My inlaws are looking to go to Torremolinos for their Golden Wedding at the end of September.
Anyone recommend a hotel central for beach and town?
So many to choose from and everyone gets poor reviews on the likes of Trip Advisor!
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Fuengirola is rather nicer IMO and there are some decent hotels there.
Some friends of ours stayed at Hotel Yarama and when we visited them there, we thought it was pretty good, with nice sea views.
hotelyaramar.es/en
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>>Fuengirola is rather nicer IMO
Dropped in there late one afternoon and stopped at a beach cafe at the northern end because SWMBO saw mugs of tea offered. Very QUEER place IYKWIM!
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>> My inlaws are looking to go to Torremolinos
Nah, they really DONT want to go there.
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It is not so bad as all that, but as I said Fuengirola is nicer, or if they don't mind a little further west, try Estepona.
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Every accommodation seems to get at least one poor review on Trip Advisor. You need to read between the lines and decide if it really matters that Kevin and Doreen didn't like the entertainment on Tuesday nights.
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>decide if it really matters that Kevin and Doreen didn't like the entertainment on Tuesday nights.
Sorry, can't help. Never been there.
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Assumption: Really Torremolinos
Assumption: Not wanting Watneys Red Barrel and Cheese & Onion crisps.
Natali Hotel, I was there about 18m ago. Not the most modern, not the closest to the beach. But it is a Hotel catering for the Spanish. Consequently it is in a market where service and value matters rather more than some fat bloke on an organ.
But you won't get an Engish breakfast.
Nonetheless, you are in a market (Torremolinos) which strives to attract Brits & Germans with promotion and promises and has no expectation of repeat business once the week is over.
It's never going to be great.
A Hotel which is close to everything doesn't have to work hard (at all). A Hotel which is a little distant from the beach but still catering to holiday makers has to try that bit harder.
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>>I was there about 18m ago.
I'm sure I was, but some people that I'm married to are casting nasturtiums and believe that it may have been another, similar. So, I *think* it was that one.
Probably best to ignore me.
Like you needed encouragement.
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I tend to agree with others here like Zero and would avoid Torremolinos ( and indeed Benalmadena and Funny Gorilla) .
Alright , I know it sounds snobbish to knock the place but the last time I went there and stayed in a typical Spanish hotel SWMBO and I together with most of the other guests ended up with food poisoning.
Frankly it is like Blackpool but worse.
Only redeeming feature is the possibility of some sun.......
Last edited by: retpocileh on Tue 11 Sep 12 at 11:22
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All of these places are OK if you don't have a car and just want a beach holiday.
I could recommend several towns if those caveats don't apply.
We lived in the general area, but west of Estepona and 20 minutes from Gibraltar, for over 10 years. Generally the further west you go the less "Blackpooly" it gets.
If easy access to the beach is not a must try Málaga city - very Spanish it is!
Away from the coast a bit, Frigiliana is pretty,as is Mijas - the latter is touristy in season, though. Nerja is OK, too, but elevated from beach level - a visit to the caves there is a must, IMO. We visited twice!
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>> If easy access to the beach is not a must try Málaga city - very
>> Spanish it is!
>>
Yes, we like Malaga too.
In fact, next month we have five nights at the Alay, and then three nights in Malaga, at:
www.hoteldoncurro.com/e-index.htm
Again very reasonable and central.
Very Spanish.
Malaga is a wonderful place for eating.
Car not necessary.
There is a railway connecting Malaga, the airport, and all the way to Fuengirola, which means you don't need a car if you want.
Buses are cheap and good.
Another very Spanish resort i Rincon de Victoria, which is a few miles to the East of Malaga.
We've visited a few times, by car and by bus. There are only a couple of hotels here though.
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Toremolinas town is amixture of not too bad, and tacky, and it's a climb down to the beach and promenade.
Better range of eating here, with more Spanish style than full English, and Sunday roasts.
The promenade is several miles long, which is great if you like to exercise.
At the South end of the prom is Benalmadena where the large modern marina has eateries providing cuisine from all over the world - however, few of them are outstanding.
There are better, more Spanish, back in the town.
We frequently stay at:
www.hotelalay.com/
Reasonable cost per room and breakfast. Very good range on the breakfast buffet - hot and cold.
We don't use the restaurant in the evening, but it's not all that bad - better places in town.
Rooms average size, but clean, with good bathroom.
Hotel decor is a bit seventies, but we find it good value.
We only go out of school holidays.
The problem with the Costa is that it developed from small fishing villages in the fifties, to package holiday land, offering what the great unwashed of GB, Germany and Holland wanted then, and it's taking a long time to upgrade from that.
That said, with a hire car, you can explore a fascinating region, back from the coast
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Very good range on the breakfast buffet - hot and cold.
I am very wary of these sort of buffets where food is reheated.....I believe that was what caused our food poisoning..... you never know quite how long it has been sitting there .
Torremolinos is cheap and cheerful but all that coast is overdeveloped and touristy.
As Roger says , the further west you go the better, you need a car if you want the real Spanish deal go round past Gib, Algeciras and Tarifa to the Atlantic Coast and little seaside resorts like Barbati or Zahara de los Atunes where the Sevillanos take their holidays..
I have fond memories of tuna steak fresh as you like or prawns pil pil in little harbour cafes down that coast.
Either that or go inland to little white mountain villages, Casares is a case in point which was not very far from Rogers old stamping ground, try Ronda or even Jerez and its Bodegas....
But not Torremolinos.
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>> Either that or go inland to little white mountain villages, Casares is a case in
>> point
Oof. My family used to have a place near there. About halfway up the road from Estepona on the way to Casares. Lovely little town. Used to drive down there each summer when I was a student in the trusty FIAT Regata 70. Used to love getting the early ferry from Portsmouth, blatting through to Bordeaux on day one, kipping in the car at a service station amongst the truckers, waking up early and blatting a bit more to the border, then getting out of the car and feeling the first wave of heat in the air......................I'd usually arrive in Casares by midnight. I expect the roads are somewhat faster these days, I remember the motorways being under construction mostly, and donkey-pulled carts were a common sight, even on the few dual carriageway bits.
Ah.
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The road from Manilva to Casares is still terrible! Full of bumps, potholes and crumbling edges! (Or it was when we left)
You can quite often see Griffon Vultures soaring in the thermals, from the top road of the village.
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I remember there being a dirt road to our little valley from the back of Estepona - at the back of the market and through a small industrial estate, then off up a dirt track. I expect it's a little different these days, I understand there's been substantial development since I last went in the early 90s. Still had to wait 2 years for a phone line there in those days.
A Daihatsu Fourtrack was a useful vehicle to have, especially as the roads tended to get washed away in flash floods every now and again. But then, the old Regata never got stuck anywhere. Neither did all the SEAT 124s/Malagas etc which the locals ran.
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Estepona is delightful. A broad paved promenade and views of Gibraltar. I stayed with friends in a flat so cannot comment on the hotels but the town is very pleasant
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...........and very Spanish, too.
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So to summarise, you are all saying advise them not to go to Torremolinos then????? :)
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If they are jolly, gregarious and socially unpretentious they may well like places like Torremolinos. If they are thoughtful, contemplative and intellectual they may prefer something more Spanish and ethnic, with visits to historical sites and quiet dinners under some nice pergola.
No doubt with a bit of research somewhere can be found offering both styles.
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Bobby G - Why have they decided they want to go to Spain at all, particularly Torremolinos ?
If they are celebrating their Golden Wedding they must be in or near to their seventies and unless they are very active for their age and like the hassle of airports and Ryanair or Easyjet , travel insurance etc , I would say honestly do not bother .
I would imagine they want all their family and friends to join them on the big day.
They would be much better off saving the cost of travel to Spain altogether and spending it in a celebration at an upmarket local hotel or go off to a UK resort like Harrogate in t' north or Bournemouth in the South....and asking the hotel chef for a Paella.....
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Real scheduled airlines fly to Gibraltar, BA and Monarch, for a start. Might be close enough fo a Spanish cross-border celebration in Spain
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>>Bobby G - Why have they decided they want to go to Spain at all, particularly Torremolinos ?
Not really sure, mother in law was there years ago and wants to go back - they have already had the family party here which has lasted the best part of two weeks so I think they are looking for a holiday to relax after the celebrations!!
STOP PRESS
Just heard they have booked for Belamadena!!!
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Tell them it's pronounced Benalmadena!
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Benalmadena is a pleasant resort. Fuengerola is just down the road one way and Torremolinos the other. There's good public transport between all three resorts.
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>>Just heard they have booked for Belamadena!!!
There's a delightful park just a few hundred yards inland from this roundabout: goo.gl/maps/VRlxm Tame rabbits running around wild and other animals.
I stayed in the white apartments visible above the 'P' sign.
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>> I am very wary of these sort of buffets where food is reheated.....
So am I.
But as far as I can see, that didn't apply to the breakfasts, with fresh hot food coming to the buffet.
It can, of course, stand for some time on the hot plates or bains marie.
Without checking the kitchens anywhere, it's not possible to be sure that you,ll avoid the trots.
Other than that - competely agree with you on the region.
8o)
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I like the description of Torremolinos on the Tripadvisor website:
"Spain's biggest resort, a Costa del Sol hotspot without cultural attractions or monuments to distract from its straightforward sun, sea and sand recipe, is particularly popular with the snowbird and gay crowds."
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What on earth is a snowbird?
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old person who flies south to spend winter in warmer climes
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I quite like the idea of Spain but my missus won't go anywhere where she can't get English food or they talk foreign.
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Largs'll be out of the question then?
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My missus drinks scrumpy. Pints as well.
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>> My missus drinks scrumpy. Pints as well.
So she should cope well with a few wee drams to numb the taste buds for the great chieftain o' the pudden kind and the parritch without sugar or milk or even salt or butter or dripping and so on.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Wed 12 Sep 12 at 21:15
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......and they all speak Jockinese!
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Torremolinos Hotel recommendation - Roger.
