Airport Oasis (Parador Nacional)

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Parador Nacional
Date:	26/10/05 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Championship Golf

Disadvantages: Needs more of a food offering between the more basic cafe and the more formal restaurant

The Parador de Malaga Golf Hotel is part of a large Spanish chain, consisting of predominantly four and five star hotels across both Mainland Spain and some of its islands.

I chose this hotel primarily for its location to Malaga Airport, and I don’t think there could be a better situated hotel, as it is a mere 3 km and less than ten minutes in a car to the terminal at Malaga itself. It is also only a relatively short distance to the city of Malaga itself; and the trip should be no more than €15 one way.

Making a Reservation
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It is possible to make a reservation from the website http://www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pmagolf.html although the facility is rather limited and is generally restricted to the prices advertised on the site, which may not always be the best rates available (depending on how often they update it!). Furthermore, their Central Reservations office is closed on weekends and Spanish public holidays, and as the form is an enquiry only, this might not be the optimal method of booking.

I normally do book direct, as I find the cancellation terms with a direct booking are more favourable than with an internet booking company. However on this occasion I did book and prepay with lastminute.com for the discounted rate of £76 (Room Only) including taxes. This certainly isn’t a bargain rate as this converts to around €111 compared with a Web rack rate of €128 including tax, but nevertheless it was a reasonable rate for a Malaga hotel, particularly given its convenience to the airport.

Breakfast is an additional €11 per person, and there is no apparent discount on the rack rate whether you book this in advance or just take it on the day. If you want dinner in the restaurant, this will be a further €25 per person.

Arrival and Check In
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The hotel is easy to find as its driveway is signposted from a major junction on the E15 Malaga – Algeciras route. Entry to the hotel is up a relatively long driveway and there is reasonable parking, although the golf course means that it can still be difficult to find a space.

Check in and check out time is 12 noon. I arrived just after 12 mistakenly thinking that check out would not be until 2pm anyway. On arrival I was advised that no rooms were available and was immediately given a voucher for free drinks in the bar, which I thought was a nice touch, especially as I wasn’t too concerned about this! However I imagine that people checking out late is a regular occurrence, especially for those who want to get 18 holes of golf in on the morning of their departure.

First impressions of the hotel and lobby area were generally very positive. The lobby area consisted of several rooms each with plenty of comfy sofas. The building itself is arranged in a U shape , with the rooms on either side, and the public areas in the middle, all surrounding the large pool area.

The Room
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The room itself was a ground floor room (around half of their sixty rooms will be ground floor, with the remainder on the first floor level). The room itself was not luxurious but it was a reasonable size and comfortable, with an adequate, if again not luxurious, four piece bathroom suite.

Most of the rooms are twin rooms, with both beds pushed together. The rooms themselves are laid out in chalet style and may look worryingly like a Butlin’s camp, but they are much better inside. All are equipped with minibar and satellite TV although not with the plethora of British Sky TV that dominates this region. All rooms have a balcony or patio area overlooking the pool.

Their site claims that the resort is suitable for disabled persons although I do not believe it is 100% suitable. There are plenty of ground floor rooms and ramps where necessary to the rooms, but the shower itself was an ‘over the bath’ type, and my room certainly was not fitted with any additional handrails.

The Golf
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The golf course itself will appeal to golf lovers for no other reason than it was designed by Tom Simpson, who designed Turnberry in Ayrshire and Muirfield golf courses. The course started life as a 9 hole course in the 1920’s before being extended to 18 and then to 27 holes. It seems a long course, at 6200 metres and par 72 and obviously given the location, it is a links course. Handicaps of 28 or under are recommended. It has been used on the professional circuit e.g. for the European PGA, and packages are available incorporating green fees and tuition from the Gold Agencies if that’s your thing.

Food and Drink
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The hotel has a formal restaurant and more informal café bar style eating. I only tried the latter, as the restaurant was a little too formal for what I wanted. The café bar served a selection of tapas dishes as well as a light snack menu, incorporating sandwiches, Spanish omelettes and the like, all very reasonably priced. There was plenty of seating both within the bar itself or outside on the patio area facing the pool and overlooking the sea. All in all this was a superb location, especially given that the temperature was around 26 degrees C a few days ago!

The Location
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As well as being a literally a few metres from the coast itself, the hotel is approximately ten minutes walk from a large shopping mall/food court area which stays lively into the evening. There are at least 20-30 different restaurants offering all kinds of food including several tapas bars.

Malaga is very easy to reach, and although it is mostly closed on Sundays you can visit the Cathedral, Fortress and Picasso’s Birthplace (born 125 years ago today!!) as well as strolling through the city parks or around the harbour region.

If you want more action - Torremelinos is also quite close, with the old town of Marbella being approximately 45 minutes away by car.

Overall
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While I can’t say the standard of accommodation was out of the ordinary, it was certainly adequate. Hotels in this region are not particularly cheap (the hotel I stayed in on my arrival in Spain was five star but double the price at €150 per night). On that basis, the €76 for one night here was reasonable value for money, given its setting and close proximity to the airport.

The staff which I came into contact with during my brief one night stay were all attentive, although not overly so, and certainly not intrusive.

Although close to the airport, the noise did not keep me awake at night. Planes were noticeable during the day, but not overly so. However my trip was October, and I am sure a resort airport such as Malaga will be a lot busier in the height of season
Overall: Recommended. 7/10

Summary: Offers value for money and great location for airport!