The RIU Nautilus is slap bang on the seafront of Torremolinos, near to Benalmadena marina. You couldn't hope for a better location to explore both of these adjacent resorts on foot. It's a four star hotel and mostly geared to a European market. We booked through Thomson, hotel only, but guests from the UK are in a minority, with most guests coming from Germany and the Netherlands. That said, the entertainment is in English. When I say entertainment, it's fair to say the live acts each night varied from OK ( a Welsh guy who did a very good Tom Jones) to the quite frankly cringeworthy (a lady who just could not sing and caused everyone to slink out of the bar!). Our room was excellent, massive double bed (two singles pushed together), a party sized shower with rainforest showerhead and flat screen TV with BBC1 & 2 (ideal for watching Pointless before dinner!). Wi-Fi in the room was chargeable but it was free for one hour in the day in the bar and reception area. The mini bar was reasonably priced. The dining room was pretty packed with tables very close together. The wine service was a bit erratic. Food was sometimes extremely good, but others pretty poor. Starters and puds excellent, but main course meat poor quality. Didn't matter too much as quite happy to skip the main and eat out during the day. Breakfast was poor for a four star – coffee unpalatable and left to stand. It was impossible to find a clean table to sit at as I'm guessing the hotel was at capacity and they are short of staff. I always had to ask a waiter to clear and table for me and find some cutlery. Bread and pastries at breakfast were good, but much on offer was poor quality (e.g. cold meats, bacon, sausage, fruit juice) so gave them a miss. I also don't like having a slab of butter and pots of jam out on the buffet for people to dig into as it seems a good way to spread coughs and colds. There is a fabulous pool, but as it was January we didn't indulge. Nor did we avail ourselves of the indoor pool and spa as there was far too much to do outside. So, would I go again? Of course. It wasn't expensive out of season so we could happily eat out and just use our lovely room as a base. This hotel has location and you can't ask for more than that!
