Malaga: the good, the bad and the ugly

Malaga

Even us mountain folk like to get dolled up and go somewhere nice every now and again and one of our favorite spots is Malaga. On the sea front, with few tourists crowding the small chiringuitos (bbq fish places) on the beach, a small but lovely inner city, the remains of a Moorish castle to add a bit of zest, great food, friendly people and, of course, a giant Corte Ingles: what’s not to like?

Well, there is some stuff. One of our first times we stayed at Don Paco Hotel across the road from the station. Yikes. It smells like someone’s been exterminating cockroaches and then frying them up with a bit of garlic, the beds are covered with plastic sheets that crunch every time you move, the staff is, at the very least, unhelpfull and rude, if you close the window in your room you’ll choke on the weird smell, if you open it the traffic noise and smeone tossing around garbage cans all night will keep you awake and to top it all off, they charged my friends’ credit card twice and then refused to refund the money! To sum up: DON’T DO IT! I’d rather sleep on a bench, probably more comfy.

Now that that’s out of the way, the nice stuff, for instance: Hotel Molina Larios, it’s pricey, but very good. Bit too business like for my taste, I like places to have a bit of character, but if you’re looking for a well run, chic place this could be just the ticket: they have a pool on the rooftop (I love that!), and if you order a drink it’s brought up by a man in a white suit on a silver tray. Downstairs there’s an open patio with heaters that’s a nice place to have a quiet drink when the rest of the city’s crowded, the wines are excellent, the food’s not that special, but fine, the service is very professional and the internet in your room is high speed and free of charge.

Across the street, there’s our favorite food place: La Barra, a swanky little local with only a few tables inside and more al fresco, luckily they have terrace heaters for those nippy nights of winter. Good wines, fine selection of booze (they have six different types of gin, I like that), if you’re lucky you get the nice waiter, if you’re unlucky you get the one that looks like the evil robot in Terminator (you know, the scary redhead). They’re quick and professional though. Do try the roast beef tapas, it’s basically what keeps us coming back again and again. It tastes like the essence of a big mac, but then like no big mac you ever had, juicy, delicious….. Unmissable!

Hotel Cohiba

For those of you looking for an affordable place in town, try Don Curro, they’re friendly, the rooms are clean and comfy and it’s right smack in the middle of town. We, on the other hand, prefer to hike down to the beach and stay at the very lively Hotel Cohiba. It’s bright yellow, at night they serve popcorn and cheap icy cocktails. Beer comes in a bucket with a dirty little glass and everybody’’s just fun and sweet. It’s quite a hike though, about an hour walk from the center. There’s supposed to be a bus somewhere, but I don’t believe in buses. A taxi’ll set you back about five euros, so why bother with public transport? One of Cohiba’s greatest advantagers is that it’s right on the beach with great views and the sound of the waves. In summer however, you might want to shut your windows to drown out the party downstairs, ’cause we’re not the only ones who like it at Cohiba’s!

Moving To Andalusia