Del Marcos Hotel

TLDR: This hotel was a huge disappointment! The website oversells the property, which is architecturally interesting but needs a hospitality overhaul and a deep clean. We received a text from the hotel a day before our stay to confirm our arrival time, which we promptly did and never heard anything back. When we arrived at the hotel, the lobby was closed with a sign directing us to their next door property - not exactly a warm welcome. It seems they have their staff focus on the other property, as the lobby remained closed for the five days of our stay and we were redirected next door for everything we needed - not far, but not convenient. We booked a queen room and while the space itself was fine, there was no mention that this would be a motel room --- our door was easily accessible from the sidewalk (we even had some people walk up to take pictures in front of our window while we were in the room and walked out into a tour group). Needless to say this was not specified in the description of the room or we would not have booked it, it was not private at all. There wasn't even a sign to inform curious tourists that this was a private room - not a photo op. Late on the first night, I realized our shower didn't work properly and used the text number to inform the hotel, which they were prompt to let me know maintenance would come in the morning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and our shower was still malfunctioning when we returned from our morning activities and then we had to wait while it was fixed - no hospitality included here, except from the maintenance man who may have been the most friendly and attentive staff member at the property. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the disappointment with the shower as we didn't have hot water for showers on two of the days of our stay. When I informed the hotel, they didn't do anything about this or offer to remedy the situation. The room itself was ok - not anything up to the way the photos looked - the furniture had seen better days, the bedside lamp was broken, and it could have used a much deeper clean. We randomly got towel service only one of the days - no idea where they were the rest of the time! When we went to the pool, there were no towels to be found there either. So, I don't know what the "Room and Poolside service" was supposed to be - as far as I can tell there is none. Robes, towels, and linens were decidedly standard - any plushness has long been washed out. The most disappointing aspect of all of this was the utter lack of hospitality from the staff - why have a text message system but not use it or respond regularly? When I relayed how disappointed I was in our experience on day two of our stay, no one bothered to check in. I am so bummed because we were so excited about our stay and this was an absolute stinker of a hotel experience. At least the weather was nice!

First, the positive: excellent 1950 vibes, great lay out, great location, great pool, nice staff : they do their best in an outdated place The down sides. Most of the time, no one is at the lobby; you could find a shorter way to communicate with the sister hotel, so we don’t have to walk in the street to join the restaurant for breakfast. I had the suite at the pool. Pictures look great, but the reality was far from the pictures. Room needs refreshment, the shower completely obstructed by hard water, one tv had no remote for the cable, and the other one no remote to turn it on. Kitchen stuff, super basic, no coffee machine as seen on the picture, but a kettle with a lousy coffee. The patio looked nice but the fire pit not working and the hand shower leaking, and it was very dirty, abandoned; This suite could be great with maintenance, refreshing, make it look like the picture on your website. I really hope the new manager will preserve the quality of this historic place because it is worth it Please fix it. I would like to come back.

First the good points. The hotel is in a great location, a block from restaurants and shops. There is a terrace outside our second floor room with a nice view of the mountains and palms. But the room needs updating, especially the bathroom which bordered on unpleasant. The hotel was staffed by the next door La Serena Villas, a sister property. They were very friendly and helpful.