Oops, so sorry about that.

ourspaintrip,
Is the Novotel in the city center? We stayed at Soho Malaga, 5 Cordoba Street in the city center, and it was an easy walk to the entrance to the Alcazaba. If I remember correctly, I think it's very close to the Cathedral. So you can walk to the Alcazaba, and take a taxi to the top of Castillo. I am not sure if the restaurant at the top of the Castillo (where we had lunch) will be open in February. We ate outdoors. It's a small place, and I don't remember seeing an indoor dining room, but I could be wrong. Maybe you could check the website of the Castillo, if you are thinking you might have lunch there. We had pizza, salad, and drinks, nothing fancy.

No worries!

always hard to tell men from women for casual posterers - but most are women IME.

If you haven't booked your flights yet, you might want to check out Norwegian Airlines. We flew from London Gatwick to Boston last year and it was one of the nicest flights we have ever taken-much better than TAP. They connect through to both Madrid and Barcelona on their own airline though not to Lisbon. But since they go to Gatwick and the Boston flight arrives early, you can easily catch a flight on to Portugal or Spain to Gatwick on the way back. If you really want more comfort, their Premium class is still pretty affordable and really nice.

Love Novotels - guaranteeably modern and great value for price - see www.accorhotels.com for possible specials and booking.