Sol Timor Apartments

Playa de Montemar.

by Regina1965

Playa de Montemar is the beach next to Playa de la Carihuela. It stretches as far as the marina of the neighbouring town of Benalmádena

It is a beautiful beach with golden sands, lots of shells and lots of sea-sport activities, making it the liveliest beach of Torremolinos and my favourite. It is fun swimming there as the sea is so shallow that you can walk far into the ocean in some places and the sea is only up to your waist.

There are a lot of restaurants and cafés on Playa de Montemar, but less shops than in other areas of the promenade. Instead there is lively business at nights in fake Gucci, Prada, Chanel etc. bags, watches, belts and pirate DVDs. In front of Sol Timor you can see men from Africa laying out their goods on sheets and there is a lot of haggling going on. As soon as the police shows up they pick up their stuff and vanish into the dark beaches. This is a game of cat and mouse, which I watched from my balcony at Sol Timor. Just a word of warning - even though the bags look real they are often glued at the seams making it risky carrying them as they can fall apart when ever - in my case my bag fell apart at the airport in Montréal, causing problems for me, and I had to take it to a shoe-maker in Canada to have it fastened with leather. Don't risk it, I eye the bags when I pass by as they look so pretty, but will not get fooled again.

The hotels by Playa de Montemar are Hotel Aloha Puerto, Sol Timor, Riu Nautilus, Aptos. Buensol, Barracuda, Amaragua and Tropicana just to name some of them. A lovely area, but can be loud at times being so close to the discos by the marina.

Shell collecting :D

by Regina1965

There are a lot of beautiful shells on the beaches of Torremolinos, especially on Playa del la Carihuela and Playa de Montemar on the other side of the cliff (coming from the Malaga side). The beaches differ widely seen from the eyes of a shell collector, there are some on Playa de Playamar close to Principito Sol, then there are almost none on Playa de Bajondillo. Then walking around the cliff to Playa de la Carihuela there is a spot on the beach by the cliffs where they are in abundance thrown onto the beach by the ocean, see my photos of that spot. Walking along the beach there you see them in the waves and in some spots there are many sorts of shells and conch.

I usually hang out in the waves by a palm-grove on Playa de la Carihuela and battle the waves for the best shells. Further along the beach of Playa de Montemar close to Timor Sol there are also good spots for shell-collecting.

This is a really popular pastime by the beach lovers, men and women and children alike and you can see a lot of people carrying bags full of shells. This for sure is my favourite pastime and I return home with a couple of kilos of shells each time I visit Torremolinos.

what amazing staff

by A TripAdvisor Member

hey would just like to say what a fatastic time i had at the sol timor the staff and entertainers our fantastic and i really wanna go back. food is ok and so is the location.

what a fabulous holiday

Disappointed

by A TripAdvisor Member

Just returned from Sol Timor and was very disappointed with the hotel. In my opinion the reviews I read did not match the hotel in any way. Although the hotel was clean it was very basic and was in desperate need of refurnishment. I would not advise anyone to visit on the recommendations of any of the reviews. I cannot comment on the food or the staff as we never ate in the hotel but visited a lovely restaurant behind the hotel every night.

You get what you pay for!

by TripAdvisor Member cowstars

Mar. 3 thru 17 - It's a perfectly adequate place for a bargain price. I can't afford Marbella prices to stay on this coast, but here I didn't have to. Nice kitchenette where I had a tea kettle as well as dishes, microwave & fridge. The main drawback of the studio apt. is how uncomfortable the beds are. No box spring, only a mattress on a platform. I don't think I had 1 good night's sleep in 2 weeks.
The Sol Timor food got boring after 4 days, but who wants to eat there all the time? Go out! The location is great. Amenities at the hotel are affordable. Where else can you get parking for 1.50 Euro a day? There's a laundromat on premises. You leave the grounds and you are on the Carihuela walking beside the sea. Your view is of the ocean and beach. Over all I was very satisfied with the price paid and the location and amenities. Also, if you travel with Sun Holidays you have a representative on site who speaks English and can help you with any issues. Very convenient. I would definitely go back, but probably would upgrade to the 1 bedroom unit in hopes of getting a better bed!!

Good,but the phonebill...

by A TripAdvisor Member

well it was an average stay for me, the wife and the kid, but with the closeness to the beach/marina, you can't really complain. food was nothing to write home about, but there are lots of lovely places to eat at and the staff were nice and friendly.
the phonebill was one of the things i'd like to put forth as something quite surprising! when i got my statement in i was shocked to find that i spent more money on a couple of phone calls i made than i did on a night out with the family! so its just as well that a few days before we left we managed to find a lovely phone shop about 5 minutes from the sol timor. the place is called 'eurocall'(we picked up their business card) is based between a couple of irish bars and is very reasonable at 20 cents a min for a phonecall to the uk. they also had internet, and my son spent a good deal of time in there while the wife and i relaxed in the bar next door. the staff were extremely friendly and helpful and one of the girls managed to help us book flights for our return in september, which was very sweet of them.
so if anyone feels the need to call home/use the internet then i suggest this place to you. don't bother calling home at the apartments as it just costs a fortune and possible heart failure when you get your bank statement!! just a bit of advice for those who want to call and make sure things at home are ok.

Shabby digs with some good points...

by A TripAdvisor Member

I've had five month-long stays at the Timor Sol over the past ten years; never in summer. The studios and apartments in this property are basic; alot like a college dormitory. The staff is courteous and helpful; the nightly lounge entertainment is enjoyable, and the rooms are unpretencious but comfortable. Even studio apartments seem ample enough not to feel claustrophic, with a pair of twin beds, separate, clean bathrooms, well-fitted kitchens with a microwave (but no tea kettle), and a balcony with a lovely Mediterrean view. The hotel buffets are repetitive and boring; the food's not terrific, but there are many reasonable eateries in the area to diversify the gastric monotony. The downside to this property is that is looks, feels, and IS shabby. Management is way overdue to spruce up the reception and hospitality areas, to replace the bedspreads and drapes in the apartments, and change the drab, itchy upholstery in the public lounges. While the Timor Sol is a good value as a good location and a clean place to sleep, it is literally a poor counterpart to it's sister next door, the Aloha Puerto. Thankfully, Timor Sol guests have access to many of the public areas next door, so when I'm there, though I sleep at the Timor, I act like I belong at the Aloha Puerto!

brilliant

by A TripAdvisor Member

I said in Timor Sol in July 02/03. It was a great holiday,good entertainment on in the hotel and the outdoor pool has a fun lively athmosphere.

Torremolinos.

by Regina1965

"Torremolinos"

My favourite beaches are in Costa del Sol - Torremolinos. I lived in the block-of-flats shown on the main photo for 6 months in 2009.

The beaches stretch over 4 km and are very clean and the times I have stayed there I have always had an excellent stay and am longing to go there every summer. Approximately 43.700 people live in Torremolinos but in the summer time the figure rises up to 250.000 with all the tourists visiting this lovely area. Just a word of warning, on Costa del Sol there are 120 organised Mafia groups. In 1980's Torremolinos used to have a bad word for being shabby with a lot of drug addicts, the beaches were dirty and people had stopped visiting. The Spanish government then cleaned the place up and did an excellent job and now it is again a very popular place to visit.

I have stayed at 3 different hotels, Hotel Sol Principe and Principito, Hotel Sol Timor and Aguamarina Aparthotel, with Hotel Sol Principe being my favourite (see my tips on the hotels). It is located at the very beginning of Torremolinos which is quieter than Sol Timor which is located at the very end of Torremolinos, next to the marina of Benalmadena with its discos and verly lifely night-life. In the middle is Aguamarina Aparthotel with the lift to the center of the old town of Torremolinos. Torremolinos is only 12 kilometres from Malaga and only 3 kilometres from Pablo Ruiz Picasso International Airport, which is a big plus.

"Costa del Sol - Torremolinos"

There are a lot of steps leading to Calle San Miguel shopping street and the old town of Torremolinos. There is an elevator at the beginning of this street if one is unable to walk all those steps. All the way to the top are shops and restaurants. See my tips on the lift and Calle San Miguel in "Things to do". Calle San Miguel is called Calle Europe by locals as all the tourists visiting Torremolinos go there. There are many squares with fountains and beautiful sculptures in and around the city center.

"Costa del Sol - Torremolinos"

The old town has a small but lively center, and there is the railway- and bus station which takes you to Malaga and many other places in Spain. It has got a lot of shops and some supermarkets. So you have got 2 choices at night, go to the old town or stay at the beach where the night-life is extremely lively as well, especially by Timor Sol and at the marina in Benalmadena.

Here are some good links with information on Torremolinos and here Torremolinos and here Costa del Sol and Torremolinos and here is Torremolinos guide and Weather in Torremolinos and last but not the least
a satellite map of Torremolinos.