El Puerto
by Lalique
The recently refurbished El Puerto Hotel enjoys a superbly central location and boasts a new key card security system. It offers 300 rooms in two towers, one 8 floors and one 16 floors. All of them are equipped with air conditioning, heating, bathroom, hair dryer, direct dial telephone, satellite TV, safe deposit box. Amenities available to guests include coffee bar, restaurant, garden, Sunbathing terrace, lift, disco, medical service, money exchange, swimming pool (on the roof with beautiful views), garage and a car park. The hotel accepts all major credit cards. The hotel location is indeed great: public beach San Amalia is just a stone throw from the hotel, behind hotel there is a street parallel to the sea front which full of different restaurants and cafes, 200 meters to the left of the hotel there is a famous spot full of discos and bars. What else do you need at resort?? :))
(Cadiz 'suburbs') What a surprise find this was!
by Bwana_Brown about Hotel Dunas Puerto
In planning our trip to Spain, Sue and I figured we would be tired of 'big city' traffic after our sessions in Granada and Sevilla, so for our accommodations stop on this leg of the trip decided on the small city of El Puerto de Santa Maria, just across the bay from Cadiz, We made our arrangements via Booking.com without problem (40 Euros per double room) but were never really able to obtain much detailed information on the hotel itself. I was thinking that this was probably an industrial city along the waterfront and that Dunas Puerto was likely just some run-of-the-mill place, but at least we could take a boat ride to reach Cadiz!
Arriving from Sevilla, we managed to find the hotel without too much problem and, as soon as I saw it, I was totally amazed at how beautiful it was. The Dunas Puerto has a large reception and restaurant building but most of the accommodations are more like attached single-story motel units spread out on beautifully landscaped grounds. We had quite an enjoyable time wandering around their lawns as we viewed a large swimming pool (not a single person using it in late December) and the many different types and arrangements of their plant-life. After our drive, it was quite pleasant to sit in their lawn-chairs in the waning sunshine to simply enjoy the solitude in the absence of hardly any other guests. The hotel is located only a short walk up a very nice road from the best sandy beach in town, so it was not long before we were out for a bit of local explorations. The hotel has a reasonably-sized parking lot in front of reception where an eye can be kept on the vehicles and it also has security monitoring access to its little plot of land located just off the highway leading up to it. The check-in process was one of the more laborious I have been through in some time, as details from each one of our three passports were entered by hand on a sheet of paper of some sort. However, eventually it was over and we were directed to our rooms via paved footpaths on the grassed grounds. The rooms themselves were quite modern and very solidly built, equipped with a remote-controlled TV with about 15 channels and there was also a remotely-controlled air conditioning unit mounted high on the wall. The bathroom was also very nice, no complaints.
We found the staff at Dunas Puerto to be very helpful. When we asked about a possible evening meal, they said their daily menu would be posted in the lobby at 8 PM and we could take a look then before seating opened at 8:30. They also gave us some good advice regarding taking the short drive into El Puerto de Santa Maria for a look around as well as recommending the ferry ride to Cadiz as a much better option than driving there.
Take a ferry to avoid parking hassles!
by Bwana_Brown
After visiting the large cities of Granada and Sevilla, I thought I deserved a break from driving in congested areas - especially Cadiz, located as it is on a very narrow peninsula! As a result, we booked our accommodations in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a very nice little city across the Bay of Cadiz from our real destination.
With a population of about one million in the greater Cadiz area, and with 100,000 of those living in El Puerto, the European Metropolitan Transport Authorities decided that it was time for a ferry service to help relieve road traffic. This service went into operation in the summer of 2006 using two catamaran ferries with a traffic target of 480,000 trips per year. It proved successful and a third ferry was added to include passage to Rota (the large joint Spanish/American naval base just up the Bahia from El Puerto). The local company running the ferries is called Consorcio de Transportes Bahía de Cádiz.
We found the service to be efficient and very modern, with departures from both El Puerto and Cadiz every half-hour during the busy morning and late-afternoon periods. This view of one of the catamaran ferries leaving El Puerto on the River Guadalete was taken just before 6 PM as the sun was beginning to dip. We returned in the morning to try out the 30-minute voyage for ourselves!
We were early enough to be able to watch the ferry approach and docking procedures, which was great fun for me due to being born and raised on Canada's Atlantic Ocean coastline. The Consorcio de Transportes Bahia de Cadiz terminal has a very nice parking area which requires you to obtain a ticket from a kiosk when you enter and later pay whatever the necessary fee is when you leave (a very reasonable rate I thought when we returned about 3 hours later).
The ferry terminal was quite efficient at issuing our tickets (2 Euros per adult each way), after which we simply stood watching the docking and disembarkation procedures as our ferry arrived. It turned out to be the 'Bahia Cadiz Primero' which was one of the first two ferries to take up this route to Cadiz. Passenger loading procedures went well and we were soon underway on a beautiful morning for a voyage as we enjoyed looking back at central El Puerto (2nd photo) and the Bay itself as we crossed. The bulk of the few passengers on-board at this time of the year stayed below decks, but I enjoyed the fresh air above as our triple-hulled ferry powered out of El Puerto.
On the front and out in front
by tenerifejohn about Portofino - Fuengirola
The Portofino is located on the sea front not far from the Hotel El Puerto. The ambience is relaxed and they do serve Torres Esmarelda one of my favourite Spanish whites. They do have an extgensive wine list so I am sure you will find something to suit your palate. The food is first class and well presented. I enjoyed a chicken breast in mushroom sauce and my partner prawns and rice in a rich creamy sauce. The bill was just 50 euros thats about £35 GBP.
Photos
El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz
Nice foliage in El Puerto de Santa Maria
Ferry departing El Puerto de Santa Maria at sunset
Plaza de Toros, El Puerto de Santa María
Forum Posts
hotel el puerto
by vicky1985
Hi me and my partner are coming to fuengirola 4 week this friday the september 11th for 1 week, we booked a private room in hotel el puerto via holiday lettings im just looking for some information on the area hotel and the main point the weather, is it still hot around the time we are coming, also is there some good excursions, and where is it best to change money over would you suggest in fuengiorla or back in england???
Re: hotel el puerto
by leics
I suggest you change some money here (at the Post Office, perhaps...no commission) and use ATMs to withdraw more as you go. Make sure you tell your bank you will be abroad (phone the number on the back of the card) and check out any charges for cash withdrawals abroad that they may make.
You could, of course, just withdraw euros at the airport when you arrive....but I prefer to have some with me rather than faff about finding an ATM, possibly queuing etc. And many people prefer not to take all their money with them in cash, for security reasons.
As for weather, you will get a rough idea from the climate tables here:
http://www.costablancauncovered.com/Costa-del-Sol/Fuengirola/Fuengirola-weather-forecast.html (scroll down)
and you can search historical info for your exact dates, and get a 10-day weather forcast (for Malaga, but it won't be much different) here:
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/08482.html
You will certainly find it very pleasant in comparison to the UK! :-)
Re: hotel el puerto
by annemariebyrne
There are lots of excursions you can do from Fuengirola, some of them easy to do yourself on public transport, some easier to do with and organised tour group.
The white village of Mijas is about twenty minutes away, just take the bus from the bus station in the centre of town, they leave regularly.
You can also get the bus to Marbella further down the coast, where you can walk on the promenade, visit the old town or take a boat trip down to Puerto Banus.
Another trip you could do is take the train into Malaga and visit the Gibralfaro Castle or the Picasso museum or just go shopping.
You will find information about day trips in your accommodation or in the Tourist Office. Two popular trips are to Granada (+the Alhambra) or to Morrocco.
Re: hotel el puerto
by ricky52
Due to extreme climatic changes the World is experiencing at the moment, trying to predict the weather can be difficult because of local, on the day variations.
Most places now are seeing weather conditions well outside the norm.
The information below should be used as a guide only.
Here is the average weather for Fuengirola for this time of year.
Enjoy your holiday.
August.
High 85f / 29c
Low 67f / 19c
Rain 0.20in / 6.0mm
Rain days 3
Hours of sun 10
Daylight hours 14
UV level 9 = Very High
Humidity = Moderate
Sea temp 73f / 23c
September.
High 80f / 27c
Low 63f / 17c
Rain 0.70in / 18.0mm
Rain days 4
Hours of sun 8
Daylight hours 12
UV level 7 = High
Humidity = Low
Sea temp 71f / 22c
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