Occidental Torremolinos Playa Review: Rooms, Pools & Kids Club

Quick verdict

• Where: Calle la Toja 25, in the Los Álamos area of Torremolinos — directly on the beachfront.
• From Málaga airport: 4.7 km. Five minutes on the C-1 train, or about fifteen in a taxi. It is the closest easy family hotel to the airport on this coast.
• Category: 4-star, 508 rooms, laid out as a village of separate low buildings rather than one tower.
• Rooms: 20–60 m², and interconnecting rooms are available — the thing families search for and almost no listing answers.
• Pools: two outdoor pools plus a children’s Splash play area.
• Kids’ club: yes, plus a kids’ area with slides and mini golf.
• Best for: families with toddlers and primary-age children who want the shortest possible journey from plane to pool.
• Less good for: couples wanting somewhere quiet and intimate. This is a big, busy family resort and it makes no secret of it.

We stayed in a Superior Room with Sea View. I’ve also spent over a decade as a hotel account manager with the Costa del Sol as my portfolio, so I book these places with a fairly unromantic eye.

Here’s what it’s actually like.

Location: how close to the airport is it really?

4.7 km. Torremolinos sits five minutes from Málaga airport on the C-1 Cercanías train, and this hotel is in the Los Álamos stretch, right on the beachfront.

That number is the single best reason to book here. With a toddler, a pushchair and two suitcases, the difference between a five-minute train ride and a fifty-minute transfer to Marbella is the difference between arriving and surviving arriving. You can land at midday and be in the pool by two.

• Beach: beachfront. You walk out of the grounds onto the sand.
• Málaga city: 14 km, about twelve minutes on the same train line.
• Airport train fare: €1.80, plus €0.50 once for the card.

Full transfer detail: Málaga Airport to the Costa del Sol

One honest note about Los Álamos: you’re at the airport end of Torremolinos rather than in the middle of La Carihuela’s seafood restaurants. That’s a fair trade for the beachfront position and the transfer time, but if you want to walk to a different restaurant every night, the centre of Torremolinos or La Carihuela suits you better.

Arrival and check-in

Quick and effortless — which at a 508-room resort in August is not a given. You’re given a wristband at check-in, which is how you access the hotel’s services for the rest of the stay.

Check-in is from 14:00, check-out before 12:00.

The lobby is spacious and bright, and the thing I noticed is that it never felt overcrowded even when the hotel clearly was. That’s a layout decision — the site is spread across multiple buildings with 2,600 m² of gardens rather than funnelling 500 rooms through one atrium — and it’s why the place feels calmer than its size suggests.

The rooms

The hotel runs a genuinely wide range: Double, Superior, Family, Family Premium, Family Deluxe, Junior Suite, and interconnecting rooms, from 20 to 60 m². Adapted rooms for guests with reduced mobility are available but have to be booked direct with the hotel rather than through an OTA.

Interconnecting rooms are the detail worth acting on. Families search for this constantly and almost no booking site surfaces it. If you’re four or more, ask for them — two rooms with a door between beats a family room with a sofa bed every time, and it’s the difference between adults having an evening and not.

Our Superior Room with Sea View was clean and modern with minimal, uncluttered decor, and a balcony looking straight out at the Mediterranean. Nothing was trying too hard, which after a day of travelling is what you want.

The sea view is worth the upgrade here in a way it often isn’t. Sitting on that balcony at the end of a day was the bit of the stay I’d pay for again.

The two pools and the Splash area

Two outdoor pools, with genuinely different characters:

• One with sea views, which is the calmer of the two.
• One beside the gym and the activity zones, which is where things are happening.

Plus a children’s Splash play area — separate from the main pools, which is what stops the whole thing turning into one loud shared pool.

That three-way split is what makes this hotel work for families with different-aged kids. A ten-year-old wants the activity pool; a three-year-old wants the Splash area; a parent wants twenty minutes by the quiet one.

Pool Bar on site for the inevitable mid-afternoon ice cream negotiation.

The kids’ club and children’s facilities

• Kids’ club on site
• Kids’ area with slides
• Mini golf
• Splash play area by the pools

The kids’ club is the thing people search for by name and it’s a real one, not a token playroom. If you’re choosing between this and a cheaper Torremolinos hotel without one, that’s the difference that decides whether you get to read a book on holiday.

Mini golf is the underrated one. It’s the activity that works when the children are too tired for the pool and too awake for the room.

The gym

Free to guests, and a proper fitness centre rather than two bikes in a corridor. It’s the second-most-searched thing about this hotel after the reviews themselves, which tells you something about who stays here — a lot of people are keeping a routine going while the family’s at the pool.

Food and half board

Two restaurants:

• The main buffet restaurant, large and well organised — plates cleared, queues moving, and fresh ingredients with genuine variety rather than the same three trays reheated.
• Arrozante, the à la carte restaurant, which specialises in rice dishes. Worth booking one evening.

Plus several bars including the pool bar.

How half board works here: it runs from dinner on the day you arrive to breakfast on the day you leave. Worth knowing when you’re comparing prices, because that’s one more meal than some resorts include and it materially changes the per-night maths.

My honest view on half board at this hotel: take it. You’re in Los Álamos rather than in the restaurant streets, and with children the buffet at 19:30 beats walking twenty minutes to find somewhere at Spanish dinner time.

Practical details people ask about

Address	Calle la Toja 25, 29620 Torremolinos, Málaga
Category	4-star, 508 rooms
Room sizes	20–60 m² across seven room types
Interconnecting rooms	Yes
Airport	4.7 km — 5 min by C-1 train
Beach	Beachfront, Los Álamos
Málaga city	14 km
Check-in / out	14:00 / before 12:00
Wi-Fi	Free throughout
Parking	Private, paid
Gym	Free for guests
Accessibility	Adapted rooms and common areas — book direct

What I liked

• The arrival. Five minutes from the airport, a quick check-in, a wristband, done.
• The layout. A village of low buildings and gardens rather than a tower. It’s why a 508-room hotel doesn’t feel like one.
• The three-way pool split. Different ages genuinely catered for instead of everyone sharing one pool.
• The sea-view balcony. Worth the upgrade.
• The buffet being properly run. Underrated, and rare at this size.

What to know before you book

• It’s a big resort, and it’s busy. It handles the volume well, but if you’re after somewhere small and quiet, this isn’t it.
• Los Álamos isn’t the restaurant end of town. Great for the beach and the airport, less good for walking out to somewhere different each night. Half board exists for a reason.
• Parking is paid and private — factor it in if you’re hiring a car, and ask yourself whether you need one at all when the train is five minutes away.
• Adapted rooms must be booked directly with the hotel, not through a booking site.
• The site is spread out. Good for atmosphere, less good if someone in your group struggles with walking — ask for a building near the pools.

Is it worth it, and would we go back?

For a family beach week on the Costa del Sol, yes. What you’re buying is the shortest journey from plane to pool on this coast, a kids’ club that works, three different pool environments and a buffet that doesn’t punish you for eating at it.

For couples, I’d send you to Málaga city or Estepona instead and you’d have a better time.

Would we return? With the boys at primary-school age, without hesitating — it’s the hotel I’d pick for a first Costa del Sol trip with small children, and it’s why Torremolinos is the town I recommend for easiest logistics.

Read next:

• Where to Stay on the Costa del Sol: Best Areas Compared
• Costa del Sol with Kids
• Málaga Airport to the Costa del Sol
• Occidental Puerto Banús Review
• Benalmádena Travel Guide

Frequently Asked Questions About Occidental Torremolinos Playa

Where is Occidental Torremolinos Playa and how far is the airport?

The hotel is at Calle la Toja 25 in the Los Álamos area of Torremolinos, directly on the beachfront. Málaga airport is 4.7 km away — around five minutes on the C-1 Cercanías train for €1.80, or roughly fifteen minutes by taxi. Málaga city centre is 14 km away on the same train line.

Does Occidental Torremolinos Playa have a kids’ club?

Yes. There is a kids’ club on site, plus a separate children’s area with slides, a mini golf course, and a children’s Splash play area beside the pools. Together with the two outdoor pools, it means children of different ages are catered for separately rather than all sharing one pool.

How many pools does Occidental Torremolinos Playa have?

Two outdoor pools plus a children’s Splash play area. One pool has sea views and is the quieter of the two; the other sits beside the gym and activity zones and is livelier. There is also a pool bar.

Does the hotel have interconnecting rooms for families?

Yes. The hotel has seven room categories — Double, Superior, Family, Family Premium, Family Deluxe, Junior Suite and interconnecting rooms — ranging from 20 to 60 m². Interconnecting rooms are worth requesting for groups of four or more, as two rooms with a connecting door work better than a family room with a sofa bed.

Does Occidental Torremolinos Playa have a gym?

Yes, there is a fitness centre and it is free for guests. Wi-Fi is also free throughout the hotel.

What does half board include at Occidental Torremolinos Playa?

Half board runs from dinner on the day you arrive to breakfast on the day you leave, which is one more meal than some resorts include. Meals are served in the main buffet restaurant, and there is also Arrozante, an à la carte restaurant specialising in rice dishes.

What are the check-in and check-out times?

Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out is before 12:00. You are given a wristband at check-in which you use to access the hotel’s services during your stay.

Is Occidental Torremolinos Playa good for couples?

It works, but it is not what the hotel is built for. This is a 508-room family resort with a kids’ club, slides and mini golf, and it is busy in season. Couples looking for somewhere quieter would be better served by Málaga city or Estepona.