Well equipped base for a relaxing family holiday
Review Submitted: July 22, 2009
Date of Stay: July 2009
The apartment was clean and well furnished and well enough equipped to entertain and accomodate our teenage daughters (UK TV channels, DVDs, pool & sunbathing, etc) and 3 month old daughter (cot, splash pool, pushchair accessible, etc) alike.
The kitchen had all mod-cons and perfectly satisfied our largely self-catering plan. The 'welcome pack' in the fridge was much appreciated until we got to explore the choice of 3 very well provisioned supermarkets in town. There was a small grocer's in one of the neighbouring blocks towards the beach.
Beds & furnishings were comfortable; towels and sheets were pleantiful - all much appreciated!
The Spanish neighbours were friendly even though we spoke little of the language.
The underground private parking to keep the rental car cool in the sun was a useful bonus.
Probably the only thing this apartment doesn't have is a good view of either the sea or the mountains but the terrrace does overlook the lovely private pool and manicured lawn.
Of the few times we ate out, we would recommend El Penon on the seafront for the wonderful range of seafood dishes. If you've never tried beach-barbequed octopus, now's your chance!
The beach is easily accessible from the appartment but we also enjoyed the beach at la Herradura and Joaquim's beach restaurant is highly recommended for the Paella - especially at the weekend when they cook it in a giant dish on a beach barbeque!
Marina del Este was idyllic but the restaurants pricey - and mostly frequented by Brits so somewhat defeats the object of going the Costa Tropical where the joy is not only the microclimate but also how un-Anglicised it all is (despite which we never felt unwelcome as non-Spanish speakers).
We missed the Friday morning market at Almunecar and would aim to do this on a future visit. We chose another beach/pool day in preference to the Caves at Nerja but have done these on a previous trip.
For first timers to the region the must-see is the Alhambra in Granada. Now the motorway over the Sierra Navada has been finished you can be there from Solobrena in less than an hour and it's so easy to find the sat-nav really is redundant. In July 2009 the extension of the motorway from la Herradura to Motril looked likely to open imminently, avoiding the bottleneck of Almunecar and bringing Solobrena another 20-30 mins closer to Malaga airport.
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marks the location of the property in Costa Tropical & Lecrin Valley
