MARBELLA, HOTEL DON CARLOS

Let's get back to Spain for a moment again after my announcement about getting a blogging friend :-) Prior to the trip I did a fair bit of Internet research on hotels on Costa Del Sol. It turned out at least based on the options I saw that Marbella had the nicest hotels. I considered a few and ended up choosing one called Don Carlos for a couple of reasons; firstly it was located a fair bit away from the centre of Marbella, which suited me as it was in fact much closer to where the birthday party was held. Secondly they seemed to cater very well for children. There were others that looked better on their respective websites but these reasons were heavy enough.

As I arrived in Don Carlos I was first impressed by the pretty, tree lined roads leading up to it but then equally unimpressed by the building itself. It looked, quite frankly, pretty ugly. However it didn't matter for long as soon as I entered the lobby the staff welcomed me in a very friendly and eager manner plus the building looked much nicer on the inside than out. 

None of the hotel is super modern and could probably benefit from little updating here and there but it didn't matter. It was immaculately clean, very cosy and comfortable and every detail had been thought through. I had chosen a one bedroom villa for our stay. They have a few one or two bedroom villas in addition to the normal hotel rooms. I must say it was absolutely amazing! The villa had all the amenities a well equipped apartment would do. It also had its own private pool shared with the other villas. This, especially in October meant that it was extremely quiet. The pool was close enough so that you could dip in from your own private sunbeds. They also had a main pool area plus further pools down at the beach clubs. All of them, which looked very nice.  

To get to the beach you walk through the hotel gardens. They were beautiful. They also had ponds with frogs in them... that went down well with my daughter.

Don Carlos is the hotel where Nikki Beach Marbella is located at. However there was no sign of the Nikki Beach clientele this time. I believe that it was closed for renovations but will re-open for next summer.

The Don Carlos Beach Club looked like this. It was the perfect set up to enjoy my two days there.

I must also mention the concierge at the hotel who were absolutely brilliant! They had a very nice girl Camilla working there who had gone to university in Finland. Ylivieska (if I remember correctly) to be exact :-) So... I would, with pleasure, recommend Don Carlos to anyone travelling to Marbella. Their website can be found here.

Minna x

MARBELLA PHOTO DIARY

We're back on London soil after a weekend of sunshine. South of Spain was still enjoying beach and bikini weather. Temperatures were between low and mid twenties, which to me is perfect. Warm enough to wear a bikini and a coverup however not hot enough to make you sweaty and uncomfortable. It does feel quite strange how it can be so miserable in London (it's cold, drizzly and grey) but you only need to fly two hours to have  the sun shining from blue skies. 

That brings me to my newly formed thoughts about Marbella... as I mentioned in my previous post I've never been a fan of this area (Costa Del Sol) in Spain. I did a couple of fun girls' trips there in my twenties but they were due to convenience and/or budget and we would have had fun anywhere. Even though they were fun they didn't make me particularly fond of the place itself. The older I've grown and the more I've travelled and discovered some amazing destinations in Europe and elsewhere I've never even considered going back to Costa Del Sol. Pretty much the opposite; I didn't think I ever would again. Then as it happened someone who's big birthday I wouldn't have missed decided to celebrate it there. And I must say; as soon as I arrived at my hotel and got down to the beach I thought shame on me, I'd turned my nose up at it for no reason. Okay, I still don't think I'd go there in July or August but outside the season it was lovely! It was quiet but not dead, weather was stunning, beach beautiful and it just had a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. Not that I saw much in the short time but the beach and the hotel on their own were enough to make me wish that I could have stayed longer and had the rest of my family there too. Perfect for spring or autumn sun a short flight away. 

I will do a separate post about my hotel (which I was delighted with) as right now I need to go and unpack my suitcase. A few of you already commented on my previous post about their positive experiences of the area but are there any more of you who like to holiday in Costa Del Sol?

Minna x

POSTCARD FROM MARBELLA

I flew to the South of Spain yesterday morning just for a weekend to celebrate yet another milestone birthday. This time of someone in my family. I admit it; I was fully expecting not to like this place. BUT I have changed my mind since arriving here! More about it when I get back. Enjoy your Saturday people!

Minna x

IBIZA, SANDS

I thought I'd share a few more Ibiza pictures with you and another tip for a great beach spot. This one is called Sands and it's located on Playa d'en Bossa beach. Playa d'en Bossa is a stunning, long beach. In fact I hear that it's the longest beach in Ibiza. Sands is a chilled out beach club with comfy cabanas and sun beds spread out on the beach. They also serve delicious food so it's the perfect place for a relaxing day. This is what my recent day there looked like.

What an amazing nail polish colour! Shellac, apparently.



A super yummy goat's cheese dish.



And the mirrored shades obsession continues...



The view from Sands is stunning!



In the evenings it livens up and they have some great DJ's playing throughout the summer. Well summer is nearly over but there's always the next one!

And another quick Ibiza tip; the man in the above picture is one of the owners of a new restaurant called Sacca, which is also a must if in Ibiza. A very romantic al fresco setting and amazing Asian food.

But now back to... I was going to say grey London but in fact it's not that grey today! Or at least it's not raining, which is a plus. I hope you all have a great one! I'm off to spend some quality family time.


Minna x

IBIZA, EL CHIRINGUITO

Normally the one lunch I never miss in Ibiza is Juan y Andrea in Formentera. This time we didn’t make it but instead tried El Chiringuito for the first time. What an amazing lunch! We liked it so much that we ended up going there twice in one weekend. Great setting on the beach, buzzy atmosphere and incredibly good food. Like, seriously good food. If you go to Ibiza you mustn't miss it.

They brought us some yummy bruschettas as we sat down.

We then ordered an impressive amount of starters to share. Iberico ham and burrata with tomatoes (I just LOVE burrata, the mozzarella that actually tastes like all mozzarella should)...

... padron peppers with lovely big chunks of sea salt...



... and then the highlight; the best calamari I've ever had anywhere! Not kidding! The pieces of squid were the perfect size and the batter was so light and crisp... amazing. Can you tell that I'm hungry when writing this? :-)



I had a very tasty crab and prawn salad with avocado as my main. A salad turned out to be the right choice after all those starters!

I got into mirrored glasses this trip in mind... I think Ibiza and them just go together very well but now I seem to have developed a slight obsession like anyone who follows me on Instagram might have noticed!

You can find El Chiringuito's website in here. A definite Ibiza recommendation!


Minna x