Six days. Five overnight stays in five cities in Spain. Lunch in Paris. Stopover in Barcelona. Then Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga. An Andalusia Whirlwind Tour where we visit the Mezquita and the Alhambra. We’re touring Andalusia in October 2023 to follow the trend of travelling to hot spots outside summer, as we did with Italy in 2022.

The final night of our trip we stayed in Málaga as we would be flying back home on TUIfly from Málaga to Antwerp. Considering we arrived on the Avant train from Granada and would be travelling to the airport on the Cercanias C-1 train we thought it might be a good idea to stay at the Barcelo hotel located on top of the main station.

Barcelo seems to have struck a deal with ADIF to be able to operate hotels on station premises. Contrary to the Barcelo Sants, the Barcelo in Málaga has a nice inside entrance from the main station concourse alongside the rental car offices. After crossing a small outdoor patio you enter into the main hotel lobby.

When we arrived for check-in there were some drunk tourists (beers in hand) before us, requiring extra attention at check-in. When it was our turn, the clerk was relieved to finally see some ‘normal’ guests. He mentioned us that we were selected to be the ‘VIP’ guests of the day so we were able to keep our room until 15:00 the next day, which was very useful as we had a late flight.

Unfortunately the room wasn’t quite ready yet so he asked us to wait for a few minutes in the lobby before calling us back and handing over our room keys. The lobby had a nice contemporary design and even offered a slide to slide down from the first floor to the ground floor.

Our room was a rather standard room and started to look a bit dated, the hotel might need a renovation sometime in the coming years. There were two comfortable beds along one wall, a desk along the windows and a TV and luggage stand opposite from the bed. Tucked away against the window in between the desk and the wall was a nice relaxing chair.

The plug sockets weren’t located quite conveniently next to the bed, one was under the desk and the other was near the ground behind the night table.

The room also offered tea and coffee facilities and 2 complimentary bottles of water in the mini fridge.

Later in the day staff came knocking on the door and handed us a bottle of cava, some chocolates and two more bottles of mineral water as ‘a special gesture to make us feel welcome’. At this point we were wondering whether the tourism board instigated some sort of charm offensive to lure all tourists back to Spain as the treatment we received in all hotels was so nice and extra.

The bathroom was of a rather classic design with a bathtub and shower combination. While I prefer a walk-in shower, Timothy was thrilled to finally be able to have his beloved bath again. Once again the hotel offered a lot of amenities, even the shoe horn and toothbrushes.

The hotel had a rooftop pool, the towels and bathrobe where provided in the room. This time the pool felt much colder than in the other hotels. There was also an array of sun loungers and a rooftop bar. Due to the public present we only had a short swim and didn’t stay very long to lounge either.

In the morning there was an extensive breakfast buffet and even a made to order eggs station (something to be expected from a chain hotel of this size). Despite the masses of people present at breakfast it never felt crowded.

All in all the Barcelo Málaga provided us with another excellent stay. From our trip we can take away that if you want proper service in hotels, got to Spain, they clearly know how to do it.

2023 Andalusia Whirlwind Tour

1. PRELUDE | Visiting Gibraltar in 2013.
2. REVIEW | Eurostar Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris in 2023.
3. PARIS | Restaurant Le Train Bleu at the Gare de Lyon.
4. REVIEW | SNCF TGV inOui from Paris-Gare-de-Lyon to Barcelona-Sants.
5. REVIEW | Hotel Barcelo Sants.
6. INTERMEZZO | Spain saw a surge of Belgians visiting in the first quarter of 2024.
7. SPAIN | Renfe Sala Club or Club Lounge at Adif stations.
8. REVIEW | Renfe AVE in Premium from Barcelona-Sants to Córdoba.
9. SPAIN | The Mezquita or Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba.
10. CÓRDOBA | The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos or Castle of the Christian Monarchs.
11. REVIEW | Hotel Eurostars Palace Córdoba.
12. ANDALUSIA | Half a day in Córdoba.
13. TRAINS IN SPAIN | Iryo in Infinita class from Córdoba to Seville.
14. ANDALUSIA | Real Alcázar of Seville.
15. ANDALUSIA | Seville Cathedral or Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla.
16. REVIEW | Hotel Posada del Lucero in Seville.
17. ANDALUSIA | Half a day in Seville ft. Plaza de España and Las Setas or Metropol Parasol.
18. TRAINS IN SPAIN | Renfe Avant regional ‘local’ train on high speed lines.
19. GRANADA | The Alhambra and the Generalife.
20. REVIEW | Hotel Catalonia Granada.
21. ANDALUSIA | Granada on Día de la Hispanidad.
22. INTERMEZZO | Spain demands your personal data before you travel there.
23. ANDALUSIA | Málaga ft. the Alcazaba and the Cathedral.
24. REVIEW | Restaurante Matiz, Málaga.