Málaga | Hotel del Pintor

hotel del pintor room
After three fabulous nights in Málaga mid-December I realised I needed/wanted to extend my visit by one more night. Unfortunately the lovely hotel I’d been staying at had no availability and they asked me if I would like them to call somewhere for me. Well, back in July while I was on summer holiday in Málaga a friend of mine came to visit and spent the night at Hotel del Pintor. I’d seen her room and, while not as nice as where I’d been staying, I thought it would be fine for one night. But imagine my surprise when I showed up at the hotel and saw that my room was nothing like the one I’d seen before. In fact, it was barely a room at all. There was one single bed in a room just slightly larger than the bed itself, with two small windows looking into two other small windows across the patio. Small, dark and uncomfortable. There wasn’t even a place for me to put my carry-on suitcase and I ended up leaning it against the door. The (surprise!) very small bathroom was clean enough, though the toilet seat was soaking wet when I arrived, and the toilet made odd gurgling sounds throughout my stay.hotel del pintor

I spoke to the receptionist who told me she couldn’t change rooms because they were fully booked and when I asked to speak to the manager I was told he was away in Sevilla for a meeting and couldn’t be reached. What? This was at midday on a Friday. I was pretty much resigned to spend my final night in Málaga in that dreadful room but certainly didn’t want to spend 54€ (the same price my previous – and much superior – hotel had charged per night) and so asked for something to be done. When I returned to the hotel in the evening to change for dinner (I’d stayed out as long as possible so I wouldn’t have to spend time there) I was told that the manager was still unavailable. I told the receptionist – a different one this time – that it was scandalous to charge so much for what was little more than a walk-in closet and was told that this was because of the hotel’s “excellent location”. Yes, on grimy calle Álamos, with no parking, no restaurant… all of which was available at my previous hotel (which is actually in an excellent location). Whatever. I left to meet my friends feeling very upset.

That night I had a terrible sleep on the small bed that creaked whenever I turned over (receptionist: “oh, that must be because the bed is new!”) on a too-soft pillow that was full of lumps. The next morning I got dressed and got out of there as soon as possible, and while checking out yet another receptionist told me that the manager – who was now unavailable because he was off for two days – had instructed her to tell me that they would not adjust the price for me. Unbelievable. What kind of hotel has no manager available from mid-day Friday until Monday morning?? Totally unprofessional. When my friend stayed there during peak season in July she paid 48€ for a room that was easily twice as big, yet management maintained they could do nothing for me. Trust me, there are plenty of other places to stay in Málaga where you will be treated much better than here.

Hotel del Pintor
Álamos 27
Málaga
tel 952 06 09 80

A Sad Ending for Mr Pulpo

mr pulpo
In October 2008 I did a fabulous long-weekend road trip with my friend Susan, from Sevilla along the Costa de la Luz to Bolonia and, after a quick side trip to buy knickers at M&S in Gibraltar, we went on to Málaga because my friend Agustín told me I HAD to eat at Andrés Maricuchi. This was my first, and very brief, visit to Málaga and after lunch and visiting the Picasso museum we stopped for tea and cake near the Roman amphitheatre, which was still being excavated at the time. And for some reason there was a massive octopus draped over a small viewing area.

mr pulpo rediscoveredApparently the giant octopus is a legend told by Pliny the Elder about an incident that took place when Málaga was a part of the Roman Empire and was an important producer and exporter of garum, or fish paste. During the night this giant octopus would drag itself across the beach and eat the stored fish paste. They tried to catch it with dogs, which it slapped aside like so many mosquitos, and so they also put up barriers around it, but it escaped by jumping into a tree and then over the barriers. It was finally killed by many harpoons … well, that is the story in a nutshell.

So imagine my surprise when I was walking over to the Contemporary Arts Museum during my recent holiday in Málaga and, looking up, spotted a decidedlly worse-for-wear Mr Pulpo sprawled across the balcony of what looked like an abandoned building near the port. I thought this was a very sad way for this impressive specimen to have ended up. But it was even sadder when my friend Victor (@welovemalaga) sent me the photo below this morning on Twitter. Not only had Mr Pulpo been unceremoniously pushed over the balcony but they’d cut all his legs off! Why?? 🙁

death of mr pulpo

Northern Spain Adventure

northern spain

Last year around this time I started thinking about taking a trip along the northern coast of Spain to celebrate my 20th anniversary of living here, but various ‘life things’ came up and I had to put this dream on hold. This year I have decided to start planning this trip again in earnest and, if all goes well, I should be able to travel anytime during July or August.

I’ll fly from Sevilla to Santiago de Compostela and (so far) the plan is to go from there to A Coruña, Olviedo, Santander, Bilbao and San Sebastián. Then I’ll have to backtrack to Bilbao to fly home. I’ll most likely be travelling on my own by public transport and I hope to meet up with friends along the way.

So if you have any advice or suggestions about places to go, things to do, where to stay, etc. please let me know. Am happy to add places to my itinerary. And if you are going to be around any of these places this summer let’s meet up!

Málaga Christmas Visit

malagueta beach sunrise
If you follow me on Twitter (@azaharSevilla and @SevillaTapas) then you know that I spent last week visiting marvellous Málaga. It was an impromptu trip that came about after a Sevilla Tapas Tour a couple of weeks ago. I was talking with one of my guests – Justine from New Zealand – about her Spain itinerary and it turned out that she hadn’t even considered Málaga! Well, by the time she left Sevilla a few days later she said that after hearing me wax lyrical about my “second home” she was going to fit it into her rather flexible schedule. At which point I started thinking about how nice it would be to see Málaga at Christmas time again and then Justine said she’d happy to have a new friend in town the same time she’d be there. And so, with one thing leading to another, and the good people at Spain Holiday and Global City Break jointly offering me the use of one of their apartments on Malagueta Beach, suddenly it was a done deal and I dashed off to buy my train tickets.

view of old city from the portI have to admit that at first I had doubts about the apartment (the photos really don’t do it justice), though I knew it would feel like coming home because on all previous trips to Málaga I’ve stayed at my friend Manolo’s fabulous apartment just two streets over. But once I got there all concerns flew out the window. The apartment was adorable. And super-clean. This last point is crucial to me and I don’t think my hosts could have imagined just how fussy I am or they may have thought twice before asking me to review their place. The only negative I could see was that, if there were four people staying (it’s a two-bedroom) then the bathroom might feel a bit small (depending on how fussy you are), because it also has the washing machine in there. But there are so many positives.

When Global City rep Steffen met me at the apartment he said that people have sometimes joked that the place feels like being in an IKEA showroom, but to me that was exactly what made the apartment feel and look so fresh and clean. Both bedrooms have two single beds (mine was VERY comfortable) and tons of cupboard space. Lots of hangers, extra pillows and blankets, an alarm clock, bedside tables and lamps, clothing racks for drying laundry. I think the thing that kept surprising me was how well-thought out everything was. walk through malaga parkThe open kitchen was superbly equipped with high-quality appliances (Bosch, Whirlpool). There’s an electric kettle and coffee maker (and a good supply of filters in the cupboard), an espresso maker, toaster and stick blender. And the two-burner ceramic stove-top, microwave oven and full-sized fridge are more than adequate for holiday cooking needs. Oh, just across the street there is a supermarket and a greengrocer next to it. Also a pharmacy. Double-glazed windows and balcony doors keep out the noise, though I know from previous visits that this area isn’t particularly noisy, even at peak season. There are two terraces, one off the larger bedroom, the other off the livingroom with comfy terrace furniture.  And there is light. This is the thing I probably loved the best (other than it was so clean – did I mention how CLEAN it was?). Nice partial views of the mountains and the sea and lots and lots of light. The Malgueta beach (see that photo above?) is a two-minute walk from the front door of the building. There are also lots of great tapas bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood, plus the newly revamped harbourfront, MuelleUno, is just another two minute walk in the other direction. And it’s about a ten-minute walk to the old centre. At first I had hoped to stay in the centre, where Justine had booked her place, but in the end it was great being back in my ‘hood next to the sea.

I’m still sorting through my Málaga photos, but you can see some of them on the photo blog. I’ll also be adding to and updating my Viva Las Tapas Málaga restaurant guide soon and will be doing a few blog posts on the city, things to do and see there. I already can’t wait to go back.

 

My Grumpy Traveller Interview

I was absolutely thrilled and honoured when Mr David Whitley – AKA Grumpy Traveller – asked to interview me – AKA Sevilla Tapas – for the new Expert Tips section on his travel website.

I have been following David on Twitter for ages now (maybe one day he’ll start following me back??), and I love his refreshing no-nonsense and very honest approach to travel writing. If more people had the same low bullshit threshhold as David the world would be, well, a much less bullshitty and more interesting place.

So check out David’s site if you are looking for the real deal when it comes to travel writing. And also check out my interview!

Expert Tips | Seville, Andalucia, Spain