jerseyfinn
TUG Member
We recently finish week-long stays at each of the Costa del Sol resorts.
What else to say except wow! This Autumn turned out to be an exceptional season in terms of the weather which remained bright, clear, and summery warm. It was the best weather we've encountered this time of year as there were no showers or cloudy days which can typify this October transitional period down here.
Both resorts were mostly full with guests taking advantage of the great weather. Marbella resort of course looks spectacular. We see that the Chill Bar area astride the pool was tweaked again with another small expansion which keeps this area a great kick back location to read a book or enjoy a drink or a snack. My wife and I are beach people who head up the beach each day, returning to the resort mid-afternoon where Chill Bar became a regular hang out. They serve a nice ceasar salad here with anchovies as well as beef skewers and a nice shrimp appetizer to name a few.
We're underwhelmed by the grill near the pool. The picnic table seating is fine, but the food was mostly uninspiring, especially a bean salad served in a bamboo basket lined with paper. Your salad dressing mositens the paper and soon the taste is more about the paper than anything else as the paper disinitegrates & the dressing drips through the basket. But hey, none of this diminishes the good time we have at the resort.
As I mention in an earlier post, the sea has swept away a lot of sand along the entire beach in this Marbella resort area. The resort beach hamacas are still OK, but the hi tide does lap up to the front row of chairs if the wind and current are brisk that day. Up the beach walking past Tony's chiringuito ( just beyond the Don Carolos "Nikki" beach ) the situation is not so good as the hi tide reaches the sand dunes for the first 200 meters up the beach. A couple of days it was tricky walking past the rock wall at the chiringuito as the waves were heavy and wet. Like all beach things, sand moves in cycles and we're simply in a "taking" cycle rather than an adding cycle.
Playa Andaluza's beach remains wide and intact because the local currents here have a different effect. The Playa resort is at full capacity but you would never know this by how quiet and mostly sedate the pools are. Then again folks are on the move here going to town or into the moutains whilst also enjoying the resort proper. This September /October gold season has demand which exceeds availible inventory. Playa is pondering going to wifi Internect connectivity and this should happen relatively soon ( Marbella is already wireless ).
We ourselves eschew an airport car rental & we arrange an airport limo via the resort both ways ( it's our 16th visit in 8 years so we tend to relax around the resort & use a taxi for trips to town ). The two resorts can get decent car rental rates with delivery and return at the resort or to the airport if one wishes.
It was a great two weeks spent taking in the sun and the beach during the day and enjoying the resort's restaurants or venturing out for dinner. Of course we calibrate our appetites 100% to the Spanish way by eating after 9PM ( nice excuse to do a late afternoon tapa snack
).
I've added a few photos to both my Marbella and the Playa Andaluza resort photo galleries. I also add photos to the "Vela Azul" gallery located inside of the Playa gallery as well as a couple of beach photos in the "Battle of the Beaches" gallery which shows the latest beach conditions near Marbella resort. The link is via the Marriott resort link below.
Barry
What else to say except wow! This Autumn turned out to be an exceptional season in terms of the weather which remained bright, clear, and summery warm. It was the best weather we've encountered this time of year as there were no showers or cloudy days which can typify this October transitional period down here.
Both resorts were mostly full with guests taking advantage of the great weather. Marbella resort of course looks spectacular. We see that the Chill Bar area astride the pool was tweaked again with another small expansion which keeps this area a great kick back location to read a book or enjoy a drink or a snack. My wife and I are beach people who head up the beach each day, returning to the resort mid-afternoon where Chill Bar became a regular hang out. They serve a nice ceasar salad here with anchovies as well as beef skewers and a nice shrimp appetizer to name a few.
We're underwhelmed by the grill near the pool. The picnic table seating is fine, but the food was mostly uninspiring, especially a bean salad served in a bamboo basket lined with paper. Your salad dressing mositens the paper and soon the taste is more about the paper than anything else as the paper disinitegrates & the dressing drips through the basket. But hey, none of this diminishes the good time we have at the resort.
As I mention in an earlier post, the sea has swept away a lot of sand along the entire beach in this Marbella resort area. The resort beach hamacas are still OK, but the hi tide does lap up to the front row of chairs if the wind and current are brisk that day. Up the beach walking past Tony's chiringuito ( just beyond the Don Carolos "Nikki" beach ) the situation is not so good as the hi tide reaches the sand dunes for the first 200 meters up the beach. A couple of days it was tricky walking past the rock wall at the chiringuito as the waves were heavy and wet. Like all beach things, sand moves in cycles and we're simply in a "taking" cycle rather than an adding cycle.
Playa Andaluza's beach remains wide and intact because the local currents here have a different effect. The Playa resort is at full capacity but you would never know this by how quiet and mostly sedate the pools are. Then again folks are on the move here going to town or into the moutains whilst also enjoying the resort proper. This September /October gold season has demand which exceeds availible inventory. Playa is pondering going to wifi Internect connectivity and this should happen relatively soon ( Marbella is already wireless ).
We ourselves eschew an airport car rental & we arrange an airport limo via the resort both ways ( it's our 16th visit in 8 years so we tend to relax around the resort & use a taxi for trips to town ). The two resorts can get decent car rental rates with delivery and return at the resort or to the airport if one wishes.
It was a great two weeks spent taking in the sun and the beach during the day and enjoying the resort's restaurants or venturing out for dinner. Of course we calibrate our appetites 100% to the Spanish way by eating after 9PM ( nice excuse to do a late afternoon tapa snack
).I've added a few photos to both my Marbella and the Playa Andaluza resort photo galleries. I also add photos to the "Vela Azul" gallery located inside of the Playa gallery as well as a couple of beach photos in the "Battle of the Beaches" gallery which shows the latest beach conditions near Marbella resort. The link is via the Marriott resort link below.
Barry
