Gran Hotel Costa del Sol

I spent 4 weeks in December at this hotel on my own and enjoyed my time there very much. The staff were all lovely. Hotel is very clean and the choices of food in restaurant is the best I have ever had in 40 years of travelling. The only real fault is the food is never hot enough but there is a micro wave oven available.
Be aware that all adverts say that tea and coffee making facilities are available in rooms. This means there is a kettle and on arrival there were 2 tea bags, 4 herbal tea bags and some sugar, no milk or coffee after that you have to provide your own.
Also be aware that a lot of Spanish use the hotel and they are very loud.
I will probably go back again.

Depending on what you want from a hotel.
This has pros and cons.
Firstly I would say it’s a 3 star not a 4.
If you are looking for luxury this certainly isn’t.
But if you want an excellent base and somewhere just to sleep then this does the trick.
The corridor carpets are tired and need cleaning.
The hotel is next to a small river and the river wall is dirty and needs painting as you can see this as you approach it it doesn’t look great. I know this isnt the hotels fault. Just a fact.
Buffet Breakfast is in a large area that can get busy. Selection is quite large.
The good things are the location is second to none. It’s central to everything and we walked to everything easily. It’s a beach front location.
The outside has a large pool area with a pool bar which is great as the beach bars get packed.
All the staff are very friendly and helpful.
I would say here again purely for the pros I have listed.
The rooms are large and cleaned every day and all have a lateral sea view which is great.

Just arrived today for xmas 20/12/2025. Nice location drinks are good. Food Is poor. Most of the food that should be hot Is COLD. Having 2nd thoughts about coming again. Weve been coming every xmas for a few years now. Hotel has gone downhill. Not a nice start to our xmas. Should be no need to use a microwave.

The hotel needs an upgrade to make it a four star.
Carpets in corridors are worn.
The breakfast buffet all the hot food is cold, apart from a Chef cooking fried eggs and bacon.
The inroom drinks are tea only no coffee, sugar, or milk.
Staff are very polite.
Do not take your car to park at Hotel that is €10-00 extra per day.
Rooms are adequate.

My wife and i have just returned from a 9 day stay in this hotel, (booked through Loveholidays) and have never stayed anywhere remotely as disappointing as this place.
Perfectly situated on the beachfront, and within 5 minutes walk of the charming town, the hotels' location is ideal. That, however, is where the good stuff ends.
The hotel is grim and eminates a 1970s East German secret police headquarters vibe; ruthlessly dedicated to fulfilling its' sole function of bog standard housing.
The walk along the dark corridor to our room, on the faded and loose pink carpet, felt ominous. The multiple stains from previous residents' spillages and mishaps were hard to ignore also.
Our room overlooked a river run off which appeared stagnant and smelled horrible, so using the tiny balcony was a challenge. The bed was good and the room was cleaned daily, however the exposed fusebox on the wall was mildly disturbing. Functionality over asthetics would appear to be the hotel motto.
Both the air conditioning and the fridge were unnaturally loud and had to be turned off to hear the TV and to sleep (luckily the trip switch in the fuse box was so accessible). The bathroom was spacious however, when the bath was emptied, the floor flooded through a central drain, leaving the floor covered in debris and grime.
The WIFI worked for about 15 minutes a day most days, so keeping in touch with family at home wasn't an option. The room safe was an optional extra, costing 2 euro a day, and required you to then carry the key around on your person.
The breakfast, served in what closely resembled a college canteen, was expansive with plenty of choice, as long as you like it cold. Indeed, on our 2nd day i got food poisoning and spent 36 hours on or near the toilet. Coincidently, other hotel guests reported similar stories of unexplained sickness. We were truely grateful that we did not choose the allinclusive option when booking and enjoyed many good meals in the town.
Finally to the staff. I genuinely felt sorry for some, especially the housekeeping staff, however the front of house reception staff were generally unhelpful and borderline rude. In their defence, i can only assume it is emotionally draining dealing with complaint after complaint all day long, and at the end of a busy summer season.
La Cala de Mijas is a beautiful Spainish town, blessed with stunning blue flag beaches and friendly locals. I highly recommend both Irish bars for food, music and craic. "The Catch" offers the best food in the area and is a must go to place.
The Gran Hotel de Sol is, in our opinion, a must avoid at all costs place; a "Fawlty Towers" experience without the laughs.
Clearly these are our opinions based on our experiences and we appreciate that others may have experienced something different. We will never stay here again and would not recommend it to anyone we like.

This Hotel has two sides all side sea rooms at the back have no view just of water that is muddy and smells bad on the front it is nice but not the bottom as everyone walks past your room and looks in so you need curtains closed.The hotel reception will put you in the back rooms and say others are booked there not very helpful at all air con didn’t work either and I got told that’s because it’s November and now it’s heat only Joke don’t bother it spoilt our holiday also no entertainment at night RUDE!!!!!!

My twelve year old son and I stayed for a week in October 2025 and had a fantastic holiday together. Our first on our own. We spent the days on the beach with our rubber ring doughnut in the sea and the afternoons by the pool.
Our room was fantastic with two double comfortable beds and a fantastic view…the most stunning sunrises. Rooms cleaned daily.
Food was good especially breakfast.
Location fantastic right on the beach and little town 5 minute walk away.
Staff on the whole very good…pool bar staff not the happiest.
All in all a fantastic holiday and we’ll be back with rest of the family ☺️

You kinda get what you pay for, we went for 5 nights and it was definitely long enough. The hotel itself was incredibly clean and the staff were lovely. The only downside is the time of year we went, there was lack of entertainment, you would need to venture out to the surrounding bars for some nightlife.

We also had from around 9am to 5pm no power at all in the hotel room, this affected most of the hotel, we had to charge phones etc in the hallways as this was the only source of power in area area of the hotel.

The food was ok, there was chips every night and plain pasta with 2 sauce options if your fussy like me then this would suit you but most nights or afternoons we ended up going out for lunch or tea instead as we couldn’t hack the food much longer

Pool area was ok we got a lounger every day due to it being very quiet. They did open to the public as we were told by a local during their off peak times but this was never an issue.

All in all I would give this hotel 3 out of 5 as there was things lacking and for the fact we had no power for nearly a full day. We wouldn’t return here as it just simply isn’t a place for us as it lacked entertainment but all in all a good standard hotel

Stayed here for 4 nights in October 2025 all-inclusive. The room was large and well-equipped with a balcony looking over the beach and back in to Mijas. Excellent views and location. The room was very clean and cleaned every day.

Some people have complained about the food. We had absolutely no complaints. There's loads of choice and if all else fails there was grilled chicken and chips on offer all the time. I'd highly recommend the chorizo at breakfast. Overall, an excellent selection of salads, meats, international and Spanish food. Some of the food wasn't piping hot but there is a microwave provided. Just to add, if the food on the buffet was on red hot plates it would keep cooking and burn.

Lastly, a special mention to Yolanda in the food hall - she was brilliant. Always happy to greet and help with a smile, she was great.

I stayed a few days with my elderly mother.we thoroughly enjoyed the hotel ,our room had a sea view and overlooking the pool.The hotel is right on the beach and you could easily walk along the beach front to the village We had half board and the food was very good.The hotel was very asccesable for the elderly.The staff a very friendly and helpful

The hotel itself was in a good location right next to the beach the rooms were spacious and cleaned everyday we went bed and breakfast and the choice was exceptional the best I’ve probably seen.we tried the evening meal once which was 21 euros per person and that again had a great choice and was very nice the staff are very helpful and polite we didn’t see much entertainment which was every other night.the chill out bar terrace was nice and they had a happy hour two for one can’t remember much about that lol.we couldn’t fault the hotel however if anything it was the area there was nice walks on the beach front and there was adequate restaurants bars etc and it was very laid back if you want busy go to Fuengirola the hotel is probably more aimed at the older generation so if you want total relaxation it’s for you so overall it’s a nice hotel and worth a visit it’s nothing like the negative reviews I’ve seen on here

This hotel is far misunderstood, I stayed all inclusive with my girlfriend for 4 nights and don't get me wrong no way is this hotel a 4 star but it offers a good time, the entertainment is none existent but the pool isn't as bad as everyone makes out it has an end that is feel enough, the cocktails are good enough, the staff are friendly if you treat them good, the only thing lacking is the entertainment, the evening bar only had F1 and football on where we was there which is fine for me but a lack of typical all inclusive entertainment is what I feel is the main issue, the day time round the pool can be boring too if you're not a pool or beach person and like activities

Lovely hotel , nice clean spacious rooms , smart and pleasant staff , lovely location, hotel always looked clean and smart areas

Lovely location and good rooms with friendly staff. The food however was poor and left to sit cold at the buffet. So bad that we eat elsewhere in town despite being half board . Definitely not worth paying extra. Breakfast was alright.

The food is terrible!! It seems to be what was left from the day before and is barely edible! Also they change the meal times without telling you in advance. All inclusive is not true, they charge for drinks during the day. The coffee machine is only accessible during meal times (if you are lucky enough to get there when they decide to open). The food is poorly labelled. Wrapped children were on offer one day (picture attached) 🤣
Myself and my son have been so hungry all week and I've had to pay to eat out as we cannot eat a lot here!!
The rooms are very nice, the view is lovely! The staff are also very friendly but they need to sort out their catering!!!! Honestly if you stay then go self catering and eat out! 😅

The Hotel is very clean, rooms are adequate and a great beachfront location. There’s a gym now which is quite good with Treadmill’s, Rower, Multi gym and some light free weights and a bench. There were no sanitising wipes present as there have been in every other hotel gym I have used, but there are paper towels. It’s the 5th time I’ve visited as part of a golf group. We have always gone all inclusive. In my experience all the staff have been good with one major exception, one of the guys that controls the restaurant is arrogant and extremely rude, I don’t know his name, he’s been there years, middle aged and little hair, but I gave as good as I got in the end, The other guys are great. The quality of the food varies greatly day to day. The breakfast is consistent and decent, but early meal and evening meal can either be very nice or very disappointing. The last evening meal there was absolutely terrible, sometimes food is labelled “selection of the day” with no clue as to its ingredients, some of it definitely needs to be given an identity. I had Pizza instead from the shop by Rebel bar near hotel, that was great. El Olivo de La Cala restaurant, a few minutes walk is fantastic and reasonably priced for the quality. All inclusive drinks in hotel are ok if you just drink beer all the time, I’ve tried a few alternatives but they are somewhat lacking. I doubt if I will visit again for our trip next year as I understand they are changing their pricing policy with regards to single room occupancy. I think I’ll be going Air B&B instead.

I felt I needed to write a review because of all the negatives a positive was needed. Comfort room was fine with a view of the sea and local area. Food was absolutely fine but not much for children other than pasta and chips. I found that the choice was enough to find something to eat and to be honest mainly ate from the show cooking area as it was cooked in front of you, chicken, steak, pork and fish mainly though. But for me with a salad and varied types of potatoes was fine. My husband’s choice was more varied from the buffet. Curry, stir fry, all different types of meat in sauces, rice dishes and pasta dishes I feel was enough choice. All inclusive draught beer was only San Miguel the cocktails are awful. BTW no entertainment of an evening when we were there which was a bit disappointing. My saving grace was the roof top bar which you had to pay for the drinks and cocktails but with a 30% discount was fine for us and worth it.
I found going upto the first floor for the bar was a bit annoying, don’t know why but it was and the atmosphere was well there was none and very very bright no ambience and I felt I was in a canteen.
Overall the position right on the beach was fantastic and only a short walk to the bars and very few shops was 10-15 minutes. We had a lovely stay but would I return unfortunately NO.

Just had a week here this is our tenth year and love the hotel especially the location, the beach is fantastic and I consider Claudia a good friend now. Claudia always has a smile for all her customers and is a credit to the hotel
Thank you to everyone that has made our vacation special

Julie smith

Few days ago we came back from this hotel.It was our second stay after 6 years.
We came around 10am unfortunately they told us on reception we can start to use all
inclusive at 12 We left luggage in luggage room which was locked so safe...
Room was nice with huge bed.Balcony with sea view.Beautiful sun sets&rise
Every day weird smell outside-probably from canal from other side of hotel..It was
disgusting.
Meals in restaurants were so delicious- every single day Unfortunately we saw
cockroaches two evenings in here.We complained to staff but they said they can’t
control it...
Hotel is based close to the beach,around lots of bars,restaurants and shops.I
recommend to visit market close to the hotel- on Saturdays/Wednesdays.You will enjoy
it
Taxi from airport 58€ / 20-25 mins – by Uber 45€
To Marbella 18€ / 20-25mins
Check out at 12 – all inclusive finish as well- you have pay for drinks extra/ lunch 21€
per person..our flight was at 8pm so we ordered pizza from close pizzeria . Shame as
well there is no even complimentary room to take shower... 4star hotel
Fridge in the room,shower gel,2 cards for entry to room+one for electricity , kettle ,hair
dryer,WiFi in area of hotel,all staff really nice and friendly,plenty of sunbeds around
pool,pool really small,close to hotel Carrefour & Lidl ,pharmacy ,tobacco shop
There are only 2 negative things- cockroaches in restaurant & all inclusive start & finish at 12 & no complimentary room to take shower 😑
We had really nice stay, thank you

Best hotel in this area ! Spacious , clean , near beach , stunning views , great pool ! Love it !