Dulces Dreams Boutique Hostel

The bathroom situation was the first unpleasant surprise. Our Booking reservation never clearly said it was shared, but we arrived to find we’d be sharing facilities with several other rooms. The family room was extremely cramped, with a double bed and two single beds pushed together, barely any room to move, a tiny table, and only a clothes rail with a few hangers and a small bench instead of a proper wardrobe. It was also hot, and the ceiling fan didn’t work properly. Opening the window brought in mosquitoes from the streetlight beside the balcony, along with even more street noise. With the window closed, we could still hear traffic constantly and our neighbors talking until they went to sleep. The walls are paper-thin. Wi-Fi was advertised, but both networks had weak signals and kept dropping out. At night, a strong artificial air freshener smell from the bar spread up the stairways and into our room. It was extremely unpleasant, and airing the room out wasn’t really possible because of the noise, light, and mosquitoes outside. The photos and listing suggested a modern, comfortable hotel in central Málaga, but the stay didn’t match those expectations. The airport transfer service was also advertised misleadingly: it just meant calling a regular taxi. Staff knew we were traveling with a baby but didn’t tell the taxi company we needed a child seat, which caused unnecessary stress and inconvenience. From around 8:00 a.m., staff moved chairs and tables in the bar, making so much noise we couldn’t sleep. Breakfast didn’t start until 9:30 a.m., so guests were woken well before they could use the facilities. Between that, the lack of space, noise, shared bathroom, unreliable Wi-Fi, and unpleasant smell, it was a very uncomfortable stay.

The food was fine, but I left a little disappointed. The girl who showed us to our room was nice. It was on the third floor, with no elevator. When we went downstairs for breakfast the next day, two women were chatting. I called them, and they told us to wait, then carried on talking about things that had nothing to do with work. We understand Spanish. When we ordered, one woman nearly dropped our food and drinks on the table. She was kind to the other guests, though. Sorry we wanted to eat and you had to work.

If your time and sleep matter to you, I wouldn’t stay here. We only spent one night, but the staff were extremely slow and didn’t answer the phone. When we brought it up, they got upset. Then at 8 in the morning on a Sunday, someone repeatedly slammed the door of the cleaning room next to us. Maybe they were doing it because they didn’t like us and wanted to wake us, or maybe they do that to all guests. Either way, it felt very disrespectful. The bathrooms are shared, so you shower alongside the neighbors. That might be fine if the price matched a youth hostel. Even stopping in for coffee could mean waiting over 30 minutes.

Service was slow because they were short staffed, though the server was friendly and polite. The café is small and cozy, and my fried egg and Jamon croissant was delicious. A good option for a light breakfast.