Parador de Malaga Gibralfaro

We just visited the lovely terrace which has an excellent view. The teas and cakes were also good, but the experience was somewhat spoiled by a member of staff serving who didn't seem to want us there. We felt it was our nationality that was unwelcome as she seemed fine with the locals. Hopefully our experience was a one off as everything else about it as worthy of 5 stars

This Parador just doesn't quite live up to its potential. It's beautifully situated up on a hilltop overlooking the city of Malaga and the port and coast - and the building itself has great potential, but the Parador is showing its age a little and the service is a little unpredictable. Certainly, the restaurant offered good regional food and great service, but other things needed tending to. The swimming pool is not big enough for the number of guests staying at the hotel so very often we saw guests arrive for a swim, look around and just turn away in disappointment at the lack of seating and general space. The veranda bar was very nice in appearance but the waiters a little cold and uninterested and service could be slow. The small front desk area was often busy and required guests to wait more than several minutes. All that said, the hotel has retained a certain quaintness that we enjoyed and the take-home message in booking the Parador is to keep one's expectations reasonable.

I stayed at the hotel for six nights in July 2024. The room was spacious and well-furnished, with a modern bathroom, small balcony and beautiful view. The daily house-keeping service was very good, and the rooftop pool was good. However, I wouldn't recommend the hotel for the following reasons:

1. There is no sound insulation, so it's not possible to get a good night's sleep. I could hear everything my neighbours above, below and on either side were doing - whether that was moving around, talking, having sex, watching TV etc. It felt like I was sharing the room with a lot of other people! On my last night, there was also a concert in the stadium below the hotel which lasted from mid-afternoon until midnight. Shutting the balcony doors had no effect.

2. The location means that you have to walk up a very steep hill to get back to the hotel from town. In my case, this was always in mid/late afternoon, when the heat was at its peak, after having spent several hours walking around, and having to carry anything I'd bought during the day. I then didn't fancy repeating the process in the evening, but there's nothing around the hotel, so the only option for an evening meal is the hotel restaurant or bar, both of which have a limited and unchanging menu.

The above two factors really affected my holiday - I would have been much better off in a centrally-located hotel, with good sound insulation and the town on my doorstep.

We stayed in room 109 (on Sunday 16 June) about 11:45 the room above started to move the furniture around, this went on for quite a while. If you want a good night's sleep, ask for a room on the third floor.
The bathroom was very tired and needed an upgrade, it was clean, the shower useless to use.
The breakfast was excellent, the views amazing from the restaurant.