Ona Alanda Club Marbella

“Great stay!”

Ona Alanda is one of the best stays that we have had in our two decades vacationing. Agreeable staff. The hotel is surrounded by nature. Walking distance to the beach (aprox. 2 minutes) Good food. Close to restaurants, spas, supermarkets, beauty salons and shopping stores. Close to downtown Mar… more

Ona Alanda is one of the best stays that we have had in our two decades vacationing. Agreeable staff. The hotel is surrounded by nature. Walking distance to the beach (aprox. 2 minutes) Good food. Close to restaurants, spas, supermarkets, beauty salons and shopping stores. Close to downtown Marbella by public transportation or by car. Easy access to transportation to downtown Malaga and other surrounding towns like Mijas or Fuengirola. About 25 minutes to AGP airport.

less

“Relaxing winter break. Comfortable apartment in great location and excellent staff.”

Winter in Ola Alanda Club Marbella Stuff you should know - we spend a month here from November 2024. The single bedroom apartments are actually very nice, well equipped and reasonably spacious and though not quite as large as the photos may suggest, there is a very decent sized double bedroom (th… more

Winter in Ola Alanda Club Marbella Stuff you should know - we spend a month here from November 2024. The single bedroom apartments are actually very nice, well equipped and reasonably spacious and though not quite as large as the photos may suggest, there is a very decent sized double bedroom (though the bed was two singles pushed together) a large bathroom with bidet, loo, handbasin and walk in shower, plus a kitchenette and comfortable sitting room/dining room with secure parking nearby for which there is a daily charge. In terms of the site locations, the single bedroomed apartments are up nearer to the hotel entrance and some face the parking space and garden, rather than the pool. Not the end of the world but worth knowing that you may stand more chance of a pool view with a double apartment, so do ask before booking if that is important. In terms of equipment; in addition to the aircon, there is a washing machine and drying rack as well as good size fridge/freezer, dishwasher, toaster, kettle, hob and microwave/grill and plenty of glasses, pans and plates etc. Regarding the open air pool: It is likely that only fans of wild swimming in English lakes would want to use the external pool at this time of year. It was however, advertised beforehand as open all year but this was not the case – however, the option of having the sun loungers to read by the pool was nice and the smaller indoor heated pool for a swim is a great alternative, plus there is a very decent and well-equipped gym. In terms of the hotel’s restaurant – we are unable to comment as we did not eat there, there were just too many other options! Within a 10 minute walk across the bridge over the A7, on either side of the road, you have almost every nationality of restaurant and bar available, plus a Carrefour and smaller supermarket, so you need not worry about being well fed. We especially loved the Dragon Chinese, which was excellent, the Nufluid Bar seemed to have attracted every Brit from a 5 mile radius for the food and music, the Steak bar, the Tapas bar near the Ferreteria across the road also seems to have a great pub atmosphere and best of all the Masala for a very tasty and beautifully served curry . Back at the apartment, the kitchenette also has everything you need to cook a decent meal. I should also mention that all of the staff we encountered were exceptionally friendly and helpful and that there is a nice bar outside the hotel restaurant, which has ‘Happy Hour’ at this time of year, with half price drinks at 4:30pm and the occasional entertainment organised. Some top tips: • Many of the TVs will have the older SCART sockets and not HDMI – so your Amazon Firestick won’t be of use, plus the existing sockets are often blocked by the TV mount. • The WiFi is very patchy…so suggest using your phone as a hotspot or some type of mobile dongle for internet use. 4G reception on Orange is pretty good and 5G also often available. In terms of getting out and about... There are bus stops very close near the hotel, on the A7 and by the shops and restaurants in Elviria. A bus to Marbella and the old town is under a couple of euros for around 7 stops and they are frequent, but you either need a pre-paid card or as close as possible to the correct cash. Credit and debit cards are not accepted. With a car, trips into Malaga, Marbella or the little villages in the mountains, such as Ojen are an easy drive. The local beach bar/restaurant was closed (looked permanent but could just be seasonal.) There were however a couple either side within 2kms or so of the hotel eg: we would recommend finding 'Le Papillon' as a start - nice food & drink and good service. We had a very relaxing time for our break from the English winter and can recommend the Ola Alanda.

less

“Poor FOH choices”

It's alright, in fact, it could be a much better place. Breakfast was quite nice: fresh orange juice, bread, hot and cold food (be aware they were only doing sunny side eggs in the wintertime...), cereals, coffee and fruit. My major problem with this is the decision of allocating a ground floor fl… more

It's alright, in fact, it could be a much better place. Breakfast was quite nice: fresh orange juice, bread, hot and cold food (be aware they were only doing sunny side eggs in the wintertime...), cereals, coffee and fruit. My major problem with this is the decision of allocating a ground floor flat to a lone-female, especially when the shower was visible from the outside (see attached image); really wrong choice (yes, I did ask to move, but they said they had nothing else, that was all that was available). Not all the employees on the Front of House desk were that good, some would just stare with a smile like you are being an inconvenience and others would not want to accept a room change. I also noticed it depended on who you were. I know of a tall, white, blond man getting the room swap I was asking for without any quibbles. The two blocks next to the internal parking have a noise issue as well. Every time anyone enters, the main door slams and it wakes everyone up (the other blocks by the road have a middle door to reduce those types of noises, which is great, so they should put them every where). Moreover, the whole complex is next to the A7, which is very noisy and you can sort of hear the roads inside the flats, in some more than others (as a light sleeper, i didn't have a good night sleep). Spacious apartments (some larger than others) but generally speaking needing a refurb (especially the bathrooms and the kitchen). The bed mattress was too soft and uncomfortable, whereas the pillow was just to my liking, firm and sturdy. The kitchen is nice, well resourced and they give you some washing liquid to use throughout your stay. The bathrooms stink! I let the water run on all taps but still stank, they used a nice odour-spray upon entering the room and when they cleaned the rooms (not every single day, not every other day either), but you can't mask such a smell all day long. The bathroom also has a condensation issue, I would shower at night and it was still wet in the morning (yes, I hear you say: 'open the windows'... but I don't want to in case bugs enter the flat). WiFi is patchy but you can make do. TVs have plenty of channels in several languages (one in the bedroom and one in the living room). A/C is available, one unit in the bedroom and one in the living room, but even if you put it on 30 degrees, it doesn't warm up the space... not sure why. The flats seem to be very cold in the winter, perhaps great for the summer though. If you are in the Pamplona block, on the top, you will have sunlight a lot of the time in the day, but other apartments across the complex would only get sunlight one or two hours a day (which is a shame for the winter but great for the summer). Gym is very small but it tends to be empty in the wintertime so it should be enough. I did not try the swimming pool because it was very cold this time of year. The pool looked fine and it had toilet facilities next to it. There is also an indoor pool, which many people were using (allegedly, it has sauna and steam room as well, but I didn't have time to access these facilities); please, note, there is a note to wear swimming caps but not everyone does. Bar works fine but the ambience is a bit meh. They also have a pool table (next to the gym, not near the bar). Parking facilities are available, I believe at an extra cost if you want to park within the premises; but there is also on-street parking (this was in wintertime, not sure there will be enough spaces in the summertime). If you cross the road, there are a couple of bar/restaurants plus a wider selection across the bridge (which you can walk on), as well as two supermarkets, which are handy for stocking up the fridge in the apartment.

less

“No sea view”

I thought we would be on the Mediterranean Sea, but we were tucked back the farthest from the sea. 10 minute walk & no sea view. We asked for a different room but they would not give us one. The apartment was nice , they provide no Kleenex or paper towels…just FYI. If you want to be on the sea, sta… more

I thought we would be on the Mediterranean Sea, but we were tucked back the farthest from the sea. 10 minute walk & no sea view. We asked for a different room but they would not give us one. The apartment was nice , they provide no Kleenex or paper towels…just FYI. If you want to be on the sea, stay somewhere else

less