Reviews from 2014
“Every year for 20+” Reviewed 12 September 2013 Have been to La Carihuella for the last 20+ years and its still my favourite Spanish destination ,.Book with the British appartment owners if you want the best value for money self catering holidays particularly Derek and Gloria who have two wonderful ground floor bungalow appartments side by side looking over the gardens
“Second time and will be returning” Reviewed 24 June 2013 Back here again, booked privately with friends. Great bar, lovely gardens and same people every year as its predominately time share. Carihuela is the best place in Spain in my opinion, we could walk one way to Torremolinos and the other to Benalmadena. Weather really hot at this time even at night. Were going back again next year.
“Small paradise in Carihuela Playa”Reviewed 21 June 2013 We booked our stay with the owners, as adviced by other travellers, and I must say we loved staying there. I'm under the impression that lots of people live there all year round, for our neighbors talked to each other as if they were all old friends.
The complex is near the beach, there are two swimming pools, one of them not so easy to find so probably less crowded in the summer!, beautiful loans and lots of sun. We didn't use the tennis court, so I can not advice you on that. The restaurant by the main pool has English breakfast, but it was already hot for us (25'C) so we didn't taste it. By the beach there are lots of fish restaurants, and also at Calle del Carmen, I advice you to eat there if you don't want to cook, we had no bad surprises during our stay.
About our apartment, it was small but comfy. We had a double bed (Spanish size), bathroom and fully furnished kitchenette with a cooker that seemed to be brand-new. There was also an oven, a washing-machine, a kettle and a TV. We enjoyed a lot the terrasse, when we came back to our room tired after visiting Malaga or Aqualand, and we had dinner there, those were great peaceful moments that totally made up from our desastrous vacation in April.
Our apartment faced the main gardens and the pool, it was surprisingly cool, we didn't need to turn on the AC.
The owner of our appartment is a Spanish woman, Mrs Martínez and we found it through another website. They have a site where you can see a lot of of the complex (no extra information, however) http://carihuela.infos.st
Also, good to know, there is two bus stops by the complex entrance, very useful if you want to go to Malaga or Marbella (this had been explained to us by the owner, however we tried also the Cercanías train, 10 minutes walk from the complex, and I must say she was right, the bus is not only closest, but fastest).
I must say I didn't expect much of Torremolinos as I always heard of it as a place full of people and concret. Carihuela Park is not that at all, we would definetely come back!
“Complex greatly positioned for everything” Reviewed 24 August 2013 Booked this hotel last minute through Travel Republic and on arrival the hotel had our check-in date as the following day! Hotel were very helpful and when I contacted Travel Republic and they sorted it out quickly so we were able to get to our room within an hour. We stayed in the main block of the complex (there were many smaller blocks around the complex), which is rather in need of refurbishment but the room was spacious and clean and fit for purpose for our holiday. I travelled with my 3 year old son, my friend and her 7 and 11 year old sons and this complex was great for us all. The large pool was well situated in the gardens so we could sunbathe while keeping an eye on our children and the smaller baby pool was a little way across the garden, but again easy to view. There was a small park area (couple of swings, see-saw, climbing frame) set in the gardens and the rest of the gardens were beautifully maintained with a gardener working on them constantly. There is also a bar which serves food and drinks throughout the day and night. The pool gets busy and surprisingly for a hotel complex they charge for sunbed use (2 euros per bed), but in a way that was better because you didn't have the usual 6am fight to get towels down before all the sunbeds go! The staff at the hotel were friendly and helpful at all times too, we never felt scared of asking for something and they would always help if they could.
Everything is close to the complex, it has a long beach with various different sections and also has an activity climbing frame plus small entertainment area for the kids (bouncy castle, static rides etc, which were chargeable) and this became our place to go after dinner so the kids could play for a bit and we could relax in the bar opposite. There are many reasonably priced bars and restaurants and lots of gift shops too.
The area wasn't predominently British which I'm sure you'd find in the main town of Torremolinos (this hotel is in Carihuela, just outside Torremolinos), it was mainly Spanish and Dutch with a few Brit families so it wasn't all Brits abroad which was what I was expecting (and dreading!)
We will be looking at staying at this hotel again because of the location and having everything so close by but I think we would look to stay in one of the smaller apartment blocks instead of the main one as they were privately owned and appeared to be better kitted out (when talking to other families who were staying in them) and better maintained..
I would recommend this hotel if you want something a little cheaper but good for amenities and for the kids..
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“Second time and will be returning” Reviewed 24 June 2013 Back here again, booked privately with friends. Great bar, lovely gardens and same people every year as its predominately time share. Carihuela is the best place in Spain in my opinion, we could walk one way to Torremolinos and the other to Benalmadena. Weather really hot at this time even at night. Were going back again next year.
“Small paradise in Carihuela Playa”Reviewed 21 June 2013 We booked our stay with the owners, as adviced by other travellers, and I must say we loved staying there. I'm under the impression that lots of people live there all year round, for our neighbors talked to each other as if they were all old friends.
The complex is near the beach, there are two swimming pools, one of them not so easy to find so probably less crowded in the summer!, beautiful loans and lots of sun. We didn't use the tennis court, so I can not advice you on that. The restaurant by the main pool has English breakfast, but it was already hot for us (25'C) so we didn't taste it. By the beach there are lots of fish restaurants, and also at Calle del Carmen, I advice you to eat there if you don't want to cook, we had no bad surprises during our stay.
About our apartment, it was small but comfy. We had a double bed (Spanish size), bathroom and fully furnished kitchenette with a cooker that seemed to be brand-new. There was also an oven, a washing-machine, a kettle and a TV. We enjoyed a lot the terrasse, when we came back to our room tired after visiting Malaga or Aqualand, and we had dinner there, those were great peaceful moments that totally made up from our desastrous vacation in April.
Our apartment faced the main gardens and the pool, it was surprisingly cool, we didn't need to turn on the AC.
The owner of our appartment is a Spanish woman, Mrs Martínez and we found it through another website. They have a site where you can see a lot of of the complex (no extra information, however) http://carihuela.infos.st
Also, good to know, there is two bus stops by the complex entrance, very useful if you want to go to Malaga or Marbella (this had been explained to us by the owner, however we tried also the Cercanías train, 10 minutes walk from the complex, and I must say she was right, the bus is not only closest, but fastest).
I must say I didn't expect much of Torremolinos as I always heard of it as a place full of people and concret. Carihuela Park is not that at all, we would definetely come back!
“Complex greatly positioned for everything” Reviewed 24 August 2013 Booked this hotel last minute through Travel Republic and on arrival the hotel had our check-in date as the following day! Hotel were very helpful and when I contacted Travel Republic and they sorted it out quickly so we were able to get to our room within an hour. We stayed in the main block of the complex (there were many smaller blocks around the complex), which is rather in need of refurbishment but the room was spacious and clean and fit for purpose for our holiday. I travelled with my 3 year old son, my friend and her 7 and 11 year old sons and this complex was great for us all. The large pool was well situated in the gardens so we could sunbathe while keeping an eye on our children and the smaller baby pool was a little way across the garden, but again easy to view. There was a small park area (couple of swings, see-saw, climbing frame) set in the gardens and the rest of the gardens were beautifully maintained with a gardener working on them constantly. There is also a bar which serves food and drinks throughout the day and night. The pool gets busy and surprisingly for a hotel complex they charge for sunbed use (2 euros per bed), but in a way that was better because you didn't have the usual 6am fight to get towels down before all the sunbeds go! The staff at the hotel were friendly and helpful at all times too, we never felt scared of asking for something and they would always help if they could.
Everything is close to the complex, it has a long beach with various different sections and also has an activity climbing frame plus small entertainment area for the kids (bouncy castle, static rides etc, which were chargeable) and this became our place to go after dinner so the kids could play for a bit and we could relax in the bar opposite. There are many reasonably priced bars and restaurants and lots of gift shops too.
The area wasn't predominently British which I'm sure you'd find in the main town of Torremolinos (this hotel is in Carihuela, just outside Torremolinos), it was mainly Spanish and Dutch with a few Brit families so it wasn't all Brits abroad which was what I was expecting (and dreading!)
We will be looking at staying at this hotel again because of the location and having everything so close by but I think we would look to stay in one of the smaller apartment blocks instead of the main one as they were privately owned and appeared to be better kitted out (when talking to other families who were staying in them) and better maintained..
I would recommend this hotel if you want something a little cheaper but good for amenities and for the kids..
.