Anyone not quite ready to let go of summer yet? Isn’t there something SO tempting about just nipping over for a mini break to catch the last of that European sunshine / are people already wanderlusting for summer 2018 – because I know I am.
Don’t get me wrong – I love me some Autumn. It is one of my favourites time of year. Big jumpers, hot chocolates – BUT I also know that winter is coming – and that means forever cold and pale legs. I was chatting with my girls last weekend about last min holiday sun and we were all thinking about the best places to go for one last blast of sunshine to top up our melatonin levels before we put on tights and ugg boots and don’t shave till May. I was telling them about this hotel I stayed at over the summer for literally a pre summer stay – so it would be perfect summer book ends to go again. (They also have a great offer on at the moment but I will pop that at the end of the post)
The hotel was called The Kempinski Hotel Bahía and it is in Estapona. I actually visited in May for 4 days with my gal pal Sabrina, from A little Obsessed. She was invited as a guest to review the hotel and I was her plus one (perks of blogger friendships).
The hotel is gorgeous (and huge). It’s a 5 star resort just a short drive away from Marbella and Puerto Banús. We didn’t venture over to these places – instead sticking around the hotel and also heading to the old town of Estapona for our excursions.
We had the most gorgeous, beautiful bedroom (I can’t even explain how much I loved the bath – just have a look at the photos – it was ENORMOUS)
The Kempinski Hotel as a whole is quite traditional styling (and completely filled with beautiful statement pieces of art), but when we walked into our room, it was super modern, bright white and chic with a LOT of space. (There are much more typically European styled rooms also in the hotel, so make sure to specify when you book which style you are after! I think all the suites etc are much more traditional decor but they are simply stunning – we had a peak at a few whilst we were there)
So our little home for the trip had its own balcony with sun loungers on it (YAS) and living room (YAS) and wardrobe area (YAS) and the comfiest beds (twin room beds). My favourite part (apart from the balcony view) was the bathroom – just so gorgeous – shower, both, two sinks – very luxury. ALSO we have TWO toilets in our room- now that is serious luxury!! We were only there for 3 nights, but as Sabrina said in her post, you could definitely stay there for 7-14 nights holiday and not feel like you needed more space or get claustrophobic like it is possible in other hotel rooms. I think the hotel in general feels so spacious and grand and non imposing that you really could do a long stay there without feeling like you needed a change of scenery. I THINK with our room, you could possibly make it an adjoining room with another but not entirely sure – but that would be perfect for groups of friends going together.
The hotel is right on the beach – which is so ideal for any sunny holiday. The ground are immaculate and also very big. It is impossible to feel cramped or imposed on and the pools were really chilled. The whole outdoors area was very spacious, with all the deck chairs positioned around the gardens on the grass rather than typically around the edge of the pools with lots of space in-between everyone so you really do feel completely relaxed.
There is a special VIP section for the pool – which is the Moët pool which we used one afternoon. It was lovely, very chilled. If you are looking for a bit of a vibey pool setting then I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND going to Puro Beach Club Malaga. We headed over for a day and had the most luxurious time.
It’s very glam (bedazzled bikinis and high heels all round) but also super chilled, kids are allowed, there were also definitely more than 3 dogs there just chilling, having the best day. There were massages available in little huts around the pool – and the BEST sushi restaurant that I’ve been to in a long time. It’s everything you could want from a beach club. Fruit bowls, cocktails, all the glam, great music – literally so dreamy. And the setting is absolutely beautiful. I think we were the only people there with our books though – everyone else was there for a bit of a party and a chill – I definitely was the only person holding a kindle.
I would say it is a 2-3 min walk from the hotel (it is literally next door) and you walk along the beach to get there so it requires no effort 🙂
It was also the perfect amount of MARBS vibes – but without the huge overpowering feeling of being surrounded by stag party’s and hen dos. Actually we didn’t see a single stag do when we were out there which was just so that was fab, becasuse when land into Malaga airport, it is literally just drunk stags and hens everywhere so it was so nice to disappear away from that vibe and see the gorgeous Costa del Sol. I am so not into the TOWIE / marbs vibe. BUT I do love some fresh watermelon and a massage around the pool.
So we spent one of the days there which was delightful – you can find info about booking beds – and different rates etc here.
Back to the hotel – let’s talk about food. They have 4-5 restaurants and bars. My favourite was the Alminar Signature Restaurant and Steak House which is where we ate on the firs nice and had a simply incredible meal. Honeslty – the food was so so so delicious – and we all know how much a foodie I am.
Breakfast was really great, help in the El Mirador restaurant. A LOT of choice at the buffet – egg station, bread station, cured meats stations, kids station, fruit, cereal etc etc. I could have munched my way around it for hours. And it was really lovely to sit and eat out in the terrace.
If I am being totally honest – which I strive to do so, I wasn’t crazy keen on the food around the pool – had a wrap and it wasn’t amazing, but there are plenty of amazing lunch options along that stretch of beach which I would recommend trying anyway. We headed to a restaurant just next to Puro Beach on our last day for a huge bowl of spaghetti vongole and a side of calamari and it was heaven.
They have another fab restaurant in the hotel – which is on the beach front – La Cabaña del Mar – where we ate on our last night and the food was SO SO good. I am actually getting hungry writing this post which is never great.
The hotel is near to a town called Estapona which is SO CUTE. We were told it was a 15 min walk – but unless we got it completely wrong, we walked for about an hour to get there… which was fine as the view of the sunset was fab – but I would really recommend getting a taxi to the town as it is just one straight long wizzy road so take like 3 mins to drive.
We wandered around the town finding cute houses to take photos of – it is so picturesque. On one of the evenings we ate at a local restaurant in the town (we found the busiest one which is always a good sign) and had huge mixed paella which was so great. Can’t go to Spain and not get paella, am I right?
The hotels also has a gym and spa which we were very lucky to get to try a few treatments. We had a full body massage each and also the Bastien Gonzalez Pedicure which isn’t something I had every had before, nor really heard of. It is basically a treatment for your nails – a lot of time buffing and shining and there is no actual nail varnish applied – just a treatment for your nails. So they come out almost pearlescent. If you are someone who NEEDS colour on your toes – then this isn’t for you / make sure to bring your own varnish – but if you are happy having naked nails then its a really fabulous intense pedicure which I really enjoyed.
(hotel photos below)
Massage was of course divine. I used to really hate full body massages as I was used to be so tense and uptight that I just couldn’t relax into it – but I am getting better and LOVED this treatment.
We didn’t make it to the gym BUT we did get to have an amazing yoga lesson early one morning. I loved loved loved this. I’m so unflexible and so bad at yoga, but it took place in a gorgeous sun filled room and it was just Sabrina and I and the instructor and it was just divine. HIGHLY recommend that if you are staying at the hotel.
Hotel would be great for family’s, groups of friends and couples. It’s very chilled, really well maintained – great service, great dining options and really impressed with the rooms. They have a great offer on at the moment (have a read here) which, if I understand correctly, guarantees you a room upgrade when you arrive (sounds FABULOUS!)
ALSO flights are CHEAP to Spain so go go go!
