Some days on a trip seem to fall perfectly into place, and our day at El Fuerte Marbella was one of them.

We visited towards the end of our week in Málaga, when a day of doing very little other than being thoroughly looked after was exactly what we needed. A beautiful spa, a long lunch by the sea, a jug of sangria, sunshine and a few lazy hours beside the pool – it was the loveliest way to round off our time in southern Spain.

El Fuerte itself has something rather special about it. Sitting right on Marbella’s beachfront, with the Mediterranean stretching out in front of it and the cobbled streets of the Old Town just a few minutes’ walk away, you really do get the best of both worlds. The hotel has been part of Marbella since 1957, and despite its beautiful transformation into a five-star property, it hasn’t lost that sense of history or old Marbella charm.

The interiors are warm and elegant, with natural textures, soft Mediterranean tones and plenty of spaces that make you want to linger a little longer. There are gorgeous pools, restaurants and bars, sea views at almost every turn and the beach quite literally on your doorstep. It feels luxurious, but importantly, it also feels relaxed.

We arrived ready to switch off, and that’s exactly what we did.

Spa by Clarins: An hour or two in our own little world

Our day began at the hotel’s Spa by Clarins, tucked away from the Marbella sunshine outside and instantly peaceful from the moment we stepped through the doors.

There’s something about a really beautiful hotel spa that makes you lower your voice without even realising it, and this was one of those places.

We were booked in for body massages using Clarins products, which felt like the perfect treatment after a busy week of travelling, eating, drinking and generally trying to squeeze as much as possible into our time in Málaga.

The treatment itself was gorgeous. Warm, deeply relaxing and exactly what my body needed.

Clarins treatments use their signature plant-based products alongside massage techniques tailored to the body, and there was something wonderfully familiar about the scent and feel of the products as the treatment began.

But it was our treatment room that made the experience feel particularly special.

Beautifully designed and incredibly peaceful, it had its own bath for us to enjoy afterwards. Rather than the usual slightly sad moment when a massage ends and you realise you have to get dressed and rejoin the real world, we were able to stay wrapped up in that lovely post-treatment haze for a little longer.

It felt wonderfully indulgent.

The spa also has a hydrotherapy circuit, complete with a dynamic pool, sauna, steam bath, ice fountain and relaxation areas, so you could very easily lose an entire morning here. We eventually floated back out into the Marbella sunshine feeling significantly more relaxed than when we’d arrived – and, very conveniently, ready for lunch.

Soleo: Sangria, sea views & a very memorable lobster

There are lunches, and then there are those long, lazy holiday lunches where the drinks keep being topped up, another plate somehow finds its way onto the table, and nobody has any interest whatsoever in checking the time. Soleo was very much the latter.

Set right beside the beach, the restaurant has that wonderfully relaxed Mediterranean feeling where lunch can quite easily turn into an entire afternoon. We settled in with the sea in front of us and decided sharing lots of plates was obviously the only sensible way to approach the menu.

We started with Iberian croquettes, followed by avocado and kimchi croquettes – both completely delicious. Then the lobster arrived. A whole lobster, served on crisps with pesto, truffle and fried egg. On paper, a lot is happening there. In reality, it was unbelievable!

Rich, salty, crispy, buttery and completely indulgent – one of those dishes where everyone goes quiet for a second after the first mouthful before looking at each other as if to say, are you tasting this too?

And of course, it wouldn’t have been a proper Spanish lunch without sangria. We ordered a huge jug of red sangria to share, filled with what seemed like every fruit imaginable, and spent the next couple of hours eating, chatting and watching the sea.

Nothing rushed. Nowhere else we needed to be.

Just really good food, cold sangria, sunshine and the Mediterranean a few metres away. If I could bottle up one moment from our week in Málaga and revisit it on a grey day back home, I think this lunch might be it.

Poolside: Nowhere else to be

By this point, any idea of doing anything remotely energetic had disappeared.

We wandered back towards the hotel pool, ordered a couple of drinks and found ourselves two loungers overlooking the sea.

And I have to mention the loungers.

I genuinely don’t think I have ever sat on a more comfortable sun lounger in my life. The sort you sink into and immediately know you’re not going anywhere for a while.

So we didn’t.

We spent the last part of the afternoon there, drinks in hand, looking out across the water and soaking up the last of the Marbella sunshine.

It was here that I really appreciated just how special El Fuerte’s location is. You’re right in the heart of Marbella, with the Old Town and its little streets, shops and restaurants moments away, but inside the hotel everything feels wonderfully removed from the bustle outside. There’s a softness to the place that I really loved. Nothing feels overly showy or like it’s trying too hard to impress you. Instead, it’s the sea views, the warmth of the interiors, the little nods to the hotel’s history and those beautifully considered details that slowly win you over.

Our day at El Fuerte was nothing short of exceptional, but in a very effortless way. There was no huge itinerary and no rushing from one thing to another. Just a beautiful massage, an outrageously good lunch, far too much sangria and a few blissful hours spent beside the pool.

It was exactly how I wanted our week in Málaga to end.

And as we eventually dragged ourselves away from those loungers, there was really only one thought.

Next time, we are definitely staying!

For more information & to book, please go to El Fuerte Marbella.

Written by Luxuria Lifestyle’s Amber Lauren