Hotel ILUNION Hacienda de Mijas

The setting is gorgeous, with ocean views, and beautiful mijas pueblo is only a five-minute drive, taxi, or bus ride away. This is a lovely hotel with old-world charm. Staff are always friendly, though you may want to try your Spanish; that's perfectly acceptable, in my opinion, since you're in Spain. Service can be patchy when coach groups arrive every few days and things get busy. When the coaches aren't there, it's calm and relaxing. I was sad the pool was fenced off on days when it was almost 30 degrees, but it was October, so I understand. I'd recommend it.

We chose this hotel partly so we could use the pool at the end of the day, but it closes before 6 pm even though the website says 8 pm. I raised the mismatch with reception. They said other guests had mentioned it too, but that they'd never actually opened the pool later and had already asked for the website to be corrected. When you're visiting a beautiful region, you're out exploring during the day and come back at the end of it. Very disappointing.

The beach was lovely and close by, and reception were great, especially Carlos, who was really helpful. We had a four-day stay, though the room got far too hot because the air conditioning wasn't very good. The hot food could've been warmer too. The weather was cold and windy while we were there.

The parking area was cramped, packed with cars, and had no surveillance. Inside, the room hadn't been cleaned, and the reception staff were extremely rude. The place felt dirty, old, and broken. It's called a four-star hotel, but I think it should be two stars at most. The photos look ten times better than being there in person. After our long drive, he told us to find another hotel if we didn't check in after 9 am. Terrible experience!