Exe Estepona Thalasso & Spa- Adults Only

I booked this hotel primarily because it is located at an easy on and off highway location. I booked a large room and when we arrived, I was not disappointed. The bathrooms are a little dated but clean and functional. When I checked in, I was told that I have to pay UPFRONT for the whole 8 nights plus parking even though they had my credit card as a security for the booking. I HAVE NEVER HAD TO PAY UPFRONT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. I wanted to cancel the booking and get the hell out of there but I stupidly booked the room through BOOKINGS.com and as such was stuck. Good lesson for the future. So, I paid and went to our room exhausted. On the first night, after no sleep for almost 24 hours, I had just put my head on the pillow when it sounded like there was a live music show at the foot of the bed. The noise was super loud. It was coming from the pool area just below our balcony. When I called the reception, I was told that they have shows every Friday and I “should have read that on their website”. I was furious at the lack of care of a guest. After a lot of back and forth they said they can move us to another room. We had already unpacked everything and hung up all the clothes and were too exhausted to have to repack. They then said they could move us to another room at the other end of the hotel just to sleep and we could go back to our room the next morning. So, in bathrobes and slippers we made our way to another floor and another room. The following day and all the days thereafter, no one contacted us to apologise and compensate us for what we went through. Shameful. The breakfast buffet is good. The balcony was a good size. The air conditioning very good. And as I said the location was also good. The indoor parking spots are very tight. I certainly will not be staying there again and have looked elsewhere for my next two upcoming trips to the area. NOTE: Usually I take lots of photos but I was so upset during my whole stay that I just could not focus on taking photos other than one in the room and a few on the balcony.

We stayed at this hotel for 5 days. All our expectations were met. A wonderful SPA with a large set of hydromassage, sauna, hammam, ice water pool, swimming pool. Excellent Gym. Very spacious, there are many exercise machines. We used the gym every day, and it was practically private for us. All this will restore your body. The breakfasts are varied, always fresh fruit. The staff is very responsive and friendly. I was very pleased with the underground parking of the hotel. We will return to this hotel again!

Out worn rooms and amenities in general. I wonder how do hotels keep their initial star rating and if they get reviewed from time to time.
We found ants in the room - pics attached.
Breakfast was not that of a 4star hotel rating.

We got stuck in the elevator - felt very scary- and the staff managed to get us out quickly. Nice, helpful staff. It is not their fault the management is not interested in refreshing the hotel.