Westin La Quinta Review: Is This Marbella’s Best Value Golf Resort?

First Impressions & The Terrace

Book this category, or above. Do it before you talk yourself out of the price difference. The terrace opens onto an unbroken sightline across the golf course, through the pines, to the Sierra Blanca mountains and — on the clearest mornings — the Mediterranean beyond. On day two, Gibraltar appeared through the haze. That view from a coffee on your own terrace at 7:30am is the single best moment available at this resort. You cannot get it from a garden-view room.

The rooms sit in a calm contemporary register — whitewashed walls, warm neutral linen, timber accents. Nothing daring, but nothing that jars either. The terrace furniture is properly comfortable — actual cushioned seating, not the token plastic chairs that five-star resorts often consider adequate outdoors.

The Bathroom & In-Room Details

Full bathtub and separate rainfall shower, Nespresso machine on arrival, minibar stocked. The Westin Heavenly Bed earns its name — the quality of sleep here is genuinely one of the resort’s underrated strengths. Water pressure in the shower is excellent. Westin toiletries are the standard range, well-presented.

What I’d Change

Some rooms show their age. Fittings in older parts of the property — drawer handles, wardrobe interiors, tiling grout — have the look of things that haven’t been touched since the last major refurbishment. At €380 in low season this is acceptable. At peak-summer rates it becomes a conversation worth having with the front desk. When booking, add a note requesting an upper-floor room in the main building facing the golf course — the difference in terrace light between floors is significant.

Sunsa Breakfast — The Best Hour of the Day

This is where breakfast happens, and breakfast is the best meal available on the property. Locally sourced produce, proper fruit, a cheese and cold cuts section that would be respectable in a delicatessen, eggs cooked to order, fresh pastries. I ate on the terrace every morning. The combination of that food, that view, and the particular quality of Andalusian morning air at 8am made it the hour I most looked forward to each day. I’m not someone who usually says that about hotel breakfasts.

Breakfast is charged separately. Add it. If you’re here for multiple nights, adding a breakfast package at booking is consistently better value than paying per day — ask the front desk at check-in, they can usually add it at the same rate.

Sunsa Dinner

Dinner at Sunsa is a different proposition. The kitchen’s philosophy — Mediterranean ingredients, health-conscious approach, locally sourced where possible — produces food that’s clean, well-executed, and satisfying. It’s not ambitious. Chef Jos De Grot is cooking for a resort dining room, not a destination restaurant, and the menu reflects that honestly. The terrace in the evening, with the golf course lit at the edges and the mountains darkening behind it, elevates a straightforward dinner into something more than its parts. Eat here two nights out of four. Eat in Puerto Banús or Marbella the other two.

The Clubhouse & Aljama Bar

The Clubhouse is the natural stop between nines — wide terrace facing the fairways, all-day lighter menu, and the Hoyo 19 bar for post-round debrief. Note that the bar doesn’t open until 10am, which catches early starters out. Aljama Bar is the evening bar — Moorish Al-Andalus decor, warm and candlelit, cocktails handled without drama. It’s not a destination bar, but as the place to end the day at this resort, it’s exactly right.

The Heavenly Spa

The spa sits in its own pavilion, physically separate from the main hotel building. That separation matters. The Moorish architecture — arched doorways, decorative tiling, lantern lighting — does its job from the moment you enter. I went in for the thermal circuit on day two, post-round. Ninety minutes that started in the hammam, moved through the steam bath, and ended in the hydrotherapy pool. The attendants leave you alone unless you need them.

I booked a massage the following morning. I should have booked it for all four days. The Sprunch — thermal circuit plus a wellness brunch from the Westin superfoods menu — is worth highlighting specifically. A three-hour morning programme: spa circuit, then a table in the relaxation area with juices, clean proteins, and herbal infusions brought to you. For a solo stay or a couple, it’s one of the most genuinely restoring things available on this property. From €75 per person.

The Golf — 27 Holes, Three Personalities

Three nine-hole courses. Six possible eighteen-hole combinations. Designed by Manuel Piñero — three-time World Champion, Ryder Cup winner — and Antonio García Garrido. These are not resort courses designed to be easy. They’re designed to be good. Course B (Ronda) is the most technically demanding and has the best views — narrow fairways, technical greens, and a rough that is punishing without apology. It will find the gap in your game by the fourth hole and spend the remaining five reminding you it’s there. I mean that as a compliment.

Start with B+C if you’re a competent golfer — most regulars consider it the best 18 on the property. Play A (San Pedro) if you want a more open, forgiving round. One genuine caveat: the driving range has attracted criticism from experienced golfers — functional but below what you’d expect at a premium golf resort. Carts are older and lack GPS. The course more than compensates, but manage expectations on the range.

Is the Westin La Quinta Worth the Money?

At €380 a night for a Deluxe Panoramic in shoulder season, yes — clearly. The 27 holes on your doorstep alone justify the rate relative to comparable golf resorts. Add the spa, the terrace view, and staff that seem to understand hospitality as something more than a checklist, and the value proposition is strong. The comparison with Puente Romano (€550+, no golf on-site) and Finca Cortesin (€700+) makes the La Quinta’s rate look even more reasonable.

In peak summer the equation tightens. Rates push toward €550 for the same room, the pool bar slows down, and some of the property’s age becomes more visible under scrutiny. Still worth it for the right guest — but set expectations accordingly and book early for the best panoramic rooms.

When to Book for Best Value

March through June and September through October are the sweet spots — the weather is reliable, the course is in excellent condition, rates are at shoulder-season levels, and the resort is operating at the pace it’s designed for. The Costa del Sol golf season is genuinely long; there’s no need to pay peak summer prices for the same experience. Bonvoy members should check the points rate before paying cash — this property consistently offers strong redemption value.