Calahonda Apartments - Los Jarales

We were taken by taxi to the incorrect address that we were given, crown resorts in malaga not MIJAS, so we paid extra € 35 for taxi to take us to the opposite side of town. No contact number for our taxi firm to rectify our return journey( we used HOPPA service, I don't recommend!!) You can only contact them by autobot and couldn't ask them the relevant questions. Then had to wait all week before they contacted me via Whatsapp. I finally arrived with my family where we had two separate apartments but had to move to a different one due to having a bath which is difficult for my dad to get into. I asked to be moved to an apartment with walk in shower, the staff were very helpful with us and sympathetic. Rooms are very dated with the dark wood interior and old fashioned metal sliding gates to access the balcony (which was quite small) Rooms are also too warm even with the ceiling fans on (as there isn't any air conditioning in any of the apartments). The shops and restaurants are too far away to go and fetch water ( the complex only offers 1.5 litres bottles from the bar) you need at least 5-8 litres to refill kettles and water bottles etc. ( nearest shop is about 1/2 mile down hill and then to carry it up hill in 32 degree heat is a nightmare. The pool is lovely and clean and cool but quite small and luckily not many kids. The beach is quite far and need to cross a highway to access it. Beach is Stony/pebbly and is a pain to walk along and paddle in the sea. For a choice of restaurants, there's only Italian, Chinese, indian and kebabs. If your a little physically impaired like myself then it's not a good place for you!! Big thankyou to all the staff as they are helpful and patient.

The only problems were the inconvenience of lack of an office to check in so you have to call and message a person to meet you with the keys, and our unit needed twice a day draining of a large plastic container for the air conditioning accumulated water, wherein other units had simply extended the drainage plastic hose to the side of the building for automatic drainage with no manual labor and time needed twice a day. Otherwise, everything else was very good to excellent.

We are three adults staying in a 2 bdrm, 2 bath unit - love the 2 bathrooms (one with shower). Very comfortable for the day we needed a rest from all the walking/climbing we did during the days. The location is convenient as we were able to easily drive to Malaga, Gibraltar, Granada, and the Caminito del Ray. A 15-ish minute walk down to the coast and there is boardwalk that follows the coast. A fantastic walk. Rita met us on the street (as I called for directions) and showed us around the complex. Very secure with a key needed to leave the gated parking area and when walking. My only complaint (and it’s a small one) is the master bed was two singles pushed together - we turned the mattresses after repeatedly falling through the first night, lol.

We have stayed in this resort many times over the years. It is close to the beaches, a couple of big supermarkets and other shops, some nice restaurants and the bus service. However, this year though we felt that the resort was neglected and run down. The reception was closed, even at the height of the holiday season, meaning we had to check in and out etc at Club Marbella. The poolside bar was closed, as was the restaurant adjacent to the resort. There were no umbrella coverings on the frames around the pools, neither were there any life guards or enough sunbeds. The telephone and WiFi didn't work on arrival so we had to walk up to Club Marbella and ask for it to be fixed. The apartments have had no work done in them in the 8 years since we have been going and are now very run down. For example bathroom doors with water damage needing replaced, really awful uncomfortable couch / fold away bed in living room. Many of the apartments are privately owned and the owners have dogs. They do usually clean up after the dogs, but it is worth keeping your eye on where you are walking on the grass around the pool just in case.

We have been using this resort for many years, bringing lots of family members here in the past, but it's become very run down and tired looking. As others have said, very little cleaning is done during a two week stay and you have to change your own bed linen and towels. Covid being used as the excuse, surely more cleaning should be done after covid. For the first time in over 10 years visiting here we had cockroaches in our room, we never had that when the rooms were cleaned properly. Our fridge leaked, kettle leaked, aircon didnt work properly, the bath was filthy, with black stains on it, all were reported and most eventually fixed to be fair, but there just seems to be a general lack of maintenance throughout the site. Paint/lacquer is peeling off apartment doors. A lot of the stairwell lighting doesnt work at all, which is quite dangerous at night. The kids play area is a joke, one old platic play house to keep the little ones occupied. One pool was closed for most of our first week, no lifeguards around - always used be two lifeguards on site all day on previous visits. No tops on the umbrellas, just bare metal frames.so people were draping all sorts over them which looked unsightly. Far fewer sunbeds available, not allowed to use the blue ones unless you want to be moaned at by the residents. No reception available, no restaurant available on site, pool bar closed, games room, sauna and gym closed. At night there was loud music being played from some apartments, people in the pool late at night which caused arguments, security would not attend as they were "busy", even when kids were jumping off the pool bar roof into the pool security would not attend. They are selling off a lot of these apartments so you would think they would want to keep them in tip top condition, not so. During our stay very rude estate agents were showing people around, allowing people to take photos and videos of apartments from outside while people were in the rooms, when challenged they very rudely just said "make a complaint". Front desk staff as always were great, but its management that are letting the resort down, seems to be a lot of cost cutting and no investment in facilities. Such a shame as we have enjoyed some great holidays here in the past, no longer available on RCI, just via *********** or similar sites until all are sold I would imagine.

We stayed July 16 - 23, 2022, and booked our stay via Hilton Grand Vacations timeshare. This was a family celebratory gift from our Uncle. This resort is NOT Hilton quality. Needless to say, this was clearly an example of "catfish". The amenities were poor - no soap was provided in the bathrooms, housekeeping and on-site restaurant included. The hot water ran out each day. We had a 2 bedroom and sofa-sleeper. There were 6 people in our group. Housekeeping did not exist! We were given replacement linen in a big trash bag and told to change our own linen. We were instructed to place our dirty linen/towels in a trash bag and place them outside our door. We reported bugs the first day and they gave us a can of bug spray. Upon check-in, we're told WIFI is only provided for 2 devices. We had to incur additional costs for additional devices. The onsite restaurant/bar closes at 4:00 pm each day. The pool is very small and was always crowded. Our stay had been "upgraded" from the sister resort site (Club Marbella). The community is located in a very hilly location and is also a permanent residence for locals. There was one overpriced vending machine. The "indoor pool" was being repaired. The gym closed and opened late each day. This is not the quality expected of a Hilton Hotel. The beds were terrible. The mattress was similar to a blow-up camp mattress. We were told to empty our own trash in the dumpster across the street from the resort. Google map gives the wrong location. Staff was cordial, but not very helpful. We asked for a taxi to the train station to travel to Barcelona - we were sent to the wrong station. I would NOT recommend you spend your timeshare week at this particular resort.

Had a nice stay but the check in desk was at a different resort. I fell in the bathtub because they removed the mats due to covid. Location and view was good. I did a lot of walking to different restaurants and to the beach.

We live in a beautiful home and always stay somewhere that's as close if not above the same standard. This resort is possibly the worst we have stayed at in over 25 years - my husband arrived first and did warn me, he does exaggerate but this time he was spot on with his initial assessment. The resort is very tired and reminded me of years ago when you booked package holiday which was very cheap and cheerful! Tired furniture in all rooms Mouldy bathroom Ceiling fan, no AC Stained terracotta tiles on balcony floor