Playa Andaluza recommendations

[wanderer63]

We will be traveling to Playa Andaluza in a few weeks and we are looking for recommendations on places to eat and things to do within walking distance to the resort since we will not have a car.

We do have a trip to Granada (day trip) and Seville (2 days prior to arrival) planned but would also like to visit Marbella and Gibraltar. We are traveling by train to/from Granada and Seville and Marriott has arranged travel to/from the resort to Malaga. What do you recommend for traveling to Marbella and Gibraltar? We are mother/daughter and would rent a car for a day but would like to know if there are other ways to get to Gibraltar or Marbella. How dependable/safe are ride share/Uber? bus?

Would love to hear your recommendations for restaurants and also things to do at the resort too.

Prior to arriving we have a pretty hectic travel schedule so we are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the resort.

Thanks!!

 

[Pamplemousse]

There are some good threads on this site on the topic.
Here’s one to get you started. Use the search box and you’ll find more.

Spain MVC Recommendations

We are looking at a Spain MVC 2024 vacation and looking for recommendations on which property we should choose. We will have 3 families, including children from ages 8-13. Thoughts?

tugbbs.com

 

[rthib]

Just got back from Playa.
The Paella class at the resort is great and you get a great meal.
Be sure to check the daily 2 for 1 happy hour at the pool bar to see what the drink of the day.
We had a rental car, it was cheap.
Malaga train is about an hour away so it didn’t make sense to go that way for most trips.
There is nothing really close to hotel for food, the restaurants are a longish walk and didn’t seem that special.

We enjoyed the town of Mijas which has some spectacular views of everything from higher up on the mountain. And lots of fun little shops. Also restaurants with those stunning views.
Marbella was a disappointment. Like every other beach town in any country. Crowded (and we were off season) and you already have a beautiful beach at hotel.
Some interesting but overpriced beach restaurants (usual beach prices just compared to everything else.)

I would work with resort to get transportation to Gibraltar. They have a brochure they sent us that listed lots of tours they offer.

If you go to Mijas they have a fun chocolate shop, Mayan Monkey Mijas. We spent a long time talking with the lady running it. And she showed us the where they do chocolate classes and their antique printing press they use for there boxes and labels.

Our other favorite day trip for wife was visiting the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez. We went on Monday, no show so we got tour the stables and then see the students practicing in the arena.
Spent a lot of time on Rick Steve’s forums. He is the PBS Europe TV show guy and lots of activity on the country specific forums with great ideas and very good and answering questions. Also where we found the name of a great place in Jerez where we got a five glass sherry flight that took us through a sherry at each age. And a small plates of Ham and Cheese made for a perfect afternoon.

 

[klpenny]

We just got back from Playa as well. We took the full day Morocco tour run by Marriott. We found it very interesting. Long day. If you go bring small Euros for tips as to use the bathroom requires a tip etc. There is a great outside goods market on Sundays at the water in Estepona. The front desk of the hotel knows where it is. It moves to different cities on different days. We started negotiating at half the listed price. It is expected you do that. We enjoyed walking around and eating in Estepona. La Escollera is a great seafood restaurant there. Hard to get into. We also liked La Taberna de Miguel restaurant, as well as for Italian food La Tarantela. We ate at a great Tapas place in Marabella called Lekuna Bar and enjoyed walking around the boardwalk there and eating lunch on the water. We explored the city of Ronda and past that a beautiful town called Setenil de las Bodegas. This town was very beautiful and only 20 minutes past Ronda.

Enjoy!

 

[Pompey Family]

There's a great Georgian restaurant next to the Aldi supermarket a short walk from the resort called Tibilissimo. The hill town of Benehavis is full of excellent restaurants, it's known as the gourmet capital of the Costa del Sol and can be reached by taxi. Estepona has some great restaurants, Casa Doña Jerónima is one of my favourites although it gets mixed reviews because some people find it expensive but as is much in life, you get what you pay for and personally I don't find it expensive. Marbella old town is mainly touristy rip off types, there are some decent restaurants apparently but I've spent too much time looking for them that I'd rather just go to Benehavis. Forget the onsite restaurant, it's overpriced and not very good.

 

[bazzap]

Restaurants reasonably near Playa which we enjoyed on our last visit were
La Capannina
The Garden by La Rosa
Vanity
Chilli
Salduna Beach
also further and hidden away
El Cortijo de Ramiro
we walked to all of these, but some may not want to?