Torremolinos 2023

Beach @ Torremolinos

Greetings, dear readers! Welcome to my wonky corner of the interwebs. I’m excited today to bring you one of my most consice reviews of the year. Once a year, we take a beach vacation, and on this trip we literally just go to the beach. That is it. It is so delightful, and I love everything about it. This year, we went to Malaga. (Well, technically, Torremolinos, but the airport in Malaga.) My super brief review is this: totally great, 10/10, would absolutely go again. You can find more details below.

We did a package holiday with Jet2, which we had never done before, and was super incredibly convenient. It included airfare, checked bags, transfers to and from the airport, and hotel. We stayed right on the beach, at the truly delightful Hotel Ocean House. There were several restaurants in the resort, and you could do full or half board, as well as just a B&B choice, which is what we did. It’s hard to pass the convenience of breakfast in a hotel with small humans, so we did breakfast daily in the hotel, but that was it. We did lunch and dinners out. Bottom line is that I would for sure stay here again.
Pros of resort: location, incredibly friendly and helpful staff, evening & daytime activities, rooms generally quiet
Cons of resort: crowded (but, it was July. at the beach, so, duh); hotel rooms weren’t new (but also, it was July at a beach resort)

As I previously mentioned, we participate in no other activities on our beach trip. There totally were some other available activities and they seemed interesting, but we didn’t get involved and also the week we were there was SO INSANELY hot. Like I was actively worried about people who weren’t at the beach that week. So there are no activities to review, but I will tell you about the places we ate.

For dinner the first night we were in Torremolinos, we ate at Foodies Gastrobar, an adorable independently owned restaurant a block back from the beach. We were hot and tired by the time we started looking for a dinner restaurant, which was a bit of a mistake. I had seen this place pop up on Google Maps and I was intrigued. It turned out to be owned by a non-Spanish couple, who were very, very friendly. They have a kid’s menu, which T1 and T2 were very excited about, and they had a special that was like 8 tapas, 2 dessert tapas, and a bottle of wine that Hubs and I decided to participate in. The food was good, the wine was cold, and our kids got dessert, so all in all it was a major win. I was a bit surprised that while we were there we were the only diners. A mother and daughter pair walked in as we were leaving. I was just surprised there were more patrons. 4 out of 5

The second night of our trip, we had planned to check out a restaurant next to Foodies that turned out not to be open. We also had a much later start to dinner than anticipated because we had to take a trip to the ER. Everything was fine; it was just a massive delay. So when the first restaurant we had planned was closed, we needed a pretty quick alternative. We ended up at the Fat Fajita, which would honestly not normally be my vibe, but we were in a pinch. We sat down quickly, and they did have a kid’s menu. Everyone seemed happy with what they ate, but everything was just fine. They came through in a pinch, but it’s not really a place I would seek out again.
3 out of 5

The next night, we took a longer walk to Restaurante la Vina de Ale. I had also spied this on Google, and it was well reviewed. They did NOT have a specific kid’s menu, but they did have sliders on the menu (which is what my kids ultimately selected) and I think one other kid friendly option. It was a nice walk from our hotel to this restaurant, and we snagged a table outside by the railing so we had a nice breeze while we dined. There were other diners and other families there while we were, but it didn’t have a particulary family vibe. 3.5 out of 5

Our last night, we went to Sol de Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant practically across the street from our hotel. I had noticed it a day or two prior, just walking around and I was super interested because I’m generally very happy in a Lebanese//Turkish//Greek restaurant. They also had a kid’s menu, and they did a tasting menu that’s set and you pay per person. That’s what Hubs and I did, and it was super delish. Perhaps the best meal of our trip? I also had a Tinto de Verano (IYKYK), and they gave our children the most delicious dessert. It was like a cookie and a cake, but not super heavy? Sweet lord, it was so supremely delicious.
4.5 out of 5

TL;DR: Torremolinos was a relaxing and delightful time. We had a great time at the beach, the dining was good, the pools were great. I would for sure return to Torremolinos again. Great for families, because the beach is sand, and there are family activities at the resort. A cab to//from the airport is less than 24euro, and all amenities that you could need are available near to hotels.