Reviews For Calahonda Holiday apartment - Property 1614

We stayed with 4 adults en 2 kids on Dona Lola from july 28th untill august 12th and had a great summertime. Only one day with clouds, other days 30-35 degrees C, but not too hot because of a gentle breeze from sea. The appt was very spacious en everything we needed was there (negative point: the appt was not as spotlessly clean as suggested in some reviews, we spoke to Brian about this and we got this thing solved). Resort is absolutely great, staff is extremely friendly and helpfull. We missed a boulevard with bars and restaurants in Calahonda, but the fitst floor in El Zoco commercial centre across the street has several good places for food and drinks (try the bar Trafalger, live music everynight 23.30 pm). Aquaparc in Mijas or Tapas (taberna del pinxto) in Marbella were highlights. Beware of the busses, they are full very often, so you will wait for nothing. Consider a taxi. Supersol supermarket is 7-8 minutes walk and has a very large stock of everything (try the fresh fish ore grilled chicken when you want to cook yourself). Italian restaurant Da Vinci and Devine right next to the appt-building are absolutely worth trying and not expensive. The BBQ at the poolrestaurant was disappointing for us, the meat was too fat and quality was not good. Steve from Caribasol was very kind and very reachable if we had a question. All in all a great stay in a beautiful part of Spain.

Stayed at a number of apartments around this area but this one has great sea views and is ideally placed for the leisure club, bars, shops and restaurants. <br/> <br/>Could not fault it at all, has a real nautical theme, so if you love the sea you will love this place. TV is a bit small but who goes to Spain to watch TV ?

Well, what can I say. The apartment was spotlessly clean, fantastically well equipped & the location was ideal. It had fantastic views & plenty of space for a lively family. The Dona Lola complex itself is beautifully maintained with lovely gardens, very clean pools/poolside areas and the added bonus of regularly patrolling security guards. The indoor facilities i.e. gym, pool/saunas/jacuzzi/salon are equally good & give you plenty of options if the weather should be unfriendly (or if like us you go early in the season & an evening swim outdoors is not an option). The children loved wandering along the beach & getting the snorkels out to check out the rock pools. The owner of this apartment goes out of his way to make sure everything is perfect for you & I don't think there was anything he hadn't covered fully in his literature or by telephone/e-mail. <br/> <br/> <br/>We thoroughly enjoyed our stay & if the credit crunch allows we would certainly go back. Thanks Brian !!

we stayed at brians fantastic appartment over the new year. the appartment ahs evrything you could need during your stay he has thought of everything, the only moan we had was that we could have done with a few more pillows but it did not spoil our time there. the complex is fab we used the leisure centre most days. it is very close to the bus stops which take you to marbella and other resorts. the weather was not bad with new years day being the best,we spent this at a beach bar overlooking the sea.there are plenty of bars in the area but it was quiet at this time of the year.i would highly reccommend using this appartment the service from brian was fantastic from start to finnish.

We stayed at Dona Lola as we were attending a family wedding. 3 adults and 2 children age 8 & 11. The apartment was very spacious with everything that you could need, the master bedroom was particularly big with an en suite. The views of the Med from the balcony were great and it was great to sit and watch the passing ships & boats. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us so we did not use the outside pools but the inside instead,which was excellently maintained. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. Overall a great place to stay. Thank you Brian.

Having read the descriptions etc we arrived at Dona Lola with high expectations and we were not disappointed! The complex and appartment were everything you need for a good relaxing holiday in the sunshine. The appartment was very clean and well equiped- a home from home with great views from the balcony of the sea and the complex. Brian provided great customer service from our first enquiry to after we arrived back home - thank you. We would certainly recommend this property a friends.

We had a wonderful holiday at Brian´s apartment. The apartment is very practical, kitchen is overwhelmingly equipped, living room vividly decorated and the balcony view over the Mediterranean was breath taking. <br/>I must say that Brian is a very reliable apt owner who certainly beats any travellers agency in making arrangements and making the guests feel comfortable. <br/>We cooked our food in the apartment throughout the week since we have such big family and Brian´s kitchen had absolutely everything. We ate out a couple of times (the restaurant food was wonderful). <br/>We did not have a car and the maintenance company fetched us from the airport (with the apt keys). It is impossible to get a taxi for more than 4 people at Costa Del Sol so we ended up taking the bus to Fuengirola and Marbella and using 2 taxis in town. It was very easy and quite inexpensive. E.g. bus tickets for the six of us to Fuengirola (4,60€) and Marbella (7,20€) and the taxi for appr 10min costs 6€. <br/>We kept the buggy downstairs and it worked fine for us. The apartment baby cot, high chair and DVD player came in handy and all of our children loved the living room nautical theme. Our children absolutely loved walking on the beach collecting sea shells. Us parents really enjoyed the view.:-) <br/>I didn´t like the restrictions for children at the leisure centre (the signs on the walls saying that children are not allowed anywhere e,g, saunas, spa). We used the saunas and the spa with children before reading the notices and nobody interfered but after I read them, we didn´t go anymore. We Finns are so obidient that we dare not brake any written rules :-). <br/>The childrens´ club had some activities (an hour daily) but we didn´t use the services because we were busy doing other things. <br/>The karaoke bar next to the apartment is shocking but fortunately it was only 3 times a week (Sun, Wed, Fri) from 9 p.m. until midnight. The first impression was horrible when we arrived on Sun evening at 11 p.m. and the music was on. Our small children were asleep in the taxi and they got really upset with the loud music.The singers at karaoke were very good but the music is very loud. I am writing it here so that people renting the place know that it only lasts for 3 hours on those 3 nights. I would definately recommend Martha 2/4/2 for a family similar to ours despite the music. <br/> <br/>Thank you Brian for everything! <br/>Kirsi and Aarno from Finland <br/>Children Ville 11 yrs, Annika 9yrs, Liisi 3yrs, Akseli 20months.

Together, with my family, including 2 children we spent a very enjoyable week at Brian' apartment. <br/>The information that Brian sent about the apartment, the area and Dona Lola itself was very comprehensive. We used the contact, suggested by Brian, to pick us up from the apartment and the experience was seamless. <br/>Although on the fourth floor we had no problems with the stairs,to the apartment, leaving the puschair inside the locked door, on the first floor. The fact that it was on the fourth floor meant that there were superb sea views. <br/>We have stayed, in the Costa Del Sol, many times and we believe that the Dona Lola complex is, by far, the best complex we have stayed in, having superb facilities within and close by. <br/>Thank you, once again, Brian

I with family including a child of 2 have just had a great week, during May, at Brian's appartment. The location is ideal, set amongst the Dona Lola resort. The resort facilities are excellent, especially the indoor leisure centre with swimming pool. The cards required for entry are kept in the appartment, so no problem. There is a good restaurant and bar on site, as well as 2 outdoor pools. The gardens are well maintained. Within walking distance there are a number of bars, cafes, and restaurants, including a buffet where you can eat as much as you like for a reasonable price. Across the main road, by footbridge,there are again a number of bars, shops, cafes, and restaurants, of all types. We especially liked one called Tamarindo. It's only a small place, but the chef is excellent, and the presentation is a work of art! Price wise it may be a little higher than some. The location is handy for travelling by bus if required, to various places along the coast. By car you can go anywhere. We particularly liked Ronda, Mijas, Fuengirola, and Malaga. Gibraltar is less than 2 hours away. <br/>The appartment is bright, spacious, and very clean. It has all the facilities we normally have at home, and loads of spares. It is a comfortable place to relax and enjoy the holiday. Being on the top floor the view all round is wonderful especially over the sea, from the balcony and the main bedroom. The down side is the stairs to reach the appartment. This is not suitable for people with walking difficulties. There is also some noise occasionally from the local bar, but this does seem to finish before midnight. <br/>Overall for us it was excellent and we hope to go there again sometime.

Brian's Apartment Martha2/4/2 at the Dona Lola resort in Calahonda lived up to it's description.The property was extremely well maintained and very spacious for our group of 7.However the one drawback we found were the steps to climb to the apartment as with a buggy it was a bit of a chore taking the baby out and folding the buggy each time(51 steps we counted).Then there seemed to be a lot of steps in the actual resort too which sometimes meant getting around with the buggy was a bit awkward. <br/>That aside the resort itself was very relaxing and everything was at hand,a great choice of restaurants,a mini market,lovely children's pool and an adults only pool which my mother thought was a great idea as she could escape for a while! <br/>There was no prom area for walking which i did miss and as we didn't have a car this was a drawback.It was idealy situated between Marbella(30 mins)and Fuinguerola(25 mins) and there was a bus stop outside the door. <br/>Fantastic view from the balcony of our apartment and again it was very well equipped,nothing was overlooked and the chidren were entertained with the nautical,fishy theme going on although I had to warn them to look and not to touch as some items were breakable. <br/>Plenty of entertainment at night in the resort for everyone,we had just missed the children's club by one week and i'm sure this would have been a bonus! <br/>The apartment definitley exceeded our expectations and Bryan provided an invaluable information booklet before we left to go on our holiday.A great week was had by us all and we definitley got our exercise climbing those steps!

'I just wanted to drop you a short note to tell you how much we enjoyed our stay at Dona Lola. The apartment was charming, and the resort was wonderful. It was a dream vacation for us, and we had a wonderful time. Spain is magical, and we all loved it. We didn't do a whole lot of touring, just walked on the beach and rested.' <br/> <br/>'I just wanted to drop you a line to say what a wonderful holiday we had and found the apartment and complex to be excellent. Martha 2/4/2 is a perfect location on the complex as it does not suffer from any noise from the pool area and is so convenient for the other facilities.' <br/> <br/>'We had a great holiday...did a great deal of sightseeing as the resort location was good for day trips...thoroughly enjoyed the balcony with it's breathtaking views -loved the one from the master bathroom window...it was great to have the air-con.'