Marbella, H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel

I picked the H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel because I wanted a reasonably priced 4 star hotel in Puerto Banus with a lovely pool. The H10 delivered on this brief but I was left wanting a little more.

Location wise the hotel is close to Puerto Banus, maybe a 10 min walk to the Port itself which was perfect for us. Close enough to walk rather cab but not in amongst the town and it's business.

Despite being by a busy road you'd never know whilst relaxing by the pool. The pool and ridiculously opulent reception are definitely the biggest plus points of this hotel. I had read that sun loungers were hard to come by but as long as you dropped a towel on a lounger by 11am you were fine.

Main plus points - the pool area, the huge, cool reception with WiFi, location and clientele - not too many families, mainly thirty somethings who were fairly well behaved. Only one hen night and they weren't your typical car crash gaggle of drunken girls so it was fine.

The downsides - the standard rooms are in the old part of the hotel and although our 3 single bed room was large clean, it felt a bit old fashioned and 3 star. I'd read that the premium rooms were much nicer but I'd only upgrade if visiting as a couple. It was fine but not as pretty as it looked in the pictures online.

The other downside for me was the breakfast. There was lots to choose from but most of the hot buffet was pretty rank - scrambled eggs that looked like they'd been put through a blender, pizza (!), cold coffee and the worst industrial sized toaster I've ever experienced (three passes to get even a slightly off white piece of toast!) The Premium breakfast area (probably coupled with the premium rooms) had a chef's kitchen where they cooked omlettes and pancakes to order. We weren't allowed in but I managed to dodge the busybodies on the door one morning and it was great.

Overall I enjoyed my holiday and stay and would probably stay again, but maybe in a premium room and definitely with more realistic expectations. Great for a Puerto Banus hol where you want pool time and nightlife a short walk away. Not a family or honeymoon destination!

Arrived at the impressive H10 hotel as it houses the Casino of Marbella, the rich and infamous are in the casino around 3:30am, much too late for me as the casino is open until 5am in the morning. The staff are all well presented and polite, our cases were collected from the coach and taken to our room. There are NO quiet rooms in this hotel if you want to have a nice view, but the decor, cleanliness and overall holiday more than made up for the noise. However, as good as the hotel was, we would prefer a quiet location if we visit the area again. The hotel has it's own underpass and on the other side of the road you really are minutes away from Puerto Banus. I was glad that we had taken half board, as the prices are very high if you eat and drink out for all meals in the area. Do visit the Saturday market just at the back of the hotel you can get the bling without the pain in the pocket, as all the designer names are available there (copies of course) but great value for money. The only thing that we noticed and also other British clients noticed, was the way that Spanish clients were treated, exceptions were made as to where they could have bar service, water glasses at dinner tables would be changed from plain flat bottom glasses to wine glasses. The appropriate wine glasses were provided for Spanish guests, but not for other nationalities, it was the small ones for us. Drinks at the bar changed price according to which waiter served you at the bar, and the olives and nuts that were provided along with all bar drinks for the Spanish were missing if you were any other nationality. Although we were treated really well, it was obvious to most people that they preferred Spanish clientele. The entertainment was not very good, not at all cosmopolitan, no choice and the hotel didn't cater for other languages. Most nights it was a rather bad Spanish singer, and one night a Flamenco with a few local girls and a lad, not very good quality. For a four star hotel, I would have expected more quality of entertainment. The pool area was good, plenty of towels as required, although we visited in March, I cannot imagine where everyone would sunbathe when the hotel is full. We had a lovely hot winter break, in lovely surroundings, just such a pity about the motorway that runs across the front of the hotel, it dominated. We love to have our window open and this was impossible as the noise was so great at all times of day and night. The air conditioning blew but I wouldn't have liked to depend on it in the hot months.

I have just returned from the H10 Andalucia plaza and have to say I had a fabulous time. We stayed in a standard room which was lovely. The hotel has just been refurbished and looks wonderful, has great access to the beach although I didnt like there beach lots of stones. Very easy access into the town centre takes between 5 and 10 minutes depending on how quick you walk. I would recomend this to anyone and my sister is going out there this summer.