huge ugly resorts. looking for warmest possible spot in southern spain mid-april while avoiding huge resorts. I can't read all of these posts fast enough for this last minute trip! Do smaller , possibly historical hotels exist near the water?

Are you going to the Malaga/Torremolinos area? Expect to find wall to wall high rises with lots of British and German tourists and plenty of fish and chips shops. This is the Costa del Sol.<BR><BR>Travel West around Gibraltar and Tarifa and you will come to the Costa de la Luz with the reputation of the best and least used beaches in Andalucia. <BR><BR>I am not a beach person myself but if I were, this is where I would start looking.<BR><BR>Maria<BR><BR>

thanks ~ only have 4-5 days next week (4/15-4/20)for fast trip from Amsterdam.Want beaches and 'life' for kids, preferably with character/history, etc. for us. Know any particularly good anglophone resources online for this area?

Type in &quot;Cadiz Spain beach hotels&quot; to a search engine like Google. You should have lots of choices.<BR><BR>Or try searching Costa de la luz spain beach hotels.<BR><BR>Maria

That's Semana Santa which is 'high season' at all Spain's beach resorts. And Apr 15-20 is not really beach time. Spain is in the mid-latitudes, not the Tropics; so don't expect water sports or swimming unless the weather is unusually warm. <BR><BR>If you can get reservations at this late date, Cadiz would be my choice.