We arrived at the Kristal Hotel on 12/10/2011 and checked out on 19/10/2011, we were early for check in however there was no problem checking us in at 11am, this was great for us as we had been up from 2.30am to catch our flight from Belfast. We were lucky to have a room with a balcony with table and chairs, it overlooked the street but quite quiet at night. The hotel is dated but very clean, we were 1/2 board, the food was very basic (as in most hotels in Spain) but you get enough to keep you from going hungry, the air conditioner is excellent. The beer is cheap in the hotel £1.50 for a bottle of San Migel much cheaper than other places. The major plus for this hotel is the staff, they will do anything for you, nothing is to much trouble, the people at the desk speak perfect english. The location of this hotel is perfect, walk out the main entrance, turn right, walk a few metres and down 6 steps (also a ramp) and you are in the main square, with shops, bars, the train station etc. If you turn left at the steps and take the next right then next left and walk a few meters to the fruit market and take a right there you are at the lift to the beach which charges you 50 cents each to go down and 50 cents up. This saves you from walking down a steep set of steps, to get to the steps you take a left at the steps into the square and next right and straight down to the end. I would not recommend the trips, we went on one to Gibraltar, we got on the Coach at 8am and by the time they went around all the other hotels we still had not left Torremolinos one and half hours later, it took us three and half hours to get to Gibraltar, we had to walk from the coach park to the center of Gib and it is quite a walk, no taxis and this would be hard for anyone with difficulty walking, a long day and 3 hours back. I have been to Gib many times and it is really fantastic but this trip was awful. I recommend that you take a public bus which you can get from the main road, to get to the road you take a left from the entrance of the hotel and a few metres you are on the road, check the bus timings, public transport is very cheap. If you are feeling like some home cooked English food I would recommend the Merry Friar, it is run by a British couple, to get to it take a right at the steps on the square and walk nearly as far as the fountain (not far) on your left between a resturant and shop you will see an orange sign with Merry Friar, watch out for this because they cannot advertise on the square, walk down the entry beside the sign and you will see the Merry Friar, they cook fish and chigs, mash and pie which is home made, full breakfasts etc. It is years since I have tasted fish like they cooked, it was beautiful, hubby had the pie which was home made and delicious, the price is less than you would pay at home. All in all this was a really easy great holiday, the beach in Torremolinos, is beautiful and the hotel was perfect. I would recommend this hotel we had a great time.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
