# Back from Costa Del Sol -trip report



## neash (Jul 12, 2010)

We got back last Thursday from  Spain. We spent 12 days - one week in Macdonald Dona Lola in Malaga, and 4 days in Madrid. Our party of 8 had 2 timeshares in Dona Lola through RCI points. It was one of my favorite vacations, and I want to make sure I give back to the TUG community - if it was not for you all I would not have picked this area. I will try to write a detailed report in several steps as time permits.
My sister, her family, and Dad came from India, and we went from the US. It was a great location to meet halfway for a vacation.
We (DS-18, DD-16, and I - no DH, he is a workaholic) took a direct flight from Washington Dulles to Madrid on June 25. Flight was uneventful. We had a 9 passenger van booked with National, through Carrentals.com. When we reached the can rental lot, I almost chickened out, looking at the size of the car. It was more a minibus than a small van, a Citroen Jumper. I was losing my nerve because not only had I not driven something so big before, but it was also stick shift. But then I gave myself a pep talk, jumped into the bus, convinced the kids that I will take them back home alive, and off we went. We had a Garmin Nuvi with European maps, and were really grateful for it.  We drove for approx 7 hours with short stops, towards our resort in Malaga, where my family was already staying for 2 days. 

We had 2 units through RCI exchange- one 3 bedroom, and one 2 bedroom starting June 26. The resort staff was really nice, and they rented the 3 bedroom for 2 extra nights to my sister for a very reasonable rate. They did not even have to move on 26th when our exchange time began.

The drive was very smooth- no traffic, or construction delays, and surprisingly, I found that once I got used to it, the size of the van did not really bother me much. We reached Dona Lola around 5 PM. 

The resort is located right on the beach, off a busy highway, and in a very touristy area. There are a lot of stores, restaurants, grocery stores within walking distance on either side of the highway. The grounds of the resort were very well kept, clean and attractive. There were several pools, including one indoor pool, full gym, sauna, steam room , and whirl pool. Not all buildings have an Ocean view. Our 3 BR unit had a partial view, and our 2 BR unit did not have any ocean view.
But both units were very well furnished, kitchen came equipped with everything you are used to in timeshares. There was a bar cabinet in the dining room, with at least, I would say 40 different, wine and regular glasses.  
The 3 BR unit had a table big enough to accomodate all 8 of us, so this is where we hung out for the most part. We used the kitchen a lot throughout the week, and found it big enough to cook for such a large group.
Bedrooms were also furnished well, and good sized. Only the 3rd bedroom in the large unit was rather small, but it was ample for my single Dad. The balcony was large too, and we all sat there a lot for evening drinks and snacks. Happy hour at the resort was great - a whole pitcher of Sangria for 5 Euros. We took advantage of that a number of times.
Internet was 16 or 17 euros for the week-no wifi, and it worked flawlessly. There were 2 TVs in each unit, one flat screen in the living room, and one in the Master BR. You could watch their in demand movies free if you bought the internet package- so that worked out well.
All rooms, including living rooms had ACs and they wroked very well. We were charged 45 euros (30 for the large unit, and 15 for the small unit) for electricity at the end of our stay.
All the resort staff were very friendly and helpful.
The beach at the resort is rocky, but we do not swim in the ocean so it did not bother us. The water was too cold for us anyway to stay in for a long time.

to be continued....


----------



## RAMBO (Jul 13, 2010)

*costa del sol trip*

what a coincidence! we a family of four (2 dd age 21 and 14) will be doing exact same trip starting 7/15. I am glad you had a wonderful trip. You are right about help we got from TUG. I poured over your ARCHIVES and got so much info I feel like I am an expert of MARBELLA. We are an Indian family from Northern Virginia too..


----------



## neash (Jul 14, 2010)

First day Sunday: Took it easy, hung out at the resort most of the day. In the late afternoon, we decided to check out Malaga. Visited the Pablo Picasso Museum (for free, because it was the third Sunday of the month, visitors are allowed in free), ate at the Plaza Mayor, and watched the soccer match there on the large screen.

Monday: Visited Marbella. This was the most difficult place for me because the big van would not fit in any of the parking garages, and there were no vacant open lots. We parked in a residential building and walked a lot. We did the typical touristy things, gawking at the fancy cars and yachts, ate lunch in a nice restaurant there. Dad got a massage on the beach
 It was too hot to be out on the beach for a long time so we left after some time, and went for this most amazing activity ‘Zorbing’ (www.SphereMania.com). It is basically a massive inflated ball and they either strap you in, or you sit in a small pool of water in the ball (your choice), and they roll the ball down the hill. It was super fun, and we all had a blast. The operator there was a very friendly guy and made it real fun.

Tuesday: We had pre-booked tickets to the Alhambra, so spent the day in Granada. We watched the Spain Portugal match in one of the bars there on a big screen, and it was great.

Wednesday, Thursday we just hung out in the resort, checked out the local restaurants and the street market and had some amazing olives from the street market.
Friday we drove around Mijas got pictures of the awesome views, and then took a cycling tour of old town Malaga (www.malagabiketours.com). The bike tour was great; it went through all the narrow cobbled streets of Malaga that we may never have checked out on our own.

I wanted to visit Jerez, Gibraltar, maybe even Morocco but we were having such a good time just relaxing that we decided to let it go.

Check out on Saturday was easy. We all packed ourselves into the big van and set off for Madrid. On the way, a couple hours before Madrid, we found a lovely spot for a picnic. Isolated, shady, large picnic area, with the restaurant close enough that we could get the wine, cheese, and gazpacho, but far enough that we were not bothered by it. It was one of the best picnics of my life. We reached Madrid in the evening, and of course the kids did not want to miss the quarter finals so we found a sports bar, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Spanish victory with the locals.

We returned the rental van on Sunday and used the metro for the rest of our time in Madrid. LOVED the wine and cheese market in Puerta del Sol. 

I would definitely go back there, if there weren’t so many other places in the world that I want to visit


----------



## neash (Jul 14, 2010)

RAMBO said:


> what a coincidence! we a family of four (2 dd age 21 and 14) will be doing exact same trip starting 7/15. I am glad you had a wonderful trip. You are right about help we got from TUG. I poured over your ARCHIVES and got so much info I feel like I am an expert of MARBELLA. We are an Indian family from Northern Virginia too..




Nice to know.. maybe our paths will cross some time  

Enjoy your trip, it is a gorgeous part of the world with mountains, and ocean and history, and olives, and wine.

If you have any specific questions for me, I will be happy to help.


----------



## glypnirsgirl (Jul 24, 2010)

This sounds like a wonderful family vacation.

Glad you had a great time!

elaine


----------



## chriskre (Jul 24, 2010)

Wow.   

You were brave to drive such a big vehicle in those little streets.  
I rented a Ford Focus and it was even too big for some places so I can't imagine having to find a place to park the van.  

I too hadn't drive stick for a while so when I picked up the car my group got real religious real quick.


----------



## Ann (Aug 4, 2010)

*Dona Lola*

We stayed at the Dona Lola in the Spring 2010 and had a great time.  Not the fanciest place in some respects, but they bend over backwards to make sure to help you or see that you have a great time.

We especially enjoyed the paella demonstration on Sunday (the best paella we had on the trip), my daughter enjoyed the daily soccer games with the other kids and showed them that yes, not only U.S. kids play soccer, but that Girls play too!  And just as well or better than the European kids.   

Paul at the front desk, Gino in the cafe, Curro and Andy -- they are the best.


----------



## neash (Aug 5, 2010)

I wish we had spent more time doing the resort activities. We did not know they had soccer for kids. Im sure my kids would have loved it. Thats why I think one week is too short. All nice places should have mandatory minimums of 2 weeks


----------



## neash (Aug 5, 2010)

chriskre said:


> Wow.
> 
> You were brave to drive such a big vehicle in those little streets.
> I rented a Ford Focus and it was even too big for some places so I can't imagine having to find a place to park the van.
> ...



Brave yes  But I did not really drive it in small towns. For example, we parked the van in a lot in Granada and took taxis to the palace. Malaga was fine, there weren't really narrow streets, so was Marbella.
I wish we had visited other small towns like Rhonda, Jerez, guess the van would have been an issue there


----------



## Ann (Aug 6, 2010)

*Dona Lola*

Neash -- we were on the go most of the time, went to the alhambra, marbella, ronda, mijas.  BUT we had to fit in soccer a few days so the kids could have their fun as well!  After we left, my soccer player really missed those days -- I think that will be her best memory of the trip!

The resort also had beach walks and a wine tasting, which is a nice way to meet other guests.  Andy took us on the beach walk to the next town and we took a bus back to the resort.   The town (Calahonda?) has a flea market every week, so we enjoyed taking it in.  Not big, but gave us the opportunity to find scarves and World Cup jerseys on the cheap.

Ann (Maryland)


----------



## shermanshawn (Aug 30, 2010)

I visited Madrid and Barcelona last month and i love these places.We enjoyed  lots here...

​






Barcelona is the capital and the most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, ...Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches, are the largest, oldest and the most frequented beaches in Barcelona. Costa Brava, Costa Maresme, Costa Blanca and Ibiza are other best destinations in Spain...Its a good jumping off place for a vacation in the Balearic Islands or Costa Brava. Barcelona is a city that comes alive only at night. Casa Batllò, Las Ramblas, Parc Guell are few of best places of Barcelona.

___________________________________

location maison en espagne

villa espagne piscine

location villa piscine espagne


----------



## Zac495 (Aug 30, 2010)

We were there - we got lost everywhere! Your trip sounds fabulous. I hope you have great pictures!!


----------



## Dottie (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I read it because we also had an enjoyable exchange into the Malaga area.  I really want to take your bicycle tour of the back streets of Malaga on our next cruise ship visit Oct 2011.  I am in my early 70s but at least as of now would have no problem with it.  It will be good incentive to keep riding my bike.  We have stopped there several times on cruise ships and I was looking for something new, interesting and relatively inexpensive to do.  I have learned so much by keeping up with TUG posts.


----------

