Apartment/condo recommendations for costa del sol

Sorry, Rick doesn't have much advice for the Cost del Sol. Nerja is a town that he considers to be less overbuilt than others, but there has been news of poor water quality there, which you would find by searching for Nerja in the box above.

Do you not have this backwards? Do you not want to be somewhere of value or interest rather than choosing an accommodation first? Not that I can help much with accommodation, local areas maybe, but the Costa is a near 200 kms. long. What do you want to do or accomplish in this 5 days? And if anything more than lay on a beach or beside a swimming pool, how will you or want to transport yourselves?

We are renting a vehicle, so transportation is not an issue. We do not wish to stay in the over crowded centres of Malaga or Marbella. We were looking for similar areas as Nerja or Torrox. From there we would do day trips to Granada etc. There are numerous sites to find accommodations. I was just looking for suggestions if anyone has ever rented in that area. Hope that was clearer Neil

We use the area just west of malaga to base from for traveling throughout the region on day trips (we also rent a car). However, we have a condo so cannot help with the request except to say when we rent apts (often) we pay close attention to recommendations made by folks visiting the apts. We prioritize how many folks have made a recommendation (above 30 is good), most recent recommendations and indication of the nationalities making the recommendations. We always email the landlord and prefer to stay in apts where the owner is managing the apt. Our prime questions are focused on establishing our expectations and provide the landlord an opportunity to affirm/deny our expectations. We focus upon functionality, supply of hot water, how effective is the AC and how much street noise is prevalent. We strive to stay in third floor or above units, prefer a terrace and are willing to take a unit facing a courtyard. While a lift is helpful, we pack light so not required. We have excellent stays as a result of setting expectations. We always negotiate from the requested price and pay in cash. Also, we strive to stay outside of main tourist areas, but near a metro station. For example in Madrid we always stay in the Latino district which is just south of plaza mayor.

Thanks for the tips. I am slightly nervous about negotiating a better price. We are relatively new to renting vacation homes and have always paid the listed price. Successful negotiations would depend on the time of year, location and payment type. How much of a discount would you negotiate for if paying in cash?