This was our first time to Torremolinos and were a bit worried about the 70's image it portrayed. Well I have to say we were pleasantly surprised.
The Hotel Don Marco is one of three Hotels in a complex. The Hotel was beautiful. The room not huge, but perfectly adequate and had all mod cons in the bathroom with bath and large separate shower. I was a bit concerned about the position of our room as it looked out onto the Hotels swimming pool terrace, however the advantage of being able to just walk to the end of the corridor and to the pool was brilliant.
The restaurant was always busy but after a couple of days we made sure we chose the quieter times. Good selection from the buffet including an Italian counter which was nice- after the meal we liked to walk outside to one of the other many pools and have coffee or drinks from the poolside bar and listen to the entertainment .
Loads of other pools/ entertainment you could go to attached to the other two Hotels so never got boored.
The position was ideal as it was close to the beach bars, but set back enough not to be too noisy.
Overall would definately go back.

Stayed for 10 days. Room clean and adequate - could have done with more English channels on the TV for when the weather was cloudy. But we spent most of the time on sun beds next to one of the 9 pools in the complex - not crowded, and very relaxing. It seeems that the other hotels in the complex were more lively - the San marco was quiet, which is what we wanted.
The food was fine, and we endorse the comments about the dinner food being btter when they have a gala evening. There is a good range of dishes, but better labelling would be an idea - a label just saying "pork" could refer to roast pork, meatballs, casserole or liver. Towards the end of our stay the dinners got a bit "samey" and we decided that we would opt for B&B if we go back again..
A good variety at breakfast - but why when they are in Spain do they have to have powdered and reconstituted orange juice? Coffee and tea pots would have been useful, rather than small cups which have to be refilled at a machine.
We travelled with Cosmos and chose to have a private taxi transfer from the airport, and one returning - the arrangements worked perfectly. Except that it meant we had no contact whatsoever with Cosmos reps, who do not seem to have a presence at the San Marco - but we didn't need them. No invite to any welcome party, but these are really excuses to sell expensive trips. There is a travel agent a minute's walk from the hotel, with reasonable prices.
Pleasantly surprised by Torremlinos, and we would stay at the San Marco again..

We stayed in Sol Don Marco in mid-September for a week. It was my third time and my friend’s second time at this hotel and we have always been very happy with it so our hopes were high. Reception wasn’t particularly friendly or welcoming; the lady at the reception struggled with her English and didn’t understand all our questions. We had two separate bookings because we used our Mas rewards points for free nights and this resulted to be really complicated during our holiday. Practically we had to check in twice though the reception lady didn’t inform us on this upon arrival.

We had asked for a room with a partial sea-view but this didn’t work out although the hotel didn’t seem to be fully-booked. Also the air conditioning in our room was the most inefficient we’ve ever had. We asked for the repairman to check it but it didn’t help at all, the air conditioning offered just a warm breeze. The room was too hot (temperature being 28-30 degrees Celsius) and this is not acceptable for a 4-star hotel. Windows are open everywhere (in rooms upon arrival, corridors etc.) so I think the air conditioning problem is well acknowledged. Fixing the air conditioning would anyway be much nicer than seeing cockroaches and other bugs in corridors. Shower and magnifying mirror were broken (nothing happened although the maid saw it every day). There was also a lack of storage space and all in all we think that there’s a need of renovation of the rooms to keep up with the other hotels nearby.

Don Marco used to have the best service throughout the hotel, but this time we also had very rude service. For example on night when we had our dinner in Don Pablo restaurant we weren’t guided to the table but when we sat down, a waiter came and made us feel very unwelcomed. He kept asking about a white card and when we showed it to him, he started loudly speaking Spanish to the person who had checked our room number upon arrival to the restaurant. As these two people spoke, the waiter called us “niñas” (we both are over 30 years old). Their communication was like we didn’t exist there although we spoke Spanish with him. We never got to know what was the problem, did we sit in the wrong table or were we just wrong age category in the hotel. Older people get excellent service in this hotel, this I got to experience last January when I travelled with my parents. It’s really sad if younger ones are not welcome, however smiley and polite they are themselves.

It was also disappointing to see how forks fallen on the floor were just picked up and put in the same box with the clean ones in Don Pablo restaurant. We tried the Don Marco restaurant and the service was so good there, especially the tall dark waiter was like made for the job! Always smiling and being friendly. Some younger waiters in Don Pablo restaurant were nice too and very efficient.

We still think that Don Marco is a good choice in Torremolinos but that is mostly due to its location right by the beach and not far from the center of the town and train station. The pool area is nice and you can choose between various pools. Food is excellent compared to other half board hotels in Spain and the variety is impressive at dinner although there are remarkable differences between the two restaurants in the hotel complex. Sadly this time we felt like we should be 30 years older to be given equal service to most of the other guests.

We visited Sol Don Pablo last April, and thought that we would like to try the Marco later in the year for a week. From the professional photos,the hotel pool appears to be at the same side as the reception. With this in mind, we requested a room overlooking the pool. On arrival, we realised that the pool in the photo, is actually the Pedro's pool. We had our requests satisfied,ie. overlooking the pool,but the Marco's pool is at the other side,and not shown on the photos. No complaints, because we were expecting to be able to get the afternoon sun,but as it happened, it would have been too hot to sit on the balcony.
Regarding the hotel,very good and clean. More modern than the Pablo. We again, have the same comments regarding the evening meals. When it is a special theme night, the food is excellent. Other nights, it is ok. Always a good choice, and sufficient to satisfy your hunger, but it certainly wasn't the highlight of the day. Still worth the half board cost, as there is not a lot of difference between bed and breakfast.
The room we were allocated overlooked the pool at the far side, and we were able to see the sea as well. The room was actually adapted for the disabled, and this meant a smaller balcony. Still, table and two chairs, but a bit tight. Individual a/c,but both the a/c and mini bar require one of the cards to be left in the slot,otherwise they don't work.
Mercodonna supermarket,close by,on back street.Generally, a lot cheaper than those on the front.
Overall, no complaints, and would have no problem recommending this Sol complex. Very handy for the beach as well.