To the attention of:
Mr. Daniel Shamoon and
Management of Puente Romano Resort



​​​​​​​Marbella, 23th March 2025



Changes in membership fees and policies of the Owner’s Club

Dear Mr. Shamoon, dear Management Team,

First and foremost, we wish to express that we highly appreciate the services and existence of Owners Club overall and especially the professional and caring service of the OC staff. As members of OC since almost from the beginning we love our club and it is like home away from home. However, many of us members are very surprised over the fact that OC membership fees were doubled and will be increased again next year. For original members from € 2.600.- to € 5.000.- during 2025 and then again to € 6.000.- in 2026. The Newer memberships for newer members has increased from € 5000.- to € 10.000.-.

We would like to send you a few considerations, given these new policies:

Breakfast hours and parking situation

● In the letter in which we were informed of the new membership fees and policies, it was stated that numerous improvements have taken place that justify the increased fees. One of them was the renovation of hotel rooms, something that does concern OC members and merely benefits hotel guests. The increased number of restaurants is nice to have but has added to the extremely difficult parking situation which was unsustainable before, yet by now it has become mission impossible to park after 9am as all the hotel staff parks within the resort. There is a huge parking lot for staff members at the Vicario, only a few minutes walk away, which members are not allowed to use, so at least we should be able to use the relatively few parking lots within the resort without further limitation. We have complained about this situation on various occasion but without any feedback or results.

● The OC breakfast which was originally until 12pm and was changed to 11pm. This is a great disadvantage and renders it very difficult for many of us to arrive on time. Especially for those who have children and/or old parents to take care of in the morning and then drive to the hotel and find parking. OC is not a hotel – it´s a social club. We aren’t hotel guests who take a quick shower in the morning and put some clothes on and then walk down a few stairs to the breakfast room. Hence many guests are now rushing in at about 10.30am – many of us stressing to be able to get a coffee before closing time, a situation which is also challenging for the OC staff and often overwhelms the seating capacity. The opening times were perfect before until 12.00, for both members and staff, so why change a perfectly working system?

Longstanding, loyal customers

● The original OC members supported the club since the beginning, and also during the pandemic when things weren’t easy. We are around all year long, we come to the hotel to have lunches and dinners at the resort’s restaurants when friends and family visit. Many of us have been customers of Puente Romano Hotel long before OC was founded and have been in Marbella long enough to remember the 2008/2011 crisis and even the one before, and we will be here for the next economic cycles too. Never underestimate a longstanding and loyal customer.

Furthermore, we would like to give a few suggestions

● We suggest to improve the OC breakfast up to a standard closer to the Seagrill breakfast. More healthy bread options like nice rye bread (you already got a suggestion of a very good Swedish rye bread brand), gluten free bread (not dry in plastic) and fresh sour dough bread. More quality fresh juices and smoothies. We suggest a wider selection of cheese and fresh vegetables like cucumber, red peppers… The hot food should be kept really hot during the entire breakfast hours. The cold food like salmon must be kept cold and and covered should not be displayed at room temperature. We suggest that you have a small fridge where members can pick up the cold food. Really hope that this is sorted asap before the food and health department might come to OC.

● Maybe a self-service coffee and tea machine could be installed as complementary option to the service by the staff (of course not exclusively) because we all appreciate to be served by the wonderful, but hardworking staff. OC on many days is overcrowded especially around 10.30am, due to the amended breakfast hours, and we think it is very difficult for the staff to find to enough time to serve everyone within a reasonable time period. Furthermore, an additional and well working toaster is badly needed.

● Coffee and tea should be served all day without extra charge.

● The possibility to invite 2 guests for a complementary OC breakfast up to 12 times per year would be highly appreciated, and could be excellent marketing and a word spreader for the Hotel.

● We suggest to go back to offering OC members red, white & rosé OC house wines for a reduced price of 5€ and maybe also a glass of cava for 6€, and champagne for 10€.

• We would also appreciate that all staff including reception and managers at OC had nameplates, so we can easily learn everybody´s names☺ It would be appreciated if the various managers showed up more often at OC and introduced themselves to the members. It would also be highly appreciated, and a sign of respect towards
members, not to be informed about drastic changes overnight, like it was done with breakfast hours and the increased membership fee.

Members

● As members are having live OC experience on a daily base, our feedback may be valuable and we suggest to create regular meeting with a selected group of members and the OC Board, in order to discuss suggestions and also concerns. A continuous communication between the management and the OC members could be very beneficial, not only to the members but also to the hotel management.

• We just learned that OC does not give out information on the current number of members and what the maximum number is, which we find little comprehensible.

Restaurants

● We suggest to increase the number of guests we get the 15% discount for to more than a maximum of 4 people. It could be beneficial for the restaurants to have more paying guests at the tables, especially off season. We suggest to increase the number to 8 people or unlimited (could depend on the season) – like it was originally - depending on availability. This would be a win for the restaurants instead of having empty tables, or have OC members eventually choosing another restaurant when they are more than a party of 4.

Puente Romano Tennis Club

● It would be fair that we could bring a guest a maximum of 12 times per year to the Tennis Club gym and not only to the Health & Fitness Gym.

Spa

● We suggest the possibility to use the spa at least twice or more per month. In any case we are only allowed to use the facilities in the case of availability, so this would not disadvantage hotel guests.

Beach & pools

• Give members the possibility to use also the Chiringuito beach beds like we were from the beginning.

• Give members the possibility to bring two guests to the pools and beach at least during low season and if there is availability.

Entertainment and events

● Members should always be prioritized at events and given at least 2 days to confirm assistance. Not everyone is watching their mobile phones 24/7. When the RSVP period for members is ended, then the members who has a partner who is not a member should be able to bring the partner and only after this members should be encouraged to invite guests. Furthermore, it would be nice to receive the invitations for the events with a little longer notice. Sometimes invitations are sent out with very short notice, which renders attendance impossible.

Thank you for understanding and taking the time to take our suggestions and thoughts into consideration.

Kind regards,