Puente Romano Marbella

"Best for: Everything in one place Puente Romano is often described as an adult’s playground, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a child that doesn't love it here too. If you’re looking for a hotel that you can settle into and never have to leave, this is it—with a village-style design that covers villa-style bungalows, a tennis club, water sports facilities, botanical gardens and a Six Senses spa. The La Casita Kid’s Club is a particular highlight for parents in need of some R&R—open daily between 10a.m. and 5p.m., and where lunch can be pre-ordered from a varied yet child-friendly menu, so everything is taken care of. The club has an outdoor pool and a garden with a climbing frame and swings, as well as an al fresco dining table. Elsewhere, there are five more swimming pools to choose from, so those looking to keep things fresh can try a different sunspot each day. The shallow children’s pool neighbors the healthy food, smoothie and coffee hotspot, Rachels. there’s also a great alternative close to the beach with a waterfall and four-poster cabana beds. From here, take a short stroll to the shoreside water sports facilities where teens can ride the banana boat or try paddle boarding. Restaurant-wise, Nobu and Coya are the on-site stars of the show, while the more laidback Sea Grill and Chiringuito have beautiful sea views and offer fantastic children’s menus featuring seabass and fries, tomato pasta and mini burgers. Anyone keen to venture off-site for lunch should take the five-minute (pram-friendly) stroll to Marbella Club, where kid’s menus double up as coloring books. Back in the Puente Romano rooms, find a wealth of gifts for little ones, from branded baby towels to notepads and toiletry sets for bath time. Prices: From around $1,517 per night" - Sarah Leigh Bannerman

"Marbella, Spain Wander out to the balcony around sunrise and beyond the bougainvillea and ceiba flowers rustling in the breeze you’ll hear the Mediterranean rolling in. Built like a traditional Andalucian village with whitewashed walls, sky-blue ceramic tiles and winding terra-cotta pathways, Puente Romano opened in the late 1970s just down the Golden Mile from its older sister The Marbella Club. And after a series of refurbishments and embellishments—including a Six Senses spa, Nobu outpost and turbo-charged tennis club where Novak Djokovic’s coaches Pepe Imaz and Marko Djokovic give lessons to guests—it may even have the edge now. While most of southern Spain’s smartest stays shout about their seclusion, this hotel is firmly rooted as a local hub—there will be a gang of cocktail-sipping marbellís at Ibiza offshoot El Chiringuito, weekending madrileño couples strolling on the silver-sand beach, and Valencian children trotting to cooking classes in the dynamic kids’ club. It is a busy machine of a place veiled as a laidback hangout. Dawn beach yoga gives way to lazy breakfasts of mushroom omelettes, just-cut jamón, and freshly squeezed orange juice at Bali-feel Sea Grill before a dip in one of the pools. The spa gets crazy booked up for its new CBD-oil massages, as do martial-arts sessions in the just-revamped gym (the wellness and fitness program is ever-changing). In the evening, as the sky swirls dusty pink, everyone gathers by the first-century Roman bridge at buzzy La Plaza. Punchy chili-coconut mojitos do the rounds; superstar Dani García’s team delivers wood-fired tapas and succulent steaks; and Nobu chef Eleni Manousou works magic with market-fresh produce in spinach and miso salads or spicy salmon maki. The sun-baked Costa del Sol sometimes gets short shrift, but for an all-singing, all-dancing, everything-at-your-fingertips break, this is about as reliable as it gets. Price: Junior suites start at $448 per night for a family of three" - Lauren Burvill

"One of Spain’s most famous resorts for its see-and-be-seen celebrity clientele, Puente Romano is Costa del Sol at its most glamorous."