Apartamentos Marqués de la Merced

My room, 212, stayed quiet after 9 PM, with no loud voices or music. The bed and pillows were comfortable, and the little Juliette balcony was a nice extra. Getting around was easy: the old town is right there, with sights, cafes, restaurants, and a supermarket across the street. The apartment also has a lift, a well-equipped kitchen, and a decent bathroom. Cleanliness was the letdown. It smelled strongly of bleach when I arrived, so I had to air it out before I could stand being inside. Even then, I found hairs and plenty of dust in the wardrobe, rubbish in the drawers, limescale in the shower, and kitchen utensils that didn't look properly washed. For a good price and a central location it offers reasonable value, as long as spotless isn't what you're expecting.

The location was good, and I appreciated having a little kitchen, though the listing mentioned things like a coffee machine that weren't there. There were some tea bags, presumably left by a previous guest, but I didn't touch them. I booked six nights through booking.com and wanted to leave as soon as I saw the room, but I knew I wouldn't get a refund. It felt like a badly run halfway house, which put me in a poor mood for a holiday. The cleaner was rude and abrupt when I was leaving just a minute or two after 11 am. The receptionist I met on arrival was fine. There was no towel the first night; I only noticed after the reception guy had gone, and one had been put in the room by the time I went to ask. The room was tiny, and a strong perfume smell constantly made it seem like a toilet, maybe from an air freshener. The photos didn't really show what it was like. The bed was smaller than a usual single and fairly uncomfortable. The bathroom seemed to be falling apart, with a wobbly sink and a toilet that felt as if it might come off the wall. They'd left partly used Mercadona shower gel and shampoo. For security, you need a key for the lift or the stairs, which is reassuring. But the main building door was often open, so someone could potentially follow you through the automatic door, and there is no receptionist after 6 pm. I got the impression they don't care much about guests, since plenty of tourists will pay high rates for small, mediocre rooms. I wouldn't return.

The room could have been cleaner, and the location was fair for the price. The real surprise was a karaoke bar on the roof sharing a wall with our apartment. It closed at 11:30, and after that we got a reasonable night's sleep, but the listing should mention it. Leaving that out felt misleading.

We'd read the reviews while driving from Ronda to Malaga that same day, so we came in without much hope. Instead, the room was really clean and had none of the smell people had mentioned. The owner found us a parking spot on his property, a four-minute walk away. Great location, and the bed was decent for a couple. We only stayed one night and everything went smoothly.