Hotel Royal Costa (Torremolinos, Spain)

While they may be fairly basic, the rooms are well-maintained, and guests praise the housekeeping team for keeping the place spick and span. Plus, the air-conditioning is refreshing and cool, so you'll enjoy a comfortable stay.

It's an easy stroll down to the beach from the hotel, and its location between Malaga Airport and the centre of Torremolinos makes getting around the area easy. You can either hop on a train or jump in a taxi and be in Torremolinos within minutes.

Torremolinos attracts pleasure-seekers and beach-lovers, and the Royal Costa provides the kind of laid-back, fun environment that you'll love if you're up for a party. There's music by the pool and a whole host of evening entertainment.

While the all-inclusive package may seem like a good-value idea, many guests have complained that the food is pretty low-quality, to the extent that they ended up eating elsewhere. You may want to opt for the room-only rate and dine out.

Starting at a depth of 1.5 metres in the shallow end, the pool leaves many parents anxious about their children, and is only really suitable for confident swimmers. This makes the pool area less relaxing than it should be.

There's no Wi-Fi accessibility in the guest rooms, so you'll have to traipse down to the lobby if you want to get online. Some guests have said that even here, it's a bit erratic, so don't count on lots of online time.