Fuengirola (Spain)

...to be staying in the Fuengirola Beach Hotel in Fuengirola. I knew it was allocation on arrival but at least put me somewhere I've heard of. Oh well, I'd spent 3 hours on the plane and I was in Spain for a week so I might as well make the most of it.

Only 20-30 minutes from Malaga airport, Fuengirola covers a 10.20KM² strech of the Costa Del Sol and in my opinion is one of the fastest developing tourist areas on the Costa Del Sol. ...
...*********Hotel*********

The Fuengirola Beach Apartments is located a good 30 minute bus transfer from Malaga and about 30 minutes walk from the centre of Fuengirola (depending on your walking speed it's probably quicker). My first impression of the hotel was that it was an absolute dump, mostly due to the fact that it was surrounded by building sites, was next to a main road and about 100m from a motorway, plonked next to a huge shopping ... more

Fuengirola? Wheres that then?

Thats was my first words to the holiday rep when she told me and my wife that we were going to be staying in the Fuengirola Beach Hotel in Fuengirola. I knew it was allocation on arrival but at least put me somewhere I've heard of. Oh well, I'd spent 3 hours on the plane and I was in Spain for a week so I might as well make the most of it.

Only 20-30 minutes from Malaga airport, Fuengirola covers a 10.20KM² strech of the Costa Del Sol and in my opinion is one of the fastest developing tourist areas on the Costa Del Sol. It's between 2 and a half to 3 hours away by plane and is one of the hottest parts of the European mainland due to it's closeness to the equator.

I'll split this review into parts (not sure how many yet or what they'll be) to make things a little easier on both reader and writer so onwards we plough.

*********Hotel*********

The Fuengirola Beach Apartments is located a good 30 minute bus transfer from Malaga and about 30 minutes walk from the centre of Fuengirola (depending on your walking speed it's probably quicker). My first impression of the hotel was that it was an absolute dump, mostly due to the fact that it was surrounded by building sites, was next to a main road and about 100m from a motorway, plonked next to a huge shopping mall (which has it's advantages though) and only 200m across the motorway from Sohail castle.

Despite the first impressions once I entered the hotel I was pleasantly surprised at how clean and welcoming the reception area looked (pictures here; http://www.fuengirolabeach.com/facilities.htm). We were checked in within 5 minutes and off to room 319 we plodded, allbeit in the lift, still quite surprised at how clean everything was. It felt like staying in Colchester General Hospital. Once we entered the room we found a clean room, beds made, toilet roll, toiletries, clean towels and a welcome pack. Couldn't really complain. All the cutlery and plates were cleaned and the kettle was sitting on the stove ready to go.

Even when we ventured into the bedroom and onto the balcony the room was still looking good. Plenty of drawers, 6 in total, and built in cupboard space with shelving and plenty of hanging space too. The balcony had 4 chairs, 2 sun-loungers and a large table. The only downfall was that the bedroom had two single beds instead of a double but hey, add those to the two sofa-beds in the front room and the spare bed in the hall there was plenty of bed space.

Now we honestly didn't do anything on the first night as we'd been travelling since 2am so we didn't see much else until the welcome meeting the next day which was held in the main bar. The main bar was quite large with plenty of seating and polite staff, especially William, who all spoke superb English.

Unfortunately, due to the weather we didn't spend much time by the pool but for the sake of my review I wandered around and explored and was highly impressed by the cleanliness as well as the fact that I found tennis courts, a 5-a-side football court, outdoor chess set and an outside bar area where BBQ's are held in the summer.

We eventually sat down for a night of in-hotel entertainment on Monday night. We went for dinner in the restaurant, buffet style and served between 6:30pm-8:00pm, and were highly disappointed. 10 euros each for the most disgusting food I've ever eaten. The service was superb but the food left a lot to be desired. This was a theme which continued until Thursday night which was carvery night and even though it was an extra 2 euros per person it was delicious. The poor food also extened to the breakfast which was less than pleasant but not bad value at 6 euros.

The entertainment was excellent and there was something for everyone. Two pool tables in the main bar provide alternative entertainment if you don't want to watch the kids mini-disco but I'd suggest you do for the sheer comedy value. Mini-disco starts about 8:30 which is quite late. It lasts about an hour and is followed by bingo, yay, for about 30 mins. Then at 10 is the main show which is something different every night. The best three were the karaoke, games show night and the cabaret. Not only this, but they show a number of live football games in the smaller 'La Taberna' bar if your not interested in the main shows. The drinks were reasonably priced even if I did spend the majority of the time drinking either coke or coffee's.

All in all the hotel itself was pretty good but, it's greatest downfall's are it's location and surroundings. Saying that, I wouldn't mind returning during the summer 2 years from now.

*********Fuengirola*********

Fuengirola itself as I stated before came across as a quickly developing resort which probably hands out rose-tinted glasses to all it's guests during the summer. According to those people who've been during the summer Fuengirola is an excellent place to visit however, the same cannot be said of Fuengirola in the winter months. It's not because everything is shut in the winter because the majority of things are open all year round. Saying this some of the views of the hills surrounding Fuerngirola are spectacular providing you find the right spots.

The beaches are horrid as is the majority of the sea water. The beaches look similar to asphalt in terms of colour and the water, well, think of the colour that rain water puddles are when they form in mud. This wasn't just up around our hotel either it was all the way along the coast to Benelmadena as far as we saw too.

While walking along the main promenade of Fuegirola we found plenty of shops to explore along with a large number of bars and restaurants. Failing the desire to explore any of these there is the fail-safe option of Burger King or McDonalds which are both situated by the marina on the main promenade. The area of the promenade outside the marina turns into a huge and bustling market place on Sundays and Tuesdays where haggling is the main order of the day and the stalls offer just about everything under the sun.

If this isn't for you then Fuengirola does hold it's own 'traditional Spanish' treats and alternative entertainment if you so wish. Castillo de Sohail, or Sohail Castle in English, is an old Spanish coastal defence which provides and entertaining few hours along with some exceptional views over Fuengirola and out to sea. If you want to carry on with the traditional theme then there are various sculptures and some amazing architecture to be seen down the roads off of the main promenade. A cheap and interesting visit is the Fuengirola Zoo. It's nothing special but it is quite interesting to see how they've mixed their animals together. It's only 12 euros for adults and 5 for children and makes for a good couple of hours out.

As far as shopping goes we found a good tobacco shop by the zoo which sells 200 Mayfair Superkings for around 25 euros but there are some much cheaper Spanish ciggies available for less and apparently there is a shop selling 200 for 19 euros on the promenade but we missed it. If your not interested in ciggies and are after some more traditional Spanish gifts then look no further than the gift shops on the promenade.

If it's the essentials your chasing then there are a number of options open to you. There is a Lidl store, a number of decent supermercardo's which are local size supermarkets, Dunnes store which is the big store of Fuengirola or the Myramar shopping centre which is host to Eroski, an Asda like super-supermarket.

The myramar itself is a highly impressive place. It's a little out of the way for people who's hotel is buried deep in Fuengirola but, it does have a bus stop right outside the door which runs over most of Fuengirola. There is a myriad of shops inside which vary from interior decor, mobile phones, jewellery, sweets and loads of clothing shops including Zara and Dorothy Perkins. Also in here is a 12 screen cinema and a special food & drink section which I'd advise exploring if your staying in the same hotel as me because the Hollywood restaurant is awesome.

*********Various*********

As me & Toni found out it's not the end of the world to be stuck in Fuengirola because, provided your ok to travel a little, theres a lot on offer. Gibraltar is only and hour and a half away by car or if your travelling with First Choice they offer two seperate coach trips. First Choice also offer two free trips. Both are only half day trips which involve about an hour on the coach but you go to the Columbus Diamond Centre in Benelmadena on both and view some gorgeous diamonds and then you have a choice. During our week, Tuesdays trip went to the San Miguel factory just outside Malaga and Thursdays went to the Cortijo (Cor-Tee-Ko) Bacardi. We chose the Bacardi trip and it was great. I won't give away the details but I will suggest it for anyone who goes.

*********Overall*********

Well it's not the greatest of resorts to visit even by Spanish standards but it does have something for absolutely everyone. I'd advise you to make the most of your time here and thoroughly explore the area. You don't necessarily need a car as long as your prepared to pay for the coach excursions. Definitely heed the advice of you holiday reps and if possible try and find a First Choice hotel as they are, apparently, the only 4 hotels in Fuengirola that offer year-round entertainment. If your self-catering I'd allocate about 40 euros a day for a two-person budget. Me & Toni spent more but we were just being silly and spending way more than we should have.

Thanks for your time,
Craig.

Feel free to leave a message if I've missed anything. 

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