Elba Costa Ballena Beach & Thalasso Resort

I had a great experience at Elba Estepona during a school trip, but Elba Costa Ballena was a nightmare. The room was dirty, with stains on the headboard and a confusing duvet setup. The "adult-only" restaurant was overcrowded and noisy with kids. On night two, a waitress dropped 10 or so glasses of wine near me, covering my food, clothes, and table, with no sincere apology or compensation. I was beyond shocked especially considering that the service had been bad from the time we entered the restaurant. To make things worse, it was a buffet and I asked for the chef to fry my fish which they were doing that evening anyway only to sit down at my table and realise, the fish is RAW.. and despite emailing ahead for a birthday gesture like a complimentary muffin, free drink or something, nothing was done because they don't do anything if it's a guests birthday apparently. Even a fast food gives vouchers guys c'mon..No one seemed to care, and I felt uncomfortable, possibly due to being the only black guest in that restaurant and at the hotel to be honest. I won't be returning.

Hi there (dear management),

I wanted to share some thoughts about my recent stay at your resort. While there were some great moments, there were also a few things that really need attention.

First off, me and my beloved wife were pretty shocked to see cockroaches running around during our breakfast. This was really off-putting and not what we expected from a place like yours. Cleanliness is super important, and this was a big letdown!!!

On a brighter note, I have to give a shoutout to Alberto, the bartender at the pool bar. He was fantastic! Always smiling and going the extra mile to make sure everyone was happy. He really made our time at the pool enjoyable.

I hope you can sort out the cleanliness issue soon. Thanks for listening to my feedback.

Best,
B.Petroff

Not a 4 stars hotel, more like 3 stars. Staff is very friendly but they make things quite complicated from key cards not working every second try, getting your wifi set, finding towels for the pool, reserving a parking spot and more. Personally I also got food poisoning there, though the food was alright. Best thing about the hotel is being close to a great beach which is lovely, though no direct access or service from the hotel. If you get a bargain deal, I would say its a safe stay, but otherwise not a good value for money.