A Night Away

My wife has just spent ten days in England on grandma duties and flew back on Tuesday. On this occasion her flight was scheduled to arrive late afternoon and so on the strength of that we decided it was a great opportunity to have a night in Malaga, something we like to do two or three times a year.

Previously we have always stayed at a hotel just around the corner from the cathedral, but on our last visit it had changed hands, and not for the better.Prices were significantly higher whilst service was significantly down. A friend had recommended a hotel in the same area which we had seen - hard to miss at fifteen stores and occupying a prominent corner position. It's an AC Marriott hotel, so we were pretty confident that it was worth a try. Indeed it was! Checking in, I was told "Oh, we've upgraded you to a junior suite." And what an eye opener that was! Nine floors up with a large bedroom with a king size bed and wardrobe space to match, plus a door out onto a private balcony looking out across the tree-lined Paseo del Parque; a separate lounge with sofa, arm chairs, enormous television and more spectacular views; and a bathroom you could get lost in.

I waited in the ground floor cocktail bar for my wife to arrive and then we went up to the room to chill out for a while.

I'd scanned Tripadvisor for possible places to eat, but suggested that we started by going up to the rooftop terrace which has a bar and a pool area, which we did. We sat, glasses of cava in front of us and soaked up the w

arm, evening sun as we gazed out across the port. The inner basin which was directly in front of us used to be a run-down, neglected area, but recent renovation work has transformed it into a leisure port flanked by attractive paseos, with a selection of bars, restaurants and shops. It is also home to Spain's very own outpost of the Pompidou Centre.

However, apart from the spectacular view there was an added bonus; alongside the terrace was a restaurant which also offered al fresco dining, not to mention outstanding food and wine - I chose a starter of spider crab pate, followed by a main course of roasted shoulder of kid. A magical night.

We will be staying there again, even though we will have to be satisfied with a standard double room.