough space for a buffet Marcos has everything delivered and he does ask you to fill in a form the day before with what you would like for breakfast. Do not be put off by this, croissants and fresh bread come from a well known French patisserie in Marbella and the fully cooked high cholesterol option that we all secretly adore is delivered (at a small extra cost) from the local bistro. There is no time limit as to when breakfast is served. No other meals are available but you are in the heart of the restaurant area and Marcos will make reservations for the best restaurants if you so desire.

The 14 rooms have an Asian feel with clean lines and lovely muted colours. Marcos has been based in Singapore for many years and the wonderful beds and furniture have all been imported. The rooms are beautiful and have been decorated with great attention to detail. They have all the trimmings of a four star Hotel – satellite TV, CD player, internet connection via cable (supplied in the main house and Wi-Fi in The Lodge, The Cottage and The Courtyard), heating and aircon, safe, mini-bar and bathrobes. Unusually for Spain the rooms are all soundproofed. Evocative Oriental names, Lambok, Boracay, Jaipur and Yangon are in the main house; The Lodge has Banyan and Mandalay, The Cottage has Datai, Langkawi and Angkor, and The Courtyard has Hanoi, Halong, Saigon, Goa and Shanghai. The Cottage features a communal salon and terrace, and The Courtyard has a small swimming pool (please note the swimming pool is for exclusive use of those guests staying in The Courtyard). The Lodge contains a massage room and treatments are available by appointment. All bedrooms have marble Greek-style walk in showers.

An ideal Hotel for those who want to be in the heart of the Marbella action, whilst staying at an intimate hotel with highly personalized service. Excellent value for money.