Hostal Tres Soles 

This was our third stay here in this hostal in the last 5-years; as it suits both our needs and budget. A ‘hostal’: a common type of budget-friendly accommodation that is different; in that if offers private rooms, similar to a guest house or simple hotel; without permanent staffing. On this holiday, as before, we needed to make a baggage-drop immediately we arrived in Nerja at 11:00. This was no problem, as the hostal office is next to the hostal itself. Office open-times are variously reported as between 10:30 and 17:30 every day, but in our experience (backed-up with documents we were issued) it’s open between 10:00 to 15:00. The very pleasant, efficient and helpful English-speaking staff allowed us to leave our baggage in their office until check-in time at 14:00. The hostal is located on the Carabeo Road, a mostly shaded, quiet, pedestrianised and tidy residential road that the odd trade-supply vehicle and taxi’s use to access the Balcón area. Today however it was closed to all vehicles (including our taxi) because of preparations for the “Feria de Nerja” (Nerja Fair). We had to wheel our luggage for about 400mtrs, not really a problem. The fair was due to start a few days after our holiday ended, and with the fair location being right next to this hostal we had chosen our dates carefully to avoid the fair. This is entirely due to the noise in the early hours (typically 05:00) which makes sleep impossible for the 5 nights of the fair. We certainly advise travellers to verify the fair dates before booking nearby hotels and hostals (unless you are avid fair-goers). Our room was on first floor, 16 steps to lug-up our suitcases (there is no lift). The room was spacious with a very small (Juliet-style) balcony looking out onto a rather scruffy piece of open land (the site of the fair). It was quiet most nights; apart from couple in the room below who had additional guests on their last night of their stay. They were noisy until well-gone 03:00 and continued to chat until about 04:00. We did receive a second-hand apology; but that was no compensation for the frustration of a very disturbed night’s sleep. Our airconditioned room was clean and tidy, the bed was comfortable and the clean linen and towels were good. The shower was also good, but it took ages for the hot water to run through (same with taps and bidet). The small fridge was sufficient for bottled water. The TV didn’t work; no channels at all. There was plenty of wardrobe space and furnishings were good. The room was well-serviced daily. Our return flight was late in the evening and our taxi was booked for a 18:00 pick-up again 400mtrs from the hotel. So, with check-out being noon, and our taxi being 18:00, we arranged to leave our luggage in the hotel’s basement area. We were supplied with a key-pad code to regain entry to the hostal and were able to collect from the basement without issues. Everything went-to-plan, but as we waited until it was time to walk to meet our taxi, some arriving guests, probably German, with only pigeon-English, saw us inside, and asked to be let in; but of course we couldn’t do that. The new guests were ill prepared and had no contact details; like the out-of-hours telephone number. Our ability to speak German was far worse than their ability to speak English. We gave them the out-of-hours number and left them to it, as it was time for us to leave to meet our taxi.