"As regular followers of my reviews know, I travel extensively (roughly 200 nights a year) and have stayed in five star hotels around the world for more than 20 years. I try to be objective in my reviews and judge hotels on the overall experience, price-quality ratio, hard product and, above all, service. Unfortunately, my experience at METT Marbella was one of the most disappointing I can remember.
The main issue was the way our late checkout was handled.
When we checked in, I specifically asked at reception whether we could have a late checkout on our departure day and whether 6pm would be possible. I was told yes, that this would be “no problem.” At no point was I told that there would be an additional charge.
Only later, when I followed up before departure, was I told that the late checkout would be chargeable.
Even more surprisingly, I was then told at reception that they should “normally” have charged me Eur1,000 for the late check-out, but that they were doing me a favour by charging only Eur150.
This completely misses the point.
I have absolutely no objection to a hotel charging for late checkout. Many hotels do this, but if a guest specifically asks at checkin counter whether a late checkout is possible (in our case we said around 6pm) and the hotel confirms that it is, any material charge attached to it should be disclosed at that point. You cannot simply say “no problem,” disclose the price afterwards, and then present a reduction from an alleged Eur1,000 charge to Eur150 as a favour.
The issue was never the Eur150. It was the lack of transparency and the way the situation was subsequently handled.
Rather than simply acknowledging that nobody had mentioned a charge when the late checkout was originally discussed, management continued to frame the Eur150 as a special accommodation they were making for us. I found this attitude extraordinary for a hotel positioning and pricing itself as a fivestar property.
There is also a second issue regarding my credit card which I am now watching closely.
At the hotel, I was told that my credit card was being preauthorised. However, eur 1,500 currently appears on my card as having been taken/held. My actual final hotel bill was eur689, and that eur689 already includes the disputed eur150 late checkout charge.
That leaves eur811 which should now be returned or released.
It is possible that this is simply the way my card issuer is displaying a preauthorisation rather than a finally settled transaction, and if so I will update this review accordingly. However, given that I was specifically told this was a pre-mauthorisation, I find it curious that the full eur1,500 appears on my credit card in this way.
I will therefore be watching closely to see how quickly the eur811 is returned or released. I would expect this to happen promptly and certainly hope not to be waiting an extended period for funds that, according to the hotel, were only being held as a provision.
After noticing this issue, I checked recent tripadvisor reviews and found, rather concerningly, a review from another guest who stayed in July 2026 describing a similar problem involving a deposit, creditcard preauthorisation and a refund that had still not been received after checkout.
Obviously, I cannot independently verify another guest’s experience and do not rely on it in assessing my own. But given what I am now experiencing myself, I found the similarity noteworthy.
Unfortunately, the underlying hotel experience did little to compensate for any of this.
In my opinion, the amenities and overall hard product are materially below what I would expect from a genuine fivestar property at this price point. There was also effectively a party atmosphere throughout the day, with loud entertainment from approximately 11am until 11 pm If you are looking for a peaceful, discreet or sophisticated luxuryresort experience, this is emphatically not it.
The overall atmosphere felt much closer to a massmarket party resort or crowded cruise ship than the refined fivestar experience the positioning and pricing might lead you to expect. Some guests may enjoy exactly that environment, of course, but prospective guests should understand what they are booking.
Ultimately, though, the biggest disappointment was management.
Fivestar hospitality is not simply about rooms, pools and restaurants. It is about transparency, service, judgement and how guests are treated when something goes wrong. On those measures, this was among the poorest experiences I have encountered in many years of international travel.
For the prices being charged, the hard product is not good enough. More importantly, based on my experience, neither is the soft product or management.
I cannot recommend METT Marbella and certainly would not return.
I will update this review when the outstanding eur811 is returned or released and confirm exactly how long that process took.
For the price being charged, I cannot recommend it. I certainly would not return."
