La Fonda Hotel

Absolutely appalling customer service – avoid if you value honesty and customer care. Where do I start? The day before our arrival, we booked directly through the hotel's website, choosing a Classic Room with a balcony/terrace. The hotel looked beautiful online, and after driving all the way from the UK to southern Spain over four days, we had planned to spend two nights here relaxing before continuing our trip. After an exhausting seven-hour drive on our final day, we couldn't wait to check in, have a swim and enjoy a glass of wine on our balcony. Instead, we arrived at around 4:00 pm to be told that our room wasn't available. The receptionist explained that when the maid went to clean the room that morning, she discovered that something in the bathroom wasn't working. She wouldn't say exactly what the problem was, only that a plumber had been called but couldn't come until the following day. To be honest, the explanation didn't feel very convincing. It also made us wonder whether there had been a booking error or whether the room had never actually been available. Interestingly, the room type was no longer showing as available on Booking.com the day before. I can't say what really happened, but the explanation simply didn't add up. I then spoke to someone I was told was the manager. Rather than apologising for the situation, she simply offered us a standard room with no balcony or terrace. That completely defeated the purpose of why we had chosen this hotel. I explained that if they had contacted us earlier that day, when they already knew there was a problem, we could have found another suitable hotel while we were still driving. Instead, they waited until we had completed a seven-hour journey and were standing at reception. I asked whether they would offer any discount for the inconvenience if we accepted the inferior room. The answer was no. Instead, the manager said she could offer us free cancellation. Free cancellation? For a room they couldn't provide? That wasn't a gesture of goodwill—it was simply the bare minimum. At no point did we receive a genuine apology or any sign that they understood how disappointing and frustrating the situation was. In the end, we declined the room and had to find another hotel ourselves, adding another 45 minutes of driving after what had already been a very long day. Fortunately, the alternative hotel was excellent, but that's beside the point. Problems can happen in any hotel. Rooms occasionally become unavailable due to genuine maintenance issues. What matters is how a hotel deals with those situations. Unfortunately, Hotel La Fonda de Benalmádena showed a complete lack of empathy, communication and customer service. Based on our experience, I would not recommend staying here. The hotel's appearance may be charming, but the way we were treated was anything but. One star.

This little hotel is very cute and the position is great. It is quiet and the rooms are comfortable. All staff very kind. The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of proper coffee at the breakfast buffet. The one from the machine was terrible.

My Partner and I have just left Hotel La Fonda after 5 nights there, and we loved every single second of it. From the room, to the breakfast, the spa access, the restaurant and staff. I genuinely couldn't recommend this hotel enough. We will most certainly be coming back at some point. Thanks ever so much!

We stayed 2 nights (10.05-12.05) in la Fonda and have mixed feelings. First of all, the hotel and the facility’s (restaurant, spa, reception) are well maintained and good looking. Especially the spa is very nice. Sadly there is no more positive points and this was probably the worst hotel experience out of 100+ stays. We booked a classic room (via booking.com). The advertised room is in no way comparable to most of the rooms they have. All classic rooms are positioned to the high patio, 2-3 rooms per floor are right in front of the 2 elevators. There is close to zero natural light, and if there were any, you can’t open the curtains because every minute someone from the elevator is passing. Because of that, most of the rooms (108,109,208,209,…) are like prison rooms with modern furniture. Also the bathroom is partially very rusty (see picture). In total I would totally call that a scam, because the hotel knows exactly, that the rooms are not as advertised and the receptionist knew exactly about the problem, when we asked about another room in that category. Transparent advertisement would display the actual rooms in the booking process. Also the hotel is doing big maintenance work while open to guests. This means there is noise because of maintenance work during the day and the public areas are filled with tiles, bathtubs, paints… The breakfast is OK, coffee is from a big automatic machine without any espresso and the staff is to less for the amount of people (no plates, no bread during rush hour). You also notice that during the day, when old glasses and plates (10-20+) are not removed and tables are packed with old dishes. All in all I would never visit this hotel again as this was the worst stay in Spain ever.