More like the Marie Celeste than a home for Sultans! (Hotel Sultan Club)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Hotel Sultan Club
Date:	08/01/07 (235 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfortable luxury apartment

Disadvantages: Restaurants closed and hotel too quiet.

Just a short walk from the beach and the famous “Golden Mile” in Marbella, this apartment hotel which opened in 1997 is on a road called Avenida Arturo Rubenstein. Luxurious apartment blocks line the road, and within a short distance are two very upmarket supermarkets if you want to buy food and drink!
Designed to make you feel you are living in the luxury that the sultans enjoyed in years gone by, there are fountains and tropical plants, beautiful tiles and a feeling of luxury.
There are 76 apartments, which are one or two bed roomed with a large comfortable lounge with dining area and large balconies with furniture. There is daily maid service with frequent bed linen change and daily change of towels.

One bedroom apartment
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A kitchen larger than my own at home, and with a door which opened onto a small enclosed balcony for drying washing (although we only stayed in apartments at the end of the corridor, so internal ones wouldn’t have this feature!). There was a washing machine, dish washer, refrigerator, cooker and 2 rings. An electric toaster and a coffee maker to use on the rings along with 2 frying pans and a few saucepans completed the main cooking items. All the usual dishes, glasses for wine, water and brandy, cutlery and basic cooking utensils and serving dishes were also provided. Also an iron if needed was in a cupboard. There was a wall phone near the door to the hall. Above the sink behind cupboard doors was a drying rack for the dishes, and we preferred this to the dishwasher, perhaps it was my fault for taking British dishwasher tablets but they left a white deposit on the crockery and glasses and I had to wash everything by hand! Still we didn’t eat in too often! But there wasn’t a cork screw! A very helpful barman opened the wine for me, and the following day I managed with a little Spanish and some wonderful miming to get one from the maid!

The really large lounge had a bed settee and two arm chairs, glass table and wrought iron chairs with seat pads, coffee table and long glass table with a television and magazines. Plenty of lamps, necessary for darker evenings and being the end apartment, we had windows on two sides and these had net curtains, sunscreen liners and pretty curtains. Both windows opened onto the large L shaped balcony, which had a table and 4 chairs and 2 loungers and a drying rack. There was also a Z- bed in a wooden cupboard, in the lounge and second cupboard and drawer with additional glasses and table cloth and napkins. The settee and chairs had been recovered in terracotta patterned material loose covers for easy cleaning, and nice cream cushions, making it look more modern than the flowery curtains.
Certainly this apartment is classed as sleeping 4, but anyone staying in the lounge has to go through the bedroom to use the bathroom. As there were only two of us it wasn’t a problem.

The bedroom was again large with 2 beds and a glass dressing table with lamp, and chair, plus a small padded armchair. Some maids pushed the beds together and some separated them! Bedside tables again in glass had lamps and a telephone on one side, and near the other table was an emergency button – we fortunately didn’t need to try this out, so I can’t say what happens! There was ample space and between the bedroom and bathroom was the dressing room area, which had fitted wardrobes on both sides, including a drawer unit and one had the safe, for which there was an extra charge of 2.50€ a day plus 12€ deposit. One of my pet niggles! I believe a safe should be included in the charge.
The air-conditioning/heating worked well, sadly we did need some heat on our second holiday.

The Bathroom
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Large with plenty of lights, the bathroom looks rather old-fashioned, but perhaps it is a replica of what the sultans had. Tiled floors and walls with a shower over the bath, but the glass panel didn’t prevent the floor getting quite wet! Toilet and bidet worked well, and the wash basin was fitted with a wooden screen like cupboard underneath which would have looked better painted white than the hideous green colour! Towels had been good quality and were in a terracotta colour, but occasionally we had some that needed some sewing attention, but they were soft enough and changed daily. The usual hotel type hairdryer was attached to the wall.

The Reception
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A really large reception area, with plenty of settees and armchairs on both sides of the doorway and coffee tables and magazines. Large paintings decorated the walls. The reception desk was usually only manned by one person, but it was never busy. Check in was simple and directions to the lift and our apartment adequate, but we had been before. No other information was volunteered. I believe several languages were spoken, as there were guests from other countries. There were some tour operator books in various languages and occasionally we saw a rep in meeting with guests. The restaurants and coffee bar entrances were off the reception, and there were 2 lifts. Also behind the reception area was a phone room and toilets. Stairs led down to the outside pool and wellness centre.

The Coffee Shop/Bar
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A large room running the whole width of the hotel, with a small area for a band and dance area although this was never used during our stays! The bar was reasonably well stocked, and had a chilled area with ice cream, but sadly the cabinet with cakes and puddings lay very empty during our second stay. Business men seemed to pop in for a coffee and brandy, but otherwise when ever we were in it was very quiet. The doors opened onto tables and chairs outside for the sunnier days.
We did sample breakfast one day and a Continental with fruit juice, toast or Croissant and Tea or Coffee costs 4.75€. For an English breakfast it is 8.50€. Sandwiches were quite tasty for a lunchtime snack and were from 2.90€. Pasta and omelettes, chicken etc was available and moderately priced but not very exciting. Local beer and cola costs 1.50€, coffee 1.15€. The staff were always courteous and helpful, but not over worked!

The Monarque Restaurant
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We ate in here twice on our first visit and we had amazing attention and a delicious meal. But apart from one lady we were the only customers, maybe due to this it is closed in the winter but there was no explanation just a notice saying “CLOSED”.

Buffet Restaurant ‘Entremares’
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Also closed during our stay! On our first visit this was a buffet for people on half board, but there was an area behind screens, set for breakfast in the coffee shop bar which we presumed was for these guests.

Outdoor Pool and Garden
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I can only judge from our visits in November! The pool was cold, well to tell the truth really cold! Too cold even for one man from Finland who dived in and could barely get out again, as the pool floor was covered in slime as it hadn’t been cleaned for sometime. Fortunately his wife who was a hardier swimmer and used to swimming in icy water helped him out! Rather dangerous, but I don’t expect they thought anyone would be brave enough to swim. It is 2.50metres at the deepest point and nicely shaped. The garden area was a lovely with huge trees which would give some lovely shade on hot days, the pool was surrounded by loungers, about 20-30 of them and we did use these and sunbathed in the afternoon, a small pool for children was separate. The garden overlooked the river area and although near the road was quiet. There were some tables and chairs for sitting outside and enjoying a drink, I believe there is a bar open in summer called Oasis.
Overlooking the pool and garden are two glass lifts, which don’t stop at every floor, but we did enjoy using these especially at night and seeing all the lights.

Wellness Centre
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There was a small indoor heated (thank goodness!) pool, the steps down were in the centre, and the last step was particularly deep which did surprise people! The walls are beautifully painted and the rest of that area was furnished with wooden sunbeds. There are two water spouts in the pool which give an amazing massage on your back. There is also a tanning booth and a Jacuzzi.
In the rest of that area is a sauna which is charged and various beauty therapies are available, like Reiki, Pilates, massages, manicures, pedicures and facials. Towels are free and there are separate changing rooms and showers. We visited one morning to discover it was full of Mums and Toddlers! Beware of Friday at 11.30 if you enjoy a quiet time!

Car Parking
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There is underground parking available at a charge, but if you want to park on the street it would be necessary to park away from the hotel as there are rarely any available spaces. Taxis usually manage to pull in close to the entrance.

Verdict
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We have stayed twice. Both times were in November and were quiet, but last time it seemed as if they had lost hope and were running on the minimum of staff. There was a slightly sad air to what should have been a luxury aparthotel. It certainly is a comfortable base and even though there wasn’t much choice for eating there are restaurants all around and we thoroughly enjoyed eating out at local places. Will we go back? If the price is right, we may well!

Cost
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Booked through our vacation/timeshare deals it was very reasonable, but it is worth searching the internet for cheap rates. For instance Low cost beds have it priced from £54 a night for a 1 bedroom apartment in January to £75 in June.

Summary: Great base but very quiet out of season.