I would like to visit Spain's Costa del Sol this Spring but I've heard mixed reviews including complaints of a concrete jungle with highrise hotels/apartments filled with tourists. What happened to little white villages with narrow winding streets and Spanish culture? I was hoping for something more authentic and quaint - a little off the radar. Any suggestions on locations ?

Thoughts on hotels, short-term apt/pension rentals would also be extremely helpful.

Certainly much of the Costa del Sol is a concrete jungle, with Torremolinos perhaps the worst of it. However, if you want some relief from that and still be on the coast, you might try Nerja or Tarifa (which isn't technically part of the Costa del Sol).

If it's little white villages/towns you're looking for, you have to go up in the mountains north of the coast to places like Ronda and Arcos de la Frontera.

Anything between Malaga and Gibraltar has become a Theme park based on beach vacation. There are certainly beautiful places and very well done houses, apartments or hotels, but the Spanish culture is gone except in food, the Flamenco shows and the Arquitecture style.
If you are looking for a typical spanish way of life as it was a few years ago you have to direct your efforts more towards Granada coast or Almería.

The above writers are correct - the beach resorts are in one place and the little white villages with typical culture in another. They never were in the same place - and the Costa del Sol hasn't had any places (thought non white towns) that were really typical since Europeans started vacationing seriously in the 50's. You can very happily stay in some little white villages - just not at the beach.

I agree with the posters . The Costa has been well developed since the '60's when James Michener published the "Drifters".You should not be surprised!!

I've never been to the Costa Del Sol, but I've kept a villa I like the look of on my 'favourites' list in case I get there one day - so many places to visit and not enough time

www.mijasvilla.co.uk

Basically the resorts are Kareoke pub/football pub type area for many decades. With posher bits inland and between the resorts these areas are popular with non-tourist tourists going to 'real Spain'.

The whole Mediterranean coast of Spain is absolutely disgusting, excepted for Barcelona!