The best luxury hotels in Malaga, from elegant paradors to sleek urban retreats with rooftop pools

The best luxury hotels in Malaga, from elegant paradors to sleek urban retreats with rooftop pools

These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest guidance before travelling. Our writer visited these hotels prior to the pandemic.

Between its thriving art and theatre scenes, excellent drinking and dining, and buzzing historic core packed with great shopping, there's no stopping seaside Malaga right now. Part of the city's appeal lies in its elegant accommodation offerings - nowhere does evocative, true-to-location luxury stays quite like soulful Spain. Settle in at a hilltop castle-hugging Parador, a boutiquey old-town hideaway or perhaps a reimagined century-old, celebrity-glam grande dame: these are our top picks of Malaga's most alluring luxury hotels. 

Pack your film-star shades and a statement hat. Grand style meets contemporary luxe at the Miramar, which is all about full-on seaside grandeur. The hotel has a rich history and dates back almost a century. It was opened in 1926 by Alfonso XIII, and over the next few decades hosted famous names including Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Jean Cocteau, Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway. The spirit of the original property lives on in the Neo-Arab and traditional Andalucian décor in parts of the hotel. There are brilliant white spaces too, so while some areas feel old-school