The location is unfortunately on the 'wrong side' of a busy main road so there is no direct beach access (although there's a shuttle bus to the hotel's own beach). The hotel consists of a couple of buildings, the second of which houses the swimming pool and spa. We were in the main building and access to the swimming pool was via a short walk through the car park. For a 5 star, it just didnt seem attractive enough particularly as the unimaginative, bland architectural style of the buildings made you long to stay at the much more attractive Andalucian style Puente Romano just opposite. Also, whilst the bedrooms were comfortable and well equipped they were quite noisy partly because wardrobe doors had no catches to prevent them slamming shut.There are no shops or restaurants nearby other than at the beautiful Puente Romano opposite & we were glad we had hired a car. On the plus side the staff were very helpful and responsive. The bedrooms and bathrooms were attractive and comfortable and all had balconies. Overall it was OK but for a five star hotel, we had higher expectations.

If the NH Alanda were a Four Star property, I would now be writing an excellent review complimenting the owners on the hotel's modern design, helpful staff, and thoughtful touches. When judged against its Five Star rating however, it is true to say that the Alanda lacks some of the "sparkle" that one would normally expect from a hotel in this class.

Certainly on arrival the modern buildings are impressive, but it quickly becomes apparent that this property lacks any distinctive character of its own. Although the entrance to each room is quite unusual with a wood-panelled passageway, floorboards and double glass basins stacked with free toiletries, the rest of the interior is decidedly on the bland side. Yes, there are touches of marble, mirrors and chrome everywhere, however we struggled to find any distinguishing feature in the building that set this property apart from your average quality business hotel. In addition, for such a recently opened property (Spring 2003), we were surprised at the large amount of wear and tear, especially in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Previous reviewers have suggested that the staff in this property were aloof and unhelpful. We certainly did not find this to be the case, although the level of personal attention provided did not match other Five Star properties that we have stayed in. We did not expect this hotel to be particularly child friendly, however we were surprised how accommodating the staff were of the needs of our 7-month old sun. From giving him a t-shirt and a wash-kit on arrival to providing complementary baby food in the restaurant at breakfast, the staff went out of their way to make a fuss of him.

Location wise, this hotel is situated half-way between Puerto Banus and Marbella. Although this is a good location if you have a car, we found that there were very few amenities within walking distance (unless you venture into the seriously swanky Puente Romano Hotel across the road). One evening we asked the hotel to recommend a restaurant within walking distance, and the best that they could come up with was 'La Pesceria' which was a good 35 minutes walk along the beachfront towards Marbella.

All in all, this hotel is not a bad choice for a short stay in Marbella, however if it is a full Five Star experience that you are after, there are other properties in the vicinity that will better meet your expectations.

We were in Marbella for the 1st time. The check in staff were friendly and helpful. We were in the main building. The rooms smart but were showing a lot of small signs of ware & tare. There was a lot of noise heard from rooms on either side, such as doors closing, normal conversations.

In December this hotel was partially closed and a number of facilities described on the web site was not available.
No celebration of Christmas Whatsoever,no entertainment,no shops or anything to do closebye.
Eighteen euros for a whisky, so you could not spend much time in the bar,which never had more than five guests in all the time we were staying .
Was so bored with the place we checked out two five days early and booked flights home at an extra expense of £210.Maybe this hotel is ok for a business trip stopover, but not for a holiday.