Hotel Bahía — Hotel in Estepona

I really hope this will help some to get a glimpse of what Kempinski in Spain is. We were traveling – me, my wife, 1,7-year-old kid and babysitter (senior lady). We booked transfer from airport through our travel agent and there was some sort of misunderstanding (as he said) between him and them. Because of that transfer was not available I had to look for a a large taxi bus which fortunately was available through Bolt app. Inconvenience because we had 5-hour flight with the sleepless child. Lets not consider this situation into account because it could be fault of travel agent. when we arrived to the hotel after total 8 hours of travel, we had to fill in all forms by hand standing there with child in hands. Tell me why it is so hard to fill in forms from your side and just give it to me to sign. Or imagine that. You just give me the keys without forms and give them to fill them in the morning. Hotel was paid in advance. No welcome drink was offered. Maybe we looked like we do not need that. Yet somehow forms is exactly what we need to waste our time on. Rooms. Were fine. Somehow regular room and Mediterranean room (that cost more) are right side by side. With regular room having the same (slightly different angle) view. Where is the difference. Quality of the rooms. It was clean and fine. But, only thing that gave away that time already has passed was bathtub. It had like 5 dents in the material probably from showerhead being dropped regularly. I was thinking ok we pay 600-700 eur per night. You could spend 1000 for a new bath but no you have to squeeze out every EUR out of that dead bathtub. Outdoor pools, facilities, lawn etc. Everything was very clean and pleasant. Life guards, fresh towels, pool service everything was great. It was not crowded at all. Big Plus. restaurant/employee issue. We have a small child and we have very simple schedule when to eat and sleep. I go to the restaurant that is working right after when breakfast restaurant is closing and ask them to prepare vegetable soup (that is on their kids menu). I ask it to be delivered at 12.00 to the room as a room service option. They say ok no problem. Its 12.25 I go to the Spiler beach club and ask where is the soup. They say I don’t know because our kitchen will start working only in few minutes. Why then you tell me that soup can be delivered at 12.00. Just tell me you cant. They said no no its fine our Baltazar restaurant kitchen should have prepared it. I go there. They are aware that there is order for soup for room service for a child. But they are telling me that we will deliver it soon. I said I am going to wait it here. The cook (lady) took a bag of ready made soup which she has not even started to prepare and was SO unhappy that someone came and watched how she is late with that soup for 45 minutes. Language. 70% of staff knew English on very deaccent level yet 30 (maybe less) % were only on basic level. It is like you have to simplify every word just for them to understand it. Maybe its just regional thing. I don’t know. Same people are working in all of those restaurants and bars on the facilities and yet somehow all of them make drinks different. You don’t have a dish/ drink ingredient calculation? No recipe? 7 times I ordered ice tea and 7 times it was made differently. last day when I just wanted to have a drink at the bar they could not fine POS terminal for me to pay with the card for 50 minutes when there were 5 people in the restaurant actively looking. Ok if you cant find it… just put in on the house and let me go. Or tell me that it will be charged on my room. Why it is so complicated? I asked reception about the dedicated places around beach club. If those are available for guests of the hotel. He… did.. not… now that. Receptionist does not know if… whatever. I got tired writing this. 24/7 room cleaning. Liked it very much. kids room for games was really nice. warm pool in SPA was good for kids as well. SPA...

All in all, we had a great stay at Kempinski Bahia. We will very likely return and we would like to suggest you a few improvements to make the whole experience of your guests really a 5 star one, which, at the moment, is still lacking in some respects. We would first like to compliment beautiful surroundings of the hotel, especially the gardens and the pool area. Also the location, perfectly situated next to the beach walk to Estepona on one side and Marbella on the other. Additionally, we were impressed by the breakfast offer. The offer was wide, fresh, healthy and diverse. The service and drinks selection and Spiler and Black Rose bar were excellent, we cannot comment dining experiences as we only enjoyed drinks there. The staff of the hotel is friendly and helpful, however, one really needs to be persistent. For example, on day one, we arrived to the hotel and the lady on the reception was very friendly, however, slightly in a hurry. She forgot to mention several things to us, for example, a 100 euro voucher for all additional services, free welcome cocktails etc. In order to use the voucher, we had to remind the staff on the last day of the stay, when paying the bill, otherwise it would have been forgotten. In a 5-star hotel, it should not be up to the guest to take care of such matters. Furthermore, we also had to request the drinks vouchers. After the reminder, they were kindly and promptly delivered, however, again, for a 5 star experience, guests should not be the ones reminding the reception. Therefore, we believe that guests, at this moment, do not get to experience full 5 stars when it comes to the hotel services. The following experience further confirms my point; before our stay, we received an email whether we have any specific wishes. We are passionate hikers so we mentioned we would really appreciate some recommendations regarding the local walks, paths and hikes. Upon the arrival and during our stay, there was no mention of that whatsoever. Again, not a 5-star experience. Furthermore, our suite had a jacuzzi on the terrace. After a few days, the jacuzzi and the terrace became dirty, which is completely reasonable, since there were wind, swallows nesting on the roof and also some rain. Our suite always got cleaned very neatly and thoroughly, which we greatly appreciate. However, our terrace remained dirty and water became unclear. We had to request cleaning of the terrace and water replacement, which, at the end, was performed perfectly, however, again, it should not be the responsibility of a guest to remind the hotel staff about the cleaning. All in all, because of beautiful surroundings, nice suite, kind staff and amazing breakfasts, our stay was very good. However, to make our next stay a 5-star experience, several improvements...

I recently stayed at the Hotel Kempinski in Marbella, and unfortunately, it was far from the luxurious experience I expected. Here are some key points from my stay:

Service: The overall service was disappointing, particularly at breakfast, by the pool, and on the beach. The staff seemed to prioritize other guests, especially foreigners, while I was consistently met with slower, less attentive service. It felt as though the quality of service depended on the discretion of individual employees rather than being a standard for all guests.

Extra Charges: I was charged an unnecessary additional fee for a room occupied by a mother and two children, which I found unreasonable. Despite raising this concern, the hotel did not offer any satisfactory explanation or resolution, making me feel exploited.

Food: The food quality was average at best, especially considering the high prices. The breakfast selection was limited, and service was inconsistent. There were long waits for certain items, and requests were often ignored or fulfilled with noticeable delays.

Room Service: The room service left much to be desired. Basic amenities, such as daily water, were not provided regularly, which is unacceptable for a hotel of this caliber. The cleaning service was also subpar, with some days where the room was barely tidied.

Pool and Beach Service: The service at the pool and beach was equally disappointing. Staff were slow to attend to requests, and it often felt like they were doing the bare minimum. There was a clear lack of attention to detail, which greatly affected the overall experience.

Spa: While the spa offered a range of treatments, the prices were exorbitantly high. Given the overall lack of quality service in other areas of the hotel, I did not feel that the spa provided good value for money.

Conclusion: My stay at Hotel Kempinski in Marbella was one of the worst experiences I’ve had at a luxury hotel. The service was poor, the extra charges were unjustified, and the overall experience left me feeling disrespected and underappreciated. I would not recommend this hotel, especially given the high prices and low...