El Fuerte Marbella: The Perfect 5 Star Stay in the Heart of Marbella
El Fuerte Marbella enjoys a stunning beachfront location beside Marbella Old Town, with superb dining and attentive service that makes it one of the best 5 star hotels in Marbella.
Marbella is one of Spain’s most popular holiday destinations, but it is much larger than many people realise. Stretching across around 117 square kilometres with more than 27km of coastline, choosing where to stay can be a little overwhelming. I have stayed in both Elviria and Puerto Banus before, but I always seem to find myself going into Marbella Old Town in the evenings. So this year, when I decided I wanted a 5 star hotel in Marbella, close to the Old Town, El Fuerte Marbella was the obvious choice.
As well as having a superb location, El Fuerte has a fascinating history. When it opened in 1957, it was the first central hotel in Marbella and soon became a favourite with celebrities and the social elite. It was regarded as one of the best hotels in Marbella even then, and after an extensive 18-month renovation, it reopened in May 2023 as a stylish 5 star Marbella hotel.
El Fuerte Marbella location
Despite being just steps from Marbella’s Old Town, El Fuerte Marbella feels more like a luxury beach resort than a city hotel. Overlooking the Paseo Marítimo, its pools and terraces enjoy sweeping sea views, creating a relaxed atmosphere that feels far removed from the bustle below. Yet within minutes you can be dining along the seafront or wandering through the lively streets of the Old Town.
Read: 15 Top things to do in Marbella
Dining at El Fuerte Hotel Marbella
We arrived early for our stay and headed straight to Levante, the poolside restaurant, for lunch before check-in. It was a great first impression. The food was great, but it was the stylish seating overlooking the pool and sea that really set the tone for our stay.
There was a huge variety on the menu, with everything from Penang curry and pasta to teriyaki salmon and Wagyu burgers. The street food selection included shrimp gyozas and chicken wings, which went down particularly well with the kids, while Margarita pinsas looked ideal for a poolside snack. We fully intended to try one during our stay, but somehow never got around to it!
If Levante impressed us, Soleo took things up another level. The beachfront setting alone was enough to bring us back twice during our five-night stay. On our first evening, the sunset was incredible, and we were able to slip out between courses for photos on the beach.
The Iberian ham served was superb, and make sure to keep some of Soleo’s signature bread and olive oil to go with it. We followed this with a seafood paella, which was brought to the table and plated in front of us.
Top Tip: If you book Half Board you can enjoy lunch or dinner in Levante and Soleo restaurants.
The breakfast buffet at El Fuerte Marbella is up there with the best I have experienced on my travels. The selection was superb, with fresh fruit, pastries and yogurts, and you can even make your own açai bowl, or enjoy Iberian ham, and a glass of Cava alongside it! The hot station was another highlight, with omelettes, crêpes, waffles and pancakes cooked to order.
There were plenty of tables both inside and out, regardless of what time we arrived for breakfast. Guests staying in a Selected room can also order from an à la carte breakfast menu, but more on that below.
There are also plenty of restaurants right beside the hotel along the Paseo, some of which can easily feel like an extension of El Fuerte because of their proximity. We dined in Luini one night and enjoyed tasty pizzas and pasta in a lively setting.
Next door, Entre Limones serves Andalusian cuisine with a contemporary twist, while the newly opened Kena by Akiro offers a fine-dining fusion of Japanese and Peruvian flavours. Kena is located on the rooftop of El Fuerte Marbella, although it is independently owned and operated.
We didn’t get to try either of these restaurants but did enjoy sundowners in Kena cocktail bar one evening and I highly recommend you pay a visit.
Facilities at El Fuerte Marbella Hotel
El Fuerte Marbella has a choice of pools, all with beautiful sea views and plenty of luxurious loungers and couches. The main pool is popular with families and also has a lift for guests with reduced mobility, while a separate adults-only pool offers a quieter setting.
The pools are located beside Levante restaurant, so you can order drinks and snacks directly to your lounger. Each lounger has its own call button for service, a small touch that reflects the level of service you would expect from one of the best Marbella 5 star hotels.
There is also an adults-only rooftop infinity pool beside Kena restaurant and cocktail bar, which is a lovely spot to relax with views over the Mediterranean.
If you prefer the beach, El Fuerte Marbella has its own dedicated section with luxury loungers and attentive waiter service, with call buttons beside the loungers for added convenience. Cocktails are expensive, but with Soleo restaurant located right beside the beach area too, you could quite easily spend the whole day here being wined and dined!
Inside the Clarins Spa, guests can enjoy an indoor pool with twinkling lights overhead that resemble a starry sky, as well as a sauna, steam room and cold bucket shower. The hydrotherapy circuit costs €50 for one hour, but is complimentary for guests booking a treatment or staying in a Selected room.
I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing 50-minute body massage here. At €170, it is certainly on the pricey side, but it was a lovely treat.
There is also a well-equipped gym with sea views, as well as an outdoor terrace for anyone who prefers to exercise outside, and there were Yoga classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Children are well catered for too. The Olive Club is a dedicated kids’ club offering a supervised programme of activities for children aged 4 to 12, running from Wednesday to Sunday during July and August.
Selected Services at El Fuerte Hotel
If you want to elevate your stay even further, I highly recommend booking a Selected room. We spent our first two nights in standard rooms, which were perfectly comfortable, but when we moved to Selected rooms the wow factor really kicked in.
Selected rooms are among the finest in the hotel and come with stunning sea views. We stayed in Double Front Sea View Rooms with Lounge and they were fabulous. Our room had a separate lounge area with sofa and freestanding bath, as well as a huge balcony with another sofa and lounger overlooking the sea.
There were plenty of thoughtful extras too. El Fuerte’s basket bags and lightweight beach towels are complimentary to take home, toiletries are by Molton Brown, and our room also came with a GHD hair straightener, clothes steamer, complimentary bottled water in the room and from the minibar.
A small bottle of the hotel’s signature scent, which I loved and noticed as soon as I entered the hotel, was also in the room. I was delighted to bring this home with me.
Selected guests also receive welcome drinks on arrival and access to the private Selected Lounge, where complimentary drinks and snacks are served from 11am to 9pm each day. We used this all the time!
The air-conditioned lounge was a welcome escape from the heat during the day, while the outdoor terrace, pictured below, was lovely for a cold beer or glass of rosé after a day by the pool or beach.
The snacks are small, and more like canapés but there was a good choice. The drinks selection is excellent, with everything from Corona with lime to premium wines and spirits.
Another great perk for Selected guests is the separate breakfast area with an à la carte menu. The buffet was so good that we still enjoyed it every morning, but we also made our way through quite a few of the à la carte dishes.
The Lobster Roll became my son’s daily indulgence, while the Caramel Toast was my favourite. I would genuinely go back for that alone! Breakfast is also served until 11.30am for Selected guests, compared with 11am for other guests.
The breakfast offering is so extensive that a late breakfast could easily see you through until the afternoon. You could then pick up a few snacks in the Selected Lounge or order something light, such as a pinsa from Levante, straight to your sun lounger. It is a good way to enjoy a stay at arguably the best hotel in Marbella, without necessarily having the expense of a full lunch every day.
Complimentary daily access to the spa’s hydrotherapy circuit, normally €50 per person is also included for Selected guests, as well as the hotels packing and unpacking service.
Top Tip: If booking at stay at El Fuerte Hotel Marbella, compare the price of a standard room with a Selected room. If you are likely to enjoy a few drinks during the day, make use of the lounge and would appreciate the extra room benefits, the additional supplement can offer surprisingly good value for a luxury hotel in Marbella.
If your budget allows, I highly recommend booking a Selected room, as the added benefits really elevated our stay. But for me, what sets El Fuerte Marbella apart is the combination of a true five-star resort feel with one of the best locations in Marbella. You can spend the day by the pool or beach, enjoy superb dining without leaving the hotel, and still be in the heart of Marbella Old Town within minutes.
Check out my Instagram highlights of our stay at El Fuerte Marbella here, and you can enjoy 15% off your stay by using my exclusive promo code: Sarah15
I was a guest of El Fuerte Marbella for three nights and paid to stay here for a further two nights. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, facilities and descriptions are subject to change. This review of El Fuerte Marbella is entirely from my own personal experience.
