This web site give some hotels near the airport click here

To be honest the choice of hotels in Torremolinos and at various and reasonable prices is probably as good as you would ever need. In the car you can be at the airport easily within 15 minutes and also gives you the opportunity the night before for a nice walk and perhaps a meal along the beach front. I use Torremolinos a lot before catcing an early departure from Malaga.

Los Alamos hotel is closer to the airport by a few minutes and has been used by friends for a night...but it is a quiet area.

Nivsy

Thanks for your replies. We shall be arriving in the evening, and to be honest just want a bed for the night, and somewhere that we DONT get lost I am just one of these worriers that we dont get to the airport in time... when we returned to Lisbon after a holiday in Portugal, we couldnt find the correct entrance to the airport, as there is an arrivals and departure terminal, then we couldnt find where to take the car back to - extremely stressful

Of course we could leave Benalup mid afternoon and travel to Malaga and make a night of it... I may just leave it till we arrive, and we can suss out the situation when we arrive, see how accessible everything is, then book online when we are over there, or leave around 6am on the morning of the flight.

Holiday Inn have announced their 122-bedroom hotel - the first at Malaga Airport - will open in April, which will be a godsend for those travellers arriving on late flights and have no wish for onward travel, or those with early-morning departures.

Indeed the holiday inn will be most welcome. The airport at Malaga will soon not be recognisable with all the activity going on - dare I say shame in a way (little way) - I kinda liked it the way it was 3 years ago or so. All good wee things must come to an end I guess.

Nivsy

Excellent, never heard about the holiday inn... hope it opens early April!

Tonyadams78

I have contacted the holiday inn a while back and never got a reply from them... have you heard anything else recently regarding this hotel?

Elle

Hi Elle. Only update I have heard is that the Holiday Inn is near the San Miguel factory, which you pass on the way in and out of the airport, and not as close to the main terminal as you might expect for a hotel claiming to be an AIRPORT hotel.
I will add any other snippets as I get them.

Just checked the Holiday Inn website and see its due to open on the 15 April... sadly too late for us! Shall have a look at the location of the Ibis.