We're coming to the last of the summer posts (I'm not quiiiite done yet but I'm getting there I promise) and today's is taking us to the Marbella Club Hotel. My Mum lives abroad and we don’t get to see one another all that often - rumours that she'd had enough of me banging on about my allergies are unconfirmed - so when the opportunity to visit Marbella for a few girly days away arose we did a joint squeal and hopped on skyscanner. Neither of us had been to Marbella before so we didn't really know what to expect, all we knew is that we wanted a few days somewhere we could switch off, read a few books, catch some sun, have some gin and eat some great food. We had a good read up about the hotel in advance - which has a really interesting history (you can have a wee read about it here and see all of the famous faces that have visited over the years if you fancy) and thought it sounded right up our street so got those plane tickets booked and headed over to experience it for ourselves.
I honestly can't put into words how perfect our stay was (but I'll try my best because it's, well, my job). From our separate cities we flew into Malaga and had one eve and one short morning there which I'd definitely recommend, we both wished we'd had a bit longer there to explore. There's loads going on; lots of cool shops, restaurants and streets to wander down, and my Mum's also a huge Picasso fan so for that reason alone she was in her element. We travelled to Marbella Club by car, which was about 50 minutes if memory serves me correctly, and were met by the loveliest team ever who chatted us through what the hotel had to offer over a welcome drink before taking us to our room. Oh my god, the room. You can see the photos of it right at the top of this post and, if you just add in me murmuring 'holy moly' repeatedly under my breath and my Mum giggling manically, you'll have quite a clear picture of our initial reaction to the room. I was unpacking and heard my Mum shout, 'AMY LOOK AT THIS, IT'S BIGGER THAN ME!' and found her lying down fully clothed in the bath as she brushed her teeth. Giddy's the word. We had a dining table, a living room (which was excellent for a night in with room service), two bedrooms and bathrooms (with previously mentioned extra large baths) and - best of all - a really peaceful, flower draped balcony which made for one of the nicest, most tranquil rooms I've been in.
The whole hotel, in fact, is a slice of tranquility; we realised within the first hour of arriving that we'd both managed to completely unwind (no easy feat for two of the most manic brains in the west) and, despite being near a busy road, the hotel felt so quiet and secluded that I kept forgetting we weren't actually up in the hills somewhere. And that's not just because my geography's terrible. Normally one of the first things I want to do once I've checked in to a hotel is go and explore the surrounding area and see what it has to offer but we ended up not leaving the hotel once. Not one single time. Every day we kept saying '...tomorrow?' and every day we'd find another excuse to postpone.
We ate onsite the entire trip; from the Beach Club, to The Grill, to MC Beach, to MC Cafe, to the Garden Pool, and each one was better than the next. All had a huge selection to choose from and were also amazing with allergies which is always a relief! Breakfast is possibly my favourite meal of the day so you can imagine my delight when I was faced with smoothies, gluten free pancakes, matcha lattes (I gasped at the sight of them like the millennial I am), endless fresh juices, meats, cheeses, gluten free granola, eggs benedict... the list, and my escalating gasps of delight, go on. We filled our time at the hotel reading by the pool, having treatments at the spa (I had a massage whilst my Mum had a facial and both were incredible), chilling on the beach or our wee balcony, wandering through the botanical gardens, trying reformer pilates for the first ever time with Amazing Ana - which I'm a firm fan of now, I keep meaning to find somewhere to do it in Glasgow, actually - and with more chilling. Lots of chilling. We walked along the pier most nights to watch the sunset and on one eve saw a couple sitting on the edge who'd had a bottle of fizz and some glasses delivered to them from the hotel. It took every inch of self control I had not to shout 'WHAT A FANTASTIC IDEA!', managing instead to smile like a normal person, tucking the idea away for future reference. If you fancy a bit more of an active trip and slightly less chill time than us potatoes, there's also horse-riding, a gym, tennis and golf available to guests and, of course, you can walk into Marbella for a wander.
I think I've spoken about it before but I'm absolutely abysmal when it comes to switching off or relaxing, but we both felt so incredibly calm (and happy!) throughout or entire stay and everyone working there couldn't have been more friendly or made us feel more welcome. It was such a perfect place to go and switch off and spend some quality time with me Mam and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a trip away to that part of the world. Thank you Marbella Club, to Bird and to the lovely Alexia for such a special few days away.
I'll leave you with a couple of snaps of my Mum making fun of me posing for the camera (I've since filed for adoption)
Amy
Press stay - all words, images and squealing my own
