Aproach to Torremolinos - easily done via a 30 minutes ride on the electric train from Málaga - is a rather depressing business. There're half a dozen beaches and stops, but its a drab, soulless landscape of kitchenette apartments and half-finished developments. In recent years, local council have been trying to give the resort a facelift, the main feature of which has been the construction of a new seafront promenade and the renovation of the old town, the narrow alleyways of which are not without charm. TORREMOLINOS, to its enduring credit, is certainly different: a vast, grotesque parody of a seaside resort, which in its own kitschy way is fascinating. This bizarre area, lined with sweeping beaches and infinite shooping arcades, crammed with Irish pubs and real-estate agents, has a large permanent expatriate population of British, Germans and Scandinavians. Its a weird mix, which, in additions to thousands of retire people, has attracted - due to a previous lack of extradition arrangements between Britain and Spain - an extraordinary concentration of British crooks and more recently Russian mafia bosses.
Torremolinos's social scene is strange, too, including middle-of-the-road family discos and much more disturbing venues. All in all it's an intriguing blend of the smart and the squalid, bargains and rip-offs.
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