Hostal Marissal

The seafood paella was so bland and badly cooked that I wondered if it had been made to taste that way on purpose. The seafood seemed cheap and frozen, and the rice was somehow both overcooked and under-seasoned. Before that, I’d ordered a mocktail from the mocktail menu. I was eight months pregnant and shocked to discover it was actually an alcoholic cocktail. Mix-ups happen, so we stayed and ordered food anyway, but it was the worst meal we had in Nerja. The young waiters were kind. The older gentleman hosting, wearing a dress shirt and glasses on a string around his neck, came across as rude and hostile. He slammed chairs around, added chairs to our table while we were still eating, and didn’t respond when we greeted him. Honestly, I felt like he wanted to kick my ass for eating there, LOL.

The restaurant food was delicious, and the staff were so nice and helpful, especially the very friendly man at reception. I stayed for five days and had a great time. The location is perfect, the room was clean and comfortable, and the prices are really reasonable. I’d definitely recommend this place.

The balcony seats in the front row and the fact that all drinks were included were the only real positives. We were there for the NEW YEAR'S EVE DINNER MARISSAL, but the experience was nowhere near worth the money, and we wouldn’t book it again. The menu looked promising, with three choices for each course, but our group tried them all and every dish disappointed. The staff did their best, though the restaurant atmosphere felt far from festive. We were seated at the front under bright lights with the TV on, so we ended up switching both off ourselves.

The rooms were clean and there was plenty of hot water, but the towels were worn out. Bins being emptied on the cobbled street outside woke us every night, so the noise was hard to ignore. Breakfast was underwhelming too. It starts at 0830 on the dot, with the doors locked until then, and the machine coffee was the worst I’ve had in Spain. I ended up going to the cafe across the way. Checking in was a pain, with no receptionist and everything handled by door codes. It’s a shame because the location is great, but I won’t be back.