Macdonald Leila Playa Resort

We stayed here early Oct 2024, two couples in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit 12C located directly over the office. We had a large balcony with an amazing view overlooking the property and sea. The units were well equipped, bedrooms a little small, but fine. One bedroom faced the highway side so there was some traffic noise at night. But not too bad. We probably could have drowned it out if we ran the AC but we didn’t. The front desk staff were wonderful and very helpful all week. With check in, check out, and anything we needed. Pool was heated and nice. Not crowded. Spent most of our time on beach. You can rent a tiki umbrella and 2 lounge chairs for 14 euros for the day from the restaurant next door. We loved the boardwalk! You can walk to restaurants in either direction. Be sure to take a flashlight, it’s dark on the way back at night. They leave you one in your unit. It’s nice having a grocery store right across the street you can walk to. Great central location to stay in. We rented a car for the week 320 euros. Explored Malaga, Old Town Marbella, Ronda, Estepona. Even took the ferry over to Morocco for the day. Great trip!

Overall the hotel is what you expect for the money. We stayed in a 2 bed apartment. It was outdated and need of some work. Bathroom door when closed locked it self and you couldn’t get in. Wardrobe door fell off as all The hinges are broken. Sofa bed was falling apart as the holiday went on. But saying all this - it is clean and comfortable. Only had room service once in two weeks. You could ask for towels from reception. Restaurant is poor. Doesn’t open until 12 - expensive and all the food seems reheated, Closing time varied - one night closed at 8.15. Definitely the money has been spent on making the reception area look nice. We had two apartments in our family party and the one bed was a similar experience with it looking outdated. The real positives- location - next to the sea and a great harbour twenty minutes walk. The pool is lovely - great temperature and was never overall busy. Washing machine and other appliances a real plus. Reception and maintenance staff really friendly and helpful. Be warned - you need to pay for the electricity you use. Ours was around £75 for two weeks- but we were turning off the AC during the night. As it stands the costs is just about right- if it was to go up then the apartments need looking at.

The 9 days we spent at Leila Playa surpassed our expectations - we had a lovely time. The resort itself is relatively small which for us added to the charm. The staff were all consistently very friendly and helpful, the apartment was well equipped, clean and spacious. We would happily return. We booked a one bedroom apartment as it sounded as though the studio apartments only had a sofa bed. Our apartment had a sofa bed in the lounge area too which we did use in the end as a friend joined us for 4 nights and she vouched for it being very comfortable, so perhaps the studio option would be fine too. As written above the one bedroom was very spacious and at no time did we feel on top of one another when our friend was with us. We were in block C and like other reviewers we were initially concerned by the proximity to the dual carriageway but it really didn't disturb us. As also written by other reviewers it's important to note that there are 3 blocks, with A and B being the traditional white stone shown in all the photos, C being a block at the top of the resort and closest to the road. In the end we were very happy in block C as we felt we had more privacy and our room being on the corner gave us a wrap around balcony with morning and afternoon sun. We hired a car and travelled about quite a bit but enjoyed the pool area for a few hours on most days - it's lovely, heated and so a real treat. The bar is also great but I can't comment on the food as we didn't eat in the restaurant. There are great eating choices heading in either direction once you're on the boardwalk by the beach.