G&G Isla Marina Puerto

Location, spacious

Location, sitting on the balcony with a lovely view of the boats. The space in the apartment was great. Even though the apartment is in a busy area you don’t hear much noise when doors and windows shut.

The bathrooms, they need updating and the shower in the en suite couldn’t really be used without water exploding everywhere.

Location was perfect for us. It is right on the marina with loads of restaurants in the area to cater for every taste. The apartment was well presented and clean. We found the beds to be very comfortable. Nice little outside balcony to watch the word go by. The property was quite easy to get in and out of once you understand how the gates and doors work and there are two lifts also. It does have air-conditioning which worked quite well. We used a rental car for our stay and there is a private car parking space available. The closest beach is less than a 5 minute walk. We would choose the apartment again should we come back to Benalmadena.

Just a few minor items which might help other renters or the hosts. The shower head in the on-suite is broken and doesn't spray correctly and it needs a shower curtain putting up. Also the tap over the sink had a broken top. The small bathrooms shower cubical is very small. The kitchen needs an inventory check to make sure there is enough matching crockery etc (mugs in particular). Outside seating could do with new cushions. Curtains in the master bedroom would not open / close correctly. The two single beds did not have any headboards. Property not very well sound proofed. . Communication seemed a bit lacking or later than expected from previous experience. Only a few days to go and we had heard nothing from the hosts, especially as you have to fill in an online form before they will let you in (which I know the form is quite normal for most countries). We also wanted to know where we can park our rental car and finally got the answer last minute at the same time as letting us know the apartment was ready to enter, about half an hour before the allotted time. Just knowing all the necessary information a bit earlier would be more helpful so you can plan in advance. The instructions given were very helpful as the first time getting in especially with a car will be a little bit tricky e.g. we could not open the right hand pedestrian gate, the key only worked in the left hand one. The car parking is actually below the apartment buildings on the ground floor and is very tight to navigate, you also have to drive through a pedestrian zone and over a bridge with a remote control gate to access the parking and apartment. Not sure if the host reads these reviews anymore as a lot of this is previously mentioned by other renters and the issues are still there.

Central location, spacious apartment, numerous restaurants and shops. Plenty to see and do. Swimming pool which was quiet with sun beds, umbrellas and large sunbathing areas.

I sent a few emails, messages to the owner with queries before we stayed, ie the make of coffee machine, whether washing up liquid was provided etc, received a response to one of my queries whilst enroute to the airport! The tops of the taps on both the main bathroom and ensuite had broken and come off . The ensuite shower screen had not been fitted correctly and the room was soaked each time we had a shower. The curtains in the double bedroom were hanging off on one side and the pull cord to open and close them was only working on one side. The coffee machine was dirty and needed descaling. The jacuzzi bath was not working. The toilet roll holder and shower head holder in the small/ shower room toilet were hanging off the wall. We were eating out so didn’t use the dishwasher, however when I opened it to have a look half way through our stay there were dirty dishes in there covered in mildew which must have been left by the previous occupants. The cushion on the patio sofa was too large. Mildew in the corner of the small toilet/shower room I messaged booking.com and the owner with my complaints, to be fair the maintenance team were out the next day and did what they could, however they couldn’t fix the jacuzzi bath nor the curtains. It seems from my point of view that the cleaning staff just come in to do what they have to do and don’t look at what needs replacing or mending, also the owners don’t seem to read these very important reviews.