Fairmont La Hacienda Costa del Sol 5 stars

We had very high expectations as we had stayed several times in Fairmont hotels and had never been disappointed. The level of incompetence of this hotel at all levels is unbelievable, ( apart from the Spa and the Michelin restaurant where we received the service expected of a 5 star hotel ) . Bells starting ringing on checking in when the person checking us in stopped 3 times doing our check in to take phone calls from other clients wanting blankets, a baby bottle etc . I know this is a minor incident but this has never happened to us before . We booked a 250 square meter 2 bedroom suit and a signature 1 bedroom with sea views and sitting room. The 2 bedroom suite we got was what we booked and paid for but the signature suite had very limited sea views and it did not having a living room or separate sitting area and in the terrace there was the cleaning system for the swimming pool making a very loud noise. I advised reception of this, had to call several times and was told that the room assigned was of the category I paid for which was very frustrating . I had to send a copy of my confirmation email stating clearly that the suite had “a big living room and plenty of sea views. By this time it was almost 11 o’clock we were told that the problem would be sorted in the morning . We ordered room service and it took 1 and half hours to arrive . The following morning we were told to leave the luggage in the room that my sister was leaving and that it would be collected and taken it to the new signature suite by lunch time . My sister got into her suite at 6 pm and the luggage from the old room had not been collected, again it took 2 phone calls to have the luggage transferred . The new suite did not have basic necessities like coat hangers, coffee machine or pillow cases, we had to ring to have them brought to the room. Our 2 bedroom villa had a large swimming pool, the water turned green and dirty after 4 days as nobody had come to maintaining it, we had to phone to request this . The terrace on the 7 days we were day was not cleaned once, the towels for the sun loungers were not changed , glasses left on the terrace tables were not picked up , we had to clear them ourselves. Things like glasses and cups were not replaced in the suite . A suite costing almost 2000 euros a night should be checked by a supervisor after the cleaning has been done to make sure that everything in that suite is up to standard but this obviously was not being done. Another problem was the delays in getting beverages for breakfasts, every morning it was “mayhem” when you sat down the waiters came to take our drink orders but these drinks took on average of about 30 minutes sometimes more to come, on a number of occasions we finished our breakfast and left without having had them. On 3 occasions we were told that there was not orange juice as they had run out, a lady complained a lot about this and was given 2 oranges and a utensil to squeeze the orange and make her own juice !! . A gentlemen sitting next to us ordered 2 coffees and was told by the waitress that she could not take his order as the kitchen was “collapsing” with orders and if she took his order the 2 coffees would not come. I saw a gentleman going to one of the service stations getting a roll of paper and a bottle of cleaner and cleaning his own table. Everybody I spoke to was unhappy with the way that breakfast restaurant operated. The most frustrating thing was the inability of passing these complaints to the manager. I spoke to several duty managers who all listened carefully and said that they were going to compile a dossier to give to the Hotel Manager but of course they did not do that, none of them had the courtesy of phoning me back . I managed to get hold of the Hotel Manager (Mr Wjeck) email address as he had left a bottle of champagne in the room . I emailed him and conveyed our disappointment and frustration and asked for a face to face meeting . He replied with lots of apologies, he said that meeting him was not possible but that “his leadership team” would be in contact to address my issues . He also offered as an act of goodwill a free night accommodation for both my sister and myself . His leadership team never contacted me . I replied to his email declining his offer of one stay, my sister lives in Valencia I live in Edinburgh and it would not be practical for us to go back to Málaga for just one night apart from that in view of our experiences at the hotel we were not keen to return. I also informed him that I was leaving the following day and that I was still to hear from his leadership team . I did not receive a replay to that email. To add to the insult the bottle of Champagne that he left in our room which was unopened on the table disappeared. I called reception 3 times to ask for a replacement and when it come it was not a bottle of champagne it was a bottle of White wine Albariño . There is lack of inefficiency at all levels ( apart from the Spa and Michelin restaurant), you get smiled a lot by the staff they are all very polite but they are unable to execute what they have been asked to do. They are tarnishing the Fairmont brand . We spent over 18,000 pounds on this 5 star holiday but got the service of 2 star hotel . I must on the positive side that the location and the facilities are stunning which makes it much more of a shame .

We stayed for 4 nights. And the resort is lovely. Pools are good. Bedrooms are great. But we were so disappointed with the food and drink. Prices are so high, we expected good quality food. It was ok at best. The wine also, was really poor. We tried all of the white and rose options by the glass and they were really poor for a resort in one of the best wine countries in the world. There was a smell of sewage in 3 different locations during our stay. 1 in the room (402) on a number of occasions. It came and went. Walking from the pool past the shop to the lifts and in the beach restaurant. On the positive side. The staff were lovely and friendly. Also- the breakfast was very good and fresh. We think spanish local food in general is very good. And the wine is superb. So it is baffling how a resort this great can get it so wrong. We ate out of the resort on 2 nights to tey and get good food. We ate in the beach bar 1 night and ate lunch every day in the Umbra poolside restaurant.