We chose Mar Azul purely for the location to the beach and the indoor & outdoor pool facilties. It was a 2 night break in April for 4 adults and a 2 year old. We stayed in Leslie de Ruiter's... more

We have now for the third time stayed in the appartment and it was for the third time a great experience. Good facilities, nice view from the large terrace, good weather and a lovely area with a lot to do and see.

I was impressed with the Mar Azul complex, really well maintained and lovely staff. However, I was disappointed with the surrounding area, and not being able to walk safely with children and a pushchair was a real disadvantage. The construction going on on the road towards Estepona meant we had to walk right out on the highway which was very offputting. Going the other direction, towards Laguna village, we could not bring the pushchair at all as the bridge is too narrow. So though it may be a 10 minute walk technically, it is almost unreachable by foot with children. We ended up hiring a car even though we had hoped to avoid it. We used the bus a few times to get into the town, but again the highway was quite offputting as the bus stop is on it and waiting with small children at the stop felt dangerous. 
The apartment itself was very clean and in reasonable condition but a few things could do with updating. The curtain tracks with cords are all broken and need to be done by hand which is fine, but the curtain cords are therefore not needed, and are a potential child hazard. 
The railing on the terrace has very wide spaces between the slats, again, very unsafe for kids. I noticed quite a few of the other apartments had remedied this with additional rails or trellises, so I don't think the management would have any objection to that. The furniture on the terrace is quite work with frayed edges. There was a solid fuel barbecue on the terrace, but we were told only gas barbecues are allowed which we were very disappointed with - either have no barbecue or a gas one, the other one is just teasing.
I was expecting a somewhat better sea view, you really have to stretch your neck to see it! Of course the gardens are nice to look down on, but the construction of the adjacent buildings is really the first thing you see. The privacy between the adjacent apartments could also be better; there was no one next door while we were there but if there were I'm sure we would now be very close friends (or enemies!). 
The mosquito screens are also broken and torn, resulting in quite a few night intruders.
The kitchen was reasonably well stocked but I felt the quality of some of the equipment was not great. There was a water filter but no replacement cartridges, and as these can only be bought in packs of 3 in the local supermarket, it is unlikely that a guest staying for a week or 2 is likely to be generous enough to purchase these and leave for others to use. In a self-catering apartment at this price level, I would expect a certain amount of kitchen products to be provided by the owner, e.g. the filter cartridges, and also dishwasher and washing machine detergent. The kettle was coated in limescale, so I cleaned that also, as I was making bottles for my baby from it. It might be an idea to ensure it is cleaned regularly. There was no salt or pepper cellars though there was some salt left behind in a bag, as well as some other bits and pieces. I think it would be nice to have certain items always left in stock for arriving guests, like oil, salt, pepper, sugar etc as these are bulky items that you do not necessarily use a lot of in a 2 week stay, but are essential if you are doing any home-cooking.
I was also disappointed not to be able to pay by credit card.