SO/ Sotogrande Spa & Golf Resort Hotel

This used to be one of our favourite places to stay at, and this was the fifth time in as many years. 12 nights, 2 rooms to have more space with our 10 and 13 year old children. The resort grounds are as beautiful as ever. So are the pools and grounds, immaculate and the gardens are maintained to the highest of standards. However where this resort has really downgraded itself is in service - I wouldn’t rate it 3 star yet alone what used to be 5+… Some concrete comparisons from our previous visits: 1. Breakfast at Society, previously used to be at the restaurant above the bar. The service used to be extraordinary, if you didn’t have enough time to eat due to tennis or golf, they would pack it up in a lovely box with a takeaway coffee and a bit of chatter about your day. Now they look and behave like they are in a fast food restaurant and can’t wait to get you out of there. They grab the menus the moment you’ve ordered, lest god forbid you ask for another dish. You have to ask for water and they bring you a glass straight out of the tap. They bring you instant coffee and you have to ask for cappuccino and the behaviour is like your asks for the biggest favour. My daughter couldn’t join us for breakfast the entire stay as she had sports training from 7-11 so when I asked for a takeaway toast I was told that you can only order and eat at the restaurant by a super grumpy waitress who was always in a terrible mood. With two notable exceptions (Mercedes and Katie) the rest of the staff are unpleasant at best and rude at the worst. Another time we came in at 7am at the opening time (they opened at 7.10 even though they saw us waiting). We had a pick up car at 7.30 so told them we were in a hurry and only had 20 minutes for breakfast. Even though we were the only ones in the restaurant, they didn’t take our order until past 7.20 and of course refused to let us take anything with us. Tonight we came back to the hotel and wanted to grab some dinner only to be told that all the restaurants are fully booked out. As it was 7.45pm there was no one in the restaurant and we said we will only be half an hour. “No, fully booked” she said dismissively and put her head down and continued to stare at her tablet. Only when we asked to talk to the manager, we were given a table. We were out of there by 8.30pm and the restaurant remained empty the entire time. Zero customer service in spite of five star pricing. Linen has not been changed in two weeks, we’ve had the same linen the entire time we’ve been here (I know as there is a small chochoate stain on the cover). They just make the bed with the same linen over and over. They used to leave these beautiful water bottles last time we were here, there were special touches all over the resort - all that is gone now. Service is now reminiscent of a 3 star business hotel at best. Incredibly disappointing as this used to be one of our favorite places in the world. You can only trade on your previous glory for so long. And So Soto used to be a glorious experience. Not any more.

This is not a 5 star hotel. Firstly, the breakfast was very poor for a 5 star hotel. Travelodge vibes, we only went once because of this. The fruit platter was water melon and orange. The rooms are ok, nothing special. The tapas bar and service there was spectacular. The other restaurants were ok, nothing special. We travelled as a family of 4 with two teenagers. We visited the La Reserva, which is part of the hotel, the service at the water sports was awful. On arriving the staff were playing a game and had written the word C***T on a white board for all to see. When challenged, we were told they were having a laugh. Over priced and poor quality! There are so much better 5 star hotels in the Costa del sol. It’s very expensive for what you get and to be honest, we left feeling ripped off.

Fabulous service ,great rooms very friendly staff, Amazing Restaurants , for us the Adult only pool and what I could see a very good Children's pool, which had lot's of activities going on for them. This was our second visit to this Hotel, and we will be returning for a third visit

Vey nice and cozy hotel.Very confortable and clean Will come back soon

Exceptional. We enjoyed a very creative "Al-Andalus" menu, which was both refined and perfectly executed. The T-bone tuna steak is an absolute must! We also loved the tuna Rossini and the ceviche of tuna. Full-strike, from delicious food to impeccable service. No doubt the restaurant Cortijo at Hotel Almenara SO/ Sotogrande is the place to go this summer.