Kempinski Hotel Bahia

Front desk staff very helpful in getting us moved to a different room and the waiter at dinner (Alesandro) as well as the sommelier were fantastic. Definitely try the octopus and burratta and don't hesitate to speak with the head chef.

Great hotel in a beautiful location with beautiful public areas. Sadly our expensive rooms were tucked away in a dark corner with poor views of a wall. However, they were beautifully clean and comfortable with everything you'd expect. Front desk staff and concierge were exceptional and there was nothing they didn't know and couldn't organise for you - from restaurant reservations to a full day out with car and driver to Cadiz and Jerez to a jug of milk when the hotel ran out of those little milk capsules for my cups of tea. Breakfast is everything you'd expect - a huge buffet with everything. Their toasters are useless though. The two restaurants - We ate in the Spiler Club the first night - as a vegetarian there was one thing I could eat - a broccoli pizza, mm... The Spiler is also the place to hang out during the day, on the loungers outside, and the drinks service is very slow, you can literally wait 20 minutes to get served and get your drink. The artificial grass burns your feet terribly. This could and should be so much better. Baltazar was great. Warm, nicely lit and with a vastly better menu, lots for vegetarians and the food was delicious. The outdoor pools are chilly (it was April) The indoor pool in the spa is small and there are only a few loungers if you want to hang out with your children. We had two teenagers with us and they really would have liked somewhere to go and hang out where there were games like table football, Playstation or a cinema room - after dinner there is just nowhere to go. We went back and forth to Estepona many times. There's a lovely boardwalk all the way but at 5km you can only walk it so many times. I think the hotel could offer a shuttle for hotel guests. A taxi is about 10 euros each way.

2nd visit to this hotel. Bit of a mix-up with room keys not working and the opening of a connecting door between our two rooms when first arrived. This wasn't sorted as quickly as I would have liked; the reception sent up someone to fix the shower? Weather was good, but pools freezing cold. One of the main reasons we booked was to use the heated outdoor pool. No information anywhere that it was closed for maintenance, just found out when we arrived. Big disappointment and would have booked elsewhere if we had known. Same with Spiler Beach Club - they had a 'soft' re-opening, but again no information about this. Same with ice cream outlet. Breakfast service was good and plenty of choice. It seemed to be the only thing in the hotel that was running efficiently. Bar service in Black Rose was slow (too few staff?) Restaurant prices were sky-high. I appreciate this is a 5-star hotel, and I expect to pay more, but same quality of food and service can be found for half the price in the Laguna Beach restaurants a 5-minute stroll down the beach. I know we booked early season, and I fully understand that maintenance needs to be carried out at some stage, but if you want to justify the prices you charge you need to be at the top of your game all the time.