This hotel was an absolute nightmare from start to finish!

The staff were a miserable shower of people with no manners whatsoever! Especially the ones in the restaurant! I felt like asking them what the problem was but they could not speak a word of English so there was no point! We went all inclusive and were made to feel like we were asking for something for nothing when we asked for drinks of juice along with our dinner! At one point we asked for a jug of cola as there were five in our party and the waiter nearly had a fit! Shouting no no no as if we were being greedy or something!

We didnt even bother going to the bar - we went once - stayed for half an hour and left! Talk about miserable - I thought when you paid all inclusive that meant you could drink for free! Its not worth the hassle and the embarrasment in this hotel! You are made to feel like a second class citizen because you are asking for more than one drink!

The pool area was fine during the day because we were quite happy to sunbathe and relax - but again if you felt like a drink of juice or an ice cream you were frightened to go and ask incase they told you to get lost!

Dont ever book this hotel for a holiday because it is an absolute nightmare and I am so glad to be home!

Honestly dont go to this hotel it is absolutely awful.

We went there on the 1 August 2004 for one week and that long enough believe me.....

The public toilets were absolutely appauling blood and excrement on two cubicles for 3 days, no toilet roll and absolutely no cleaner to be seen for the whole 7 days.

Food awful, they even had a power cut mid week forgetting to tell any guests. Food was always cold, hot food displayed next to salads. When you asked even being all-inclusive for a drink it was like asking for the earth. Dirty dishes always left on your table until you had left the table. I did not find the staff helpful one bit.

Entertain very very poor and boring.

The pool area buckets were never emptied, pool bar closed earlier than it should have done. Also this week the bar ran out of plastic cups, then got other taller thin ones, the beer starting frothing so they said no beer. We had earlier observed them rolling kegs down from reception to the pool bar, no wonder they were frothy eh..... You would think nothing else would happen until...... the pool started emptying, they never even noticed that we had to tell them. As my husband said they pinched the pool plug to sort the electrics in the hotel.

It does not matter how many times you complain they are not interested. We even asked our holiday rep for a complaint form which we were promised but surprise surprise she could not find one.

So take my advice DO NOT GO THERE...

Gran Hotel La Calla Mijas Costa.
A pleasant enough hotel, with good sized rooms,side sea view balconies and providing typical Spanish food,with enough variety to suit most people. I especially enjoyed the freshly cooked meats and fish dishes.

Poor swimming area, consisting of a shallow, walk-in play pool. Certainly not suitable for adults.

A large lounge with a games area at one end and restricted views of the,"Entertainment", for a lot of the guests.

Bingo in four languages took up the time from 9.00pm to 10pm and later. Entertainment was generally poor, with little opportunity to dance.

An hotel which was not suitable for Saga guests.

Although the hotel is fairly new we found it to be very basic. The bedrooms were comfortable but the public areas a huge disappointment.

Only ten minutes to walk into La Cala proper and a good selection of restaurants here.

The hotel was average when it comes to cleanliness, the food truly 3rd rate. We found the staff generally seemed to think we were a nuisance and most people we met were of the same opinion.

Entertainment 5th rate - no effort being made in this department - seems a bit strange for a hotel promoting itself as a resort.

We liked the location which is right on the edge of the beach which is long and ideal for morning and evening walks.

Come back ? never, never, never, but La Cala is great we will find somewhere else to stay next time.

We saw an article on another forum which mentioned self catering places shown on the Tourist Information website and we will probably give that a go next time. I've had a quick look and it looks very promising but cannot comment yet.

www.calademijas.com.

We have just returned from the Gran Hotel Costa del Sol after a two-week stay. We enjoyed the break but were not particularly impressed by this hotel. It is uninspiring architecturally, as noted by a previous contributor, and is tucked away down a side street. The hotel is long and narrow and built at right angles to the beach.

The rooms are of a good size and comfortable with nice bathrooms. Each room has its own private balcony. Ours overlooked the carpark in front of the entrance and we spent the odd moments observing the parking skills of other guests below! Parking spaces were at a premium in March. What would the situation be like in the height of the season?

Rooms on the opposite side of the hotel overlooked a wide muddy stormwater drainage channel.

The food in the restaurant was boring and repetitive, fish and chicken, chicken and fish! It certainly wasn't hot. We discovered the trolley with the heated plates (medium, warm or hot) two days after our arrival. It was situated in front of a pillar and set back from the buffet. What a pity that we hadn't noticed it earlier! Cold plates are stacked on the end of the buffet and are intended for salads. Chips are available at both lunch and dinner but otherwise small children are not well catered for in the restaurant.

The large lounge/bar area is well furnished but the smell of stale smoke is overpowering at all times here and elsewhere in the hotel, apart from the restaurant and bedrooms. Non-smokers beware!

As noted by the previous contributor, the windows throughout the hotel are filthy. When do they get cleaned?

There is a surgery off the main reception area which is used by a visiting doctor. It is also used by an excellent lady masseur who is able to deal with all aches and pains by appointment. Some comfortable chairs and sofas in the reception area would be a real bonus.

If future guests use hotel facilities like laundry or fax, PLEASE KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS. You may well need to produce them when you check out as the staff are not always accurate with their accounting and this will avoid embarrassment.

There is a unisex hairdresser, Paula Styles, just around the corner from the hotel. There is also the main Post Office nearby but don't bother to send cards to the UK. Ours took two weeks to arrive, three or four days after our return.

Coach trips to various paces of interest can be booked
at the hotel. Our favourites took is to Gibraltar and to the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

Hotel was too much out of the way down a little dust track of a road , entertainment was very poor we felt at all times there was one room missing , only allowed one drink at a time and a beer in a little plastic cup, we felt discriminated because we were on an all inclusive holiday when half board guests were getting better treatment of the hotel. The food was very very poor all we seemed to have every night was fish did harry ramsden own the hotel or something.
The pool area was poor too very shallow pool good for kids but not for adults , and at night when we were peckish no food was available to eat as stated in the hotel description , we were overlooking half car park half a old house not the sea views the brochure says overall a very poor hotel i can't believe its a 4 star lucky to be a one star hotel.

The bar / resturant staff are a total waste of space! Although you pay to be all inclusive, you feel like THEY are doing YOU a favour to serve you a drink! If you are all inc, you are a second class citizen! Pool is tiny, a 6ft adult will find it very hard to actually swim. No way is this hotel a 4*. 3*, maybe, just.

Overall, it was a nice break. Mijas is cool, great irish bar! Hotel makes you want to go home though. DO NOT BOOK!!!!!

The hotel was very nice and very clean. It hadnt been open for very long when I went there.
The food was very repetitive and boring.
The hotel staff were quite rude and didnt seem to understand the meaning of 'All Inclusive'. There were sevral disagreements when ordering drinks at the bar, they were telling us that we could only have one drink at a time which meant that each member of our party had to go to the bar seperately - Very Pointless!!
The entertainment was poor. the childrens disco went on until about 10pm which we thought was far too late as by that time all adults were bored!!!Overall I enjoyed my holiday but feel that the management had a lot to learn if they wanted people to return!

This hotel was crap to say the least. We got there when the hotel first opened and they were still placing furniture in the rooms. We arrived at noon and did not get a room until 5:30 in the afternoon. In between they gave us cold fish in tomato sauce and a salad, we had no choice on what to eat. When we got our room, there was no hairdryer installed in the bathroom and the cables were hanging off the wall, no fridge, no TV and the room was filthy. We decided not to make a big issue out of it and try to enjoy our holiday. However, we made our way to the pool and found it to be a kids paddle pool (certainly not for adults - water just went up to my hips!) The so called "Chiringuito" serving ice cream all day for kids was closed and did not open during all the days we stayed at the hotel.

Food was awful, all we had to eat every day was croquettes and chicken and chips, lots of boring cold salads and fruit emptied out of cans in front of our faces! Most of the time food was cold.

Well, after a boring day trying to solve the problems in our room, shower time came, I showered my daughter and son, then my husband had his shower, when it came to me, halfway along my shower the water got cut off and had to go to dinner still wearing my shampoo on my head! - This might sound funny now, but it was very stressful at the time. We did not have any more water until the next afternoon.

We made a complaint and we were offered 2 nights as compensation, which, thinking that all the teething problems had been solved, we returned 3 months later
and still having problems. The antenna on our TV had to be re-installed, still no fridge in the room (but the cupboard for it was there), hairdryer was installed but not working - and then there's the food, well, if you like croquettes every meal, every day of the week, then this is the place for you.

Take my advice, stay away from this hotel! You don't need the stress!!!