Getting from Malaga Airport

We opted for the train – really cheap and easy – leave the airport via the doors at the end of the baggage carousels take the lift up one floor, leave lift, head towards the multi-storey car park and then follow the signs/symbols for the train.

Costs 2 euros, tickets via a ticket machine – quite self explanatory, but I have read on previous reports that it doesn’t take anything larger than a 5 euro note.

Fuengirola is the end of the line and stops in the town centre (a short walk from the bus station) Takes approx 40 mins. Each stop is announced on an automated tannoy in English. (works a bit like the tube)

Arriving in Fuengirola

As I said the train terminates in the town centre. We didn’t have a clue where we were but we had time on our hands as we arrived at 1pm and check-in wasn’t till 4.00 pm (but earlier if your room is ready).

So we just headed for the front/beach area and sat and had a few drinks lapping up the sun. It wasn’t till later in the holiday that we found out the bus station was the next street down from the train station so we just got a taxi (13 euros – quite expensive for the 4k ride).

Checking in

All went smoothly – no probs. Porter took you to your room if you wanted as some accommodation can be quite a hike and VERY hilly.

Accommodation

Lovely 2 bedroomed house (sleeps 6), totally kitted out. Through lounge, through dining room, through kitchen. Bedroom 1 = double bed, Bedroom 2 = 2 singles. Lounge = pull out sofa bed to sleep 2. Small but adequate terrace with table and chairs.
Welcome pack laid on – butter, jam, bread, milk, water, coffee, tea bags, biscuits.
Towels provided (except for the beach/pool).
Everything was provided except a tea towel.
The walls are as thin as paper. I was regularly woken up by next doors toilet flushing!

Although I said lovely, we were sharing a house with uninvited wildlife – cockroaches!! The first house, number 233 (to the left hand side of the main car park, opposite Zacharys).

We discovered these on our second night but late at night, so we just left it till morning and informed reception who said they would send someone down. They did but they simply gave it a clean – there was no evidence of her fumigating the premises.

The following night as I was getting ready to go out a very large cockroach appeared on the wall out of nowhere, my scream must have frightened it and scurried behind the mirror!

My husband got in touch with reception who quickly changed our house upon request.

House 2, number 152, was in a much nicer location (around the pool). House 1 was overlooking the complex’s main road so there was always noise from the cars and the noddy train. Plus, I like to sit out and lap up the sun but large palm tree blocked all the sun

The Complex
Its very hilly and large, hence the need for a noddy train. It has a couple of bars and restaurants, quite a few swimming pools but not all are open to everyone.
We only went out once to Zacharys Restaurant for drinks. There was entertainment advertised so we thought we’d give it a go. We had one drink and left.

I don’t know what it is about the place, when I mean the place I mean the whole complex and who it would actually appeal to. There’s no holiday atmosphere in the bar or around the pool. The sunbeds are regimentally chained together. The place looks really nice and the accommodation is good but I really can’t see who this would appeal to. I used this ‘free/cheap’ holiday as an early get away but if I was a member of Club La Costa and chose this place as my destination as a main holiday I would be sadly disappointed.

But I uses it for what it was – a cheapie, knowing what was of expected of me and that I would have to give up a small amount of time to attend a presentation. Having said that I had a really good time and would probably come to the Costa Del Sol/Fuengirola again.

It’s well worth it if you’re here on a sales presentation and paid little for it.

Please bear in mind I visited in March, but the weather was much better than I expected through the day but cold on an evening (not cool – cold!!)

There is a shop on the complex and a bakery/coffee shop – Sams panty (I think), next door to reception. You can pick up croissants (approx 40 cents) and baguettes (1/2 baguette = 50c or full for 95c)

There is also a well stocked shop just off the complex next to the camping place. Leave the complex via the road to the side of the restaurant (independent form Club la Costa) with the horses, go to the bottom of the hill, turn left. As you look at the BP garage from the beach the shop is to the right hand side.

The prices are a lot cheaper here than in the complex, they too do fresh bread on a morning. Opens 8.30 am – 9.30 pm.

There is a massive supermarket called Eroski inside the Miramar Shopping Mall (about 20 minute walk up the side of the A7 which is the main coastal road in/out of Fuengirola). So if you want a big shop and have got arms like popeye go to Eroski, if you want to pick up bits and bats as and when use the camping shop.

Fuengirola

The complex is about 4ks out of town, but after about a 20 minute walk along the paved area along the beach you soon hit the bars and restaurants (a very long line of them along the sea front).

Just one street behind When you get to the sign that directs you to a sex shop (please don’t let this deter you – its not one bit seedy) take a left turn – this will take you on to what the locals call Fish Alley – a narrow street of nice little restaurants and then bars.

We spent our evenings in Flip Flops – we got acquainted with the friendly owners of the bar and other owners/workers of Fuengirola - they congregated in here after work. Flip Flops is to the end of Fish Alley, if you call in please say hi to Steve and Sally from Tracy n Mark of Leeds.

Prices ranged in Fuengirola from 1.50 euros up to approx 3.00 euros for a pint of draught lager. A large vodka and coke and a large (no measures) baileys (mmmmm) cost us about 7.50 euros in Flip Flops

Along the front some of the bars did an afternoon special/promotions – brandy and a coffee for 2 euros. Also coffee and a cake for about 2.5 euros.

We only ate out a couple of times – one of the enjoyable meals was in a small, cosy restaurant next door to Flip Flops called Pepperpot. They did a three course meal (various options) for 12.50 euros. Very filling, freshly cooked and good value for money.
Once again if you call in say hi to Liz and Graham (by the way – I’m not on commission, just one to say hello!) If they need reminding who we are I (Tracy) was the pool player.

Getting about

If you’re not up for driving the transport system is quite good.
Trains out of Fuengirola go along the coast line up to Malaga stopping at Benalmadena, Terromlinos, Los Bolliches and 13 stops.

To Malaga
A train to Malaga City Centre cost 3.50 euros return. We bought these tickets from the manned ticket office in Fuengirola as we couldn’t see the option to buy return tickets from the automated ticket machine. It works out cheaper to buy return than singles but I think they have to be used in the same day.

To Marbella
The local bus leaves from outside the BP garage and goes as far as Marbella and costs 2.58. They run quite regularly (about every 20 – 25 mins) and takes about 1 hour to get there. We made the mistake of getting off at the bus station rather than at the town centre. But to be honest its nothing flash to look at. No nice sea front hotels, no nice boats or cars. I was expecting it to be quite flash – far from it.

To Puerto Banus

If you’re looking for flash cars and boats head for Puerto Banus – this is now the rich mans playground. You can get a connecting bus here from the bus station.

To Fuengirola

The bus leaves from the stop at the opposite side of the BP garage (over flyover).
Costs about 90 cents and terminates at the bus station in the town centre.

Getting Back to Malaga Airport

Club La Costa offer a bus service back to the airport on Saturdays and Sundays, 08.45 and 16.45 at a cost of 7 euros. You can book this in the Boutique shop joined onto reception. Bu you will be given a welcome/information pack upon arrival with the info inside. Why they can’t offer this service into the complex beats me!

The Sales Presentation

Pick up at 10.15
Taken to Zacharys for buffet breakfast – ok, nothing special. The rep has breakfast with you. This is there informal way of getting to know you/your holidays/jobs etc.

Then a drive round the nicer, more secluded areas around Fuengirola, although some people I spoke after their presentation went to Mijas, some went as far as Marbella. This is another opportunity to chat/gain information. We were asked if we wanted to go to a bar for a drink – but we declined.

Then back to the complex to show you the accommodation you can expect to stay in, these are far superior to what you will be staying in your presentation week. They are out of this world; the quality of whole accommodation is absolutely beautiful.

Then to the office where the sell begins. Ours was quite a breeze in comparison to some of the horror stories I’ve read.

He starts then asking how much you paid for you last 2 or 3 hols, shows you accommodation you can expect to stay around the world if you became a member etc etc. Don’t get me wrong they are absolutely fantastic to look.

From the outset (in the car to our little tour of Fuengirola finer areas) I made it clear that we had fallen on hard times as my husband had been put on short time the month before we came out (working a 24 hour week as apposed to 40 hours) of which was true.

I said this several times, he then said if we could give it you for £1000 would you be interested and I said no. I then said to him in the uncertain times that we live in I would not sign up for anything! I then said I'vw really had enough now and I want to go now, that’s it end of!

We didn’t even get to the nitty gritty of prices, other than it would cost you a maintenance fee of £400 ish a year.

He then simply said ‘can you do me a favour? Im just going to bring my boss over and tell him that since your presentation in the UK your circumstances have changed and that you earn less than £25K’. And that’s it.

The reason being for this is if your earn less than 25K you not eligible to sign up and then this doesn’t go against the sales reps figures as you are classed as a ‘NQ’ – Non-qualifier.

He droves us back to our accommodation, wished us a good holiday and shook our hand. To my surprise he was as nice to us then as he was at the beginning.

The end. No follow calls, no nothing.

We were then free to carry on with the rest of our holiday.

So if you’re going on one of these presentation tours/holidays with no intention of buying – get a story in hand before you’re picked up, i.e. you’ve just received your redundancy notice; but get this in asap/as soon as the conversation will allow – then hell know he’s flogging a dead horse.

THE END!

If you have any specific questions which I haven’t covered please do not hesitate to drop me a message and I’ll do my best to answer.

I’ve brought lots of information back from the information pack and have it scanned. Iv tried downloading them on the site but they arent very clear, if drop me an email and I’ll forward it on via email.

Like most of the reviewers, we received a "freebie holiday" via Sun Breaks having attended their UK presentation for several hours and told them we were not interested in their product.

However, we wanted a week away in the sun and were notified of the holiday dates - 9th to 16th March 2008. Sun Breaks contacted us 4 days prior to flying to confirm exactly where we were staying; Marina del Sol.

Having taken our flight at 7.15am we arrived promptly at Malaga airport at 11am and having collected our baggage we went to collect our hire car (which had been arranged by Sun Breaks). We queued for nearly 2 hours by the time we actually were sitting in our car. It was the longest queue of all the hire centres at the airport (I would say there were at least 7 others). Not sure if the long queue was because Auriga Crown Car Hire provided value for money or the reps had done such a good job at selling the company. By the way, there is an office of Auriga Crown at Marina del Sol (coincidence???).

Directions provided by rep were excellent and we arrived about 25/30 mins later. Check in wasn't until 4pm but we were there by 1.30 and the nice, very good English speaking, reception chap offered us a voucher to have a complimentary drink at Zaccharys bar whilst he ensured our apartment was ready. So, off we went to sip our sangria and chill out. Little did we know, that whilst we sat in Zaccharys we were actually looking at our soon to be home for the next 7 days. There were also two pools beside the facilities.

Having collected keys we took our luggage to Apartment 272S - a small one bed upstairs apartment. Our bedroom window looked out at Zaccharys which was so close I probably could have ordered a drink without leaving the room!! This did not bode well for the night as entertainment was provided from 8.30 ish to 11pm. However, we nipped down the supermarket via the footpath which went from under our bedroom window, down the side of our apartment and in front of the balcony - it was like being at a train station with passing walkers!!

Having spent one sleepless night in Apt 272S we complained to Reception and the same nice chap (Jesus de la Cruz was his name!) we were moved to the other side of the complex to stay in Apt 125. What a remarkable difference! A much larger aprt with a lot less noise.

So we settled in to our new apartment - we only had to contend with the little train passing by every 30 - 45 mins - this is known by the reps as the "Wally Trolley" and has been known to stop when too many people have been aboard and it can't cope with the hills! Then the driver will ask people to get off and walk to the top of the hill before they can get back on again to complete their journey!! Mind you, not having tried it personally I can only report hearsay!!

Excursions can be arranged via the Resort. We went to Gibraltar which was ok. I would have like more time with the monkeys (I think we got about 10 mins to get out & take pictures), we went inside Caves for again about 15 mins. It was a little "conveyor belt" treatment but our tour guide on the mini bus, Robert, was quite amusing and informative. Our day out was from 8.30ish to 5ish. (There is an option to add dolphin watching to the agenda). Having done the monkeys and caves you had about 5 hours to spent in the Main Street shopping. It is advisable to take English currency as the exchange rate on other currencies is not very good.

I would say the timeshare talk enlightened us as to what other apartments can be on offer - but the resort itself can be a little bit like a "foreign Butlins camp". I can imagine it would be swarming with children in the school holidays although it wasn't so bad in March. It was said that there were about 1000 people on the marketing week during our stay and they reckon 87.4% of those attending sign up for the timeshare 3 year trial. However, everyone we spoke to hadn't signed, except one young couple, who were very distressed about it all afterwards and ended up cancelling the next day!

Eating and drinking on site was quite expensive; a walk to Fuengirola is about a 20 - 30 mins walk and there's plenty of restuarants/bars. There is horse riding on site although I wouldn't recommend their Flamenco night - 20 mins dancing by 5 - 7 girls aged 15 - 19. Food was the worst we sampled on the resort.

But after all the above being said, it was a "freebie holiday" and like the saying goes "you get what you pay for".

The best thing to do is go with an open mind, enjoy the sun & sangria, and put it down to one of life's experiences.

Like many other..we reluctantly decided to accept Sun Breaks offer and give it a try....but it turned out to be the best thing we have ever done...the resort was beautiful..we were lucky to get a room with a supurb view..but we had to ask for that..otherwise we would have ended up with a back view (no sea & no pool). I recommend the lunch buffet in the "Safari" for everybody..it's very tasty and reasonably priced..unlike dinner..it's "a la carte" and not nice at all and very expensive.

On our second day we were invited to lunch then a presentation by the staff there...we felt a bit uncomfortable ofcourse...but we expected that...it took about 3 hrs..and we haven't joined in...we weren't convinced.

I strongly advice everyone to take this opportunity..and enjoy the sun there...it was unforgetable experience.

Like many of the other people on this site we were called and told we had "won" a holiday and that all we would need to do was to go to london and attend a 2 hour presentation and pick up our voucher. I am normally very sceptical of this kind of thing but they offered us £70 of theatre vouchers as well so we decided it was worth a couple of hours of our time. We went along, kindly refused to buy their product and left with our theatre vouchers and a booking form which we had to fill in and send off with £29.50 per person admin fee. We decided to take the risk and see what happened and are now very glad we did. They offered us one of our chosen weeks and we declined to pay for flights from our local airport but were given them any way!

As for the resort we had a 1 bedroom apartment which had a very small bedroom, we struggled to find a space for our suitcases, but other than this was very nice. The site has a number of swimming pools which you will be allocated one of to use, the one we were allocated was so shallow that it was impossible to swim in, but it was warm. We only ate in one of the resturants on site which was Zaccary's opposite the Marina Del Sol reception. We went on the Thursday for Flamenco Night and although the food was eddible it was nothing special and worked out as the most expensive meal we had all week, every other night we wandered into the resort where we found a number of good resturants at a much more reasonable price!

As for the presentation, we were picked up from our appartment at 10.15 and taken for a free breakfast, we were then taken to a bar on the beach front where we were brought a coffee and asked about what we had learnt in London and why we had decided not to buy, after explaining that we did not think it repesented good value to us as the way we like to holiday does not fit in with there product we were taken back to our appartment and left alone for the rest of the holiday. The whole thing took less than 1.5 hours!

If you get a call saying that you have won a holiday for £29.50 each I would definatly recomend going as although you will end up paying about £70 each, this is still very cheap for a weeks holiday.