Cristine Bedfor Malaga

Absolutely lovely hotel. Excellent service, good restaurant, generous breakfast, total blackout and no noise (amazing given its location). Not to mention the aesthetic. I would strongly, strongly recommend.

The location is excellent and the tiny windowless room tidy. The bed was squeeking and the shower thermostate was not working. I told about the shower problem to the receptionist, who started to give me general orders as how to operate a shower. She refused to believe that there was a technical problem. Even in the room she continued to educate me how to use the shower instead of trying it out. Finally she did so and found out that the thetmostate was not in order. The breakfast was minimalistic. Not in line with four stars.

I write this as a frequent guest of Palacio Solecio, a hotel which is seemingly a direct competitor to the new Cristine Bedfor. I was really looking forward to discovering this brand new hotel. The location is perfect and the building and its sympathetic restoration is my totally to my taste. I booked a Cristine Superior - their top range - and paid over €300 for one night including breakfast. Things that may fall within the category of teething problems: the lobby was covered in plastic while some painting was done in the ceiling, I had to wait some 10 minutes for check-in as the person had to go on some kind of errand, one electric socket in the room was not working (by the table, so I had to choose between plugging my computer or the table lamp) and there was no TV (I assume there will be one, as there was some electric cables hanging on one of the walls). I am OKish with this, but at €300 a night you would think management should really be mindful. But the real issue to me is the room in itself. Superior rooms on the web are generally pictured as light and airy with big french windows. You would think they would also face the spectacular interior veranda, in my opinion one of the nicest features of the hotel. Well. My room (43) was on the top floor, facing the ceiling of the patio on the outside, with two small windows and painted in dark orange. As a result, it was somewhat dark and gloomy and felt a little bit like one of the “spare” rooms at the top. To add to this, lighting was poor bordering on very poor to the point that I stuggled to read and work in the evening. This is definitely not a place to stay if you intend to work. There is only one very small table with an extremely uncomfortable (but quaint) chair - definitely a no. Don’t get me wrong - the room was nice and sweet but just wasn’t very functional and poorly lit. And my room in particular shouldn’t be offered as Superior in my opinion. Breakfast, although with a limited choice in the buffet, was well cooked and fresh. All in all, not a place I would particularly go back to, and especially not to that room. Palacio Solecio in my opinion, is miles ahead. Sorry.