Well, this was definitely a new one for us. The Hard Rock Hotel. In Puerto Banus. Not really our usual less-is-more. More, more-is-more-and-the-brasher-the-better…
So, it begs the question – why? Why on earth did we chose to stay somewhere, so at odds with what we normally like? Well, we only needed a one night stay and it had to be somewhere near Malaga as we were meeting friends. And then staying in Malaga, so we felt we had the opportunity to do a night somewhere different, and up popped the Hard Rock Hotel. Maybe I’d been buoyed up by the purchase of my cowboy boots, but I just thought it was a great opportunity to stay somewhere a bit on the daft side. I honestly thought it would be tacky-and-amusing-in-an-ironic-kind-of-way, but it wasn’t at all. It was actually really quite nice! Maybe it was the time of year – beginning of December – that meant that there was very little pouting, Instagram posing or flexing of muscles around the pool. The pool was open, but only a few hardy guests lounged around the side of it, reading or scrolling through phones. It was quite busy, but nowhere near the levels of madness I’d expect to see in the summer.
To be fair, the communal areas were kind of what I was expecting. Lots of memorabilia, including glass display cases with the costumes of famous rock stars and music legends. I’m guessing they were the real deal, but I couldn’t swear to this. In the middle of reception, a circular seating area provided a bit of stage, and sure enough, we did experience a singer giving a live performance. He wasn’t bad at all, given that he was signing to a queue of people at 11am in the morning, checking out, but it did make for a pretty bizarre exit. We checked in and out at the “normal” reception, where cool, groovy young staff, headphoned and microphoned up – maybe even wearing roller boots behind the desk (I wouldn’t have been surprised) – tried to persuade us to download the app, wear the wristbands and generally just get into the Hard Rock spirit of things. This was all sadly a bit lost on us, as we can’t stand being forced to be jolly and join in – we’ll do it in our time, at our own pace, IF we want to, thank you very much. Across the way was the VIP reception area, with a few people sitting behind the glass partitions. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, they were not celebs. Maybe just people who’d taken advantage of the whole shebang being a lot less expensive in the winter. I did wonder if they also got the wristband treatment, too…
So, the room. The most important part of the stay. We booked a superior double room, as the price was so good. Even a suite was affordable but it seemed a bit excessive to book a massive suite for just one night, so superior double it was. The hotel is huge, and we found this out to our cost, when we finally located our room, which was at the furthest end of a very, very, very long corridor with lots of twists and turns. Great for keeping up the steps, but not so great when you’re breaking in a new pair of boots.
The room was actually really stylish, with good furnishings, cool accessorising, great lighting (once you’d worked out the workings) and funky artwork. There was plenty of storage, with built in wardrobes, with additional bedding and pillows, and internal lighting – always a good feature, I think. Big, fluffy robes were provided, which were really comfy. The bathroom was a good size, with an excellent shower and again, big, fluffy bath sheets. Bath sheets – big tick. However, the star of the show was the bed, which was huge, with a super, super comfortable mattress and the most wonderful white bedding. I’d have booked another night just to get another sleep in that bed!
The exterior of the hotel, I should imagine in the summer, would be lovely, with lots of lounging and pool areas and bars. However, on a grey day in December, it didn’t tempt us – although one or two hardy souls were on the loungers. But because of the time of year, the hotel did have an “out of season” feel, which was great in one respect as we got a much better room than we would probably normally have gone for, at an excellent price, and it definitely wasn’t party central. Unfortunately, fewer guests obviously also meant that not all restaurants were open and so we were limited to what seemed to be a Mexican themed restaurant, as all others appeared to be closed. Or, very empty. We couldn’t complain about the staff, who were exceptionally lovely, but the food was just a bit disappointing. Perhaps we don’t know enough about Mexican cuisine to appreciate what was on offer, but the meal we had definitely wouldn’t be included on the dining highlights of Andalucia list…
All in all, we had a thoroughly enjoyable time at the Marbella (although located in Puerto Banus) Hard Rock Hotel – and it seemed a fitting venue to crack out the new white leather cowboy boots…
