Palacio Solecio, A Small Luxury Hotel Of The World

Stayed at Palacio Solecio for 2 nights. Boutique hotel tucked that sits at the entrance of Centro Historico and the Main Street heading towards the Alcabaza and Roman Theater. The hotel is central to everything. You just need to walk to the main road (2 min) to get a taxi or Uber if you need one. The hotel itself is split into 2 buildings. I was initially put in the Solecio Building, it’s new and modern, with access to the gym and rooftop bar). While modern and my room was loft-like (with stairs from bathroom to bedroom) tucked away on the ground floor, I was unhappy as I had requested a king bed and the room felt enclosed. Again it was very modern and immediate just not what I was looking for. The hotel was completely booked and I couldn’t exercise my Chase credit card upgrade, however the staff was super helpful and managed to move me to the Solecio Building which was the 18th-century Andalusian palace. Well the room was more typical hotel room style and definitely dated a little it was perfect for me. Very charming, spacious, got my king bed as had been reserved, and had a little terrace-type area. While I love modern, when staying in a hotel like this, you definitely want the original building. Easy walk to rooftop bar in the other building. Bar area was great (thank you Annabel and Antonio), didn’t utilize the pool but seemed nice. A big thank you to the staff for making this a great stay (Alvaro, Fernando, Diego, Vitor and German).

The hotel’s location is excellent and very central, and the interior design is beautiful. The property itself makes a great first impression. Unfortunately, our stay had several issues. Our first room was directly next to the service area, where staff conversations were clearly audible. After changing rooms, we were facing the restaurant, so we could hear plates and cutlery from early morning until late evening, as well as street noise. We ended up sleeping with earplugs. We also noticed that one of the electrical outlet covers came loose when unplugging a charger. After accidentally spilling a drink on the bed, we asked housekeeping to replace the bed sheets. The bed was made, but the sheets were not changed. We also requested a late check-out around 1 a.m. and were told we had to ask again at 9 a.m. This meant setting an alarm on the morning we had hoped to sleep in. In our experience, it would have been much more guest-friendly if such a simple request could have been confirmed the evening before. One final point surprised us. We mentioned at check-out that we had been staying to celebrate a birthday, and we were told that the hotel generally does not acknowledge guests’ birthdays. Of course, no hotel is obliged to do so, but for a property positioning itself as a luxury boutique hotel, even a simple “Happy Birthday” would have been a thoughtful gesture. Overall, the hotel has a lot of potential thanks to its excellent location and attractive design. However, we felt there is room for improvement when it comes to sound insulation, housekeeping and service consistency.

The room looked stunning at first, but unfortunately it wasn’t clean. The bedsheets and duvet were stained (likely from age), and there was a noticeable layer of dust throughout the room. The air conditioning barely cooled the room, making it uncomfortable to sleep, and the shower pressure was very weak. While the hotel is undeniably beautiful and has a spectacular lobby, the room itself didn’t feel luxurious. Complimentary bottled water is available, but only if you call reception before 7 p.m- not very luxurious. Overall, it’s a beautiful hotel, but not one I’d consider a true luxury property.

My wife and I had the privilege of staying here during our final leg of our trip and were extremely pleased with our stay. Everyone was friendly. The breakfast was amazing. The design of the property was elegant and in our room we absolutely loved. The central life location provided us the walk ability we wanted to the beach and stay city center. We enjoyed hearing a little bit of noise later into the night understanding we are in the heart of Malaga, which we loved. We will definitely stay here again.