Hotel Encinar de Sotogrande

We have stayed at this hotel a number of times in recent years. Despite the apparent need for a massive overhaul of the whole complex, we had always appreciated its location, the grounds and the lovely swimming pool. So we were thrilled to learn the much-awaited renovation had been finished earlier this year. And what a great job the owners have done. The hotel has been well and truly brought into the 21st century with its stylish neutral decor, timber floors, beautiful bathrooms and incredibly comfortable beds. Some very tiny things still need to be addressed in the rooms; there is no place as yet to put your shampoo, shower gel etc in the shower cubicle. Also the smoke detector alarms have incredibly visible flashing lights which at night, with the black out curtains can keep people awake as their reflection bounces off the ceiling. They just need to be relocated in the entry way or replaced with ones without such annoying lights. Slightly more important feedback .. the food at breakfast is perfectly fine but perhaps could be improved in terms of choice to reflect the brand new decor. And finally the service too. We just think this beautiful hotel now needs to be accompanied with a friendly, highly-responsive staff. The service has always been perfunctory over the years; nothing more, nothing less. We had put that down to the fact the hotel was clearly in need of a overhaul. Yet now that the hotel is really lovely, perhaps the time has come for a rethink about service. But hurrah, Sotogrande now has another beautiful hotel; it’s reasonably priced too so would highly recommend it.

You may break your neck in one of the many rooms, experience dirty cutlery rotting in the corridors for days, or be amazed when you find two attentive and friendly staff members. You will be over-happy when you are lucky enough when a waiter brings you the wine menu and remains on your side to take the order instead of walking away to never showing up again.

Maybe it was the time of year but the hotel was absolutely soulless. Very cold welcome at reception. I had 2 big suitcases, 2 smaller ones plus a golf bag and the receptionist watched me as I struggled up and down steps and stairs to the rooms section IN TWO TRIPS!! The room was unbearably hot and was told next morning that the aircon is set to not go below 24 degrees this time of year. There was no gym or pool in operation and worse there was a lot of loud maintenance work going on every day at these areas. I asked for a plaster in reception at one point but no surprise to no avail. The breakfast was seriously limited to the very basic continental if even that. Everything was self service. Very very poor selection of everything…juices…bread (zero pastries)…fruit..just nothing substantial. The reasoning behind this apparently was because there was a football team staying and only “healthy” food was being provided. Literally no regard for the other visitors. Found this extremely disrespectful to the other visitors mind you there weren’t many others other than said football team. Location not good. You definitely need a car. Difficult to get an Uber in the area and taxi was at least €15 for a 4 mins drive to La Cañada golf course.

I would like to say, despite all the big talk from other hotels in the area, this small but very friendly and cute hotel is my favourite. I am from Florida in the U.S. and am used to staying at some very grand hotels but Encinar is just so cute and even more welcoming, I would advise anyone visiting Sotogrande to stay here. That's the good news. However, my rating is just for the hotel and not the area. Other than the great golf courses, there is nothing about Sotogrande that fits the descriptions you read about in the magazines or Google or the advertisements by the realtors. In fact much of what they say is untrue. In particular, although Hotel Encinar is peaceful, Sotogrande, in general is a very noisy place. I have stayed in the hills where building work, cranes and heavy vehicles cause a lot of unwanted noise, unbearable noise that seems to never stop. Much worse than that is in the port where my friends live. They have two houses they are trying to sell and cannot sell because of the continuous noise from the very loud machinery that is used by the gardeners who are relentless, starting at 8 every morning and going on and on all day, every day of the week. Sure they make it look pretty but it's not worth it, the noise never stops. My friends are fraught with stress due to this and the other noise from the private swimming pools all around the resort that are full of screaming children playing with inflatables. No one every does anything about it. The security is just 1 car that goes around but there is no security on foot. They are not able to take their young children even for a walk as most of the roads are built only for cars, there are no sidewalks, only drains or the road (where cars and motorcycles speed) to walk in. The summer in Sotogrande is unbearable now because they have booming, ear-piercing music from live concerts and DJ's that perform from midnight to 6am all through the summer. This place is anything but tranquil. The bars and restaurants are nothing special and there is nothing else to do but play golf. There are no places of interest. You can't get out anywhere without a car, there are no trains and barely a bus. Don't believe what you read about this place. Maybe sixty years ago it was OK but it's now become unbearable. All the people from Marbella descend in Sotogrande for the concerts then hundreds and hundreds of people walk around the beach and streets in the early hours drunk and looking revolting, doing things that make my stomach churn. I feel very sorry for all the property owners who thought they had made a good inves**ent and are now driven from their homes by the downfall of this place. This year was the worst yet. I was talking to some business owners in the nearby village who have had to move away due to the influx of people and the unbelievable noise. Next year, I shall be staying in Malaga and driving down for the golf. I

This hotel has recently been refurbished and it is now very pleasant to stay here - comfortably four star. Breakfast is good - more than adequate selection of cold and hot food, fresh fruit, muesli, pastries etc etc. We stayed three nights for a golfing break. It is well located for all the top golf courses in the area and very near the Sotogrande port which has many good restaurants.

Lovely hotel and gardens. Breakfast had plenty of variety. Evening meal service was a disaster. Only one waiter on duty for the week we stayed. Hotel was busy due to Solheim Cup in the area. Didn't improve all week. This was a pity as it's a lovely hotel and fabulous friendly staff.

Lovely looking hotel, rooms are very modern. Staff are very friendly and helpful, especially the receptionists, arranged for a local company to bring us a rental car at a great price, pointed us in the direction of pretty much anything we asked for and spoke great English. Pool and seating very clean, didn’t struggle with beds atall. Would definitely return in September again as it was quiet.

Absolut amazing clean room. Sad I arrived late and left early would have loved to stay longer. The reception staff was nice.

Lovely rooms comfortable and spotlessly clean. Friendly staff. Restaurant nice but menu limited. Would definitely stay again if in the area