Costa del Sol hotels prepare to celebrate New Years' Eve with gala dinners ranging between 225 and 1,250 euros per person

Preparations for the last dinner of the year in Spain are traditionally marked by a frenetic day at the fresh food markets and shops to acquire all the ingredients followed by feverish activity in every kitchen to prepare a good feast to enjoy with family and friends. As an alternative to this option, there is a growing trend to spend New Year's Eve away from home. Among the range of options, one of the preferred choices is to do so in hotels. These places have seen how demand grows every year for guests to book their farewell to the year. This year of 2024 is no exception and hotels in Malaga province have filled their restaurants for this special occasion with dining options ranging from 225 to 1,250 euros, depending on the menu offered and the category of the hotel.

Hotel managers consulted by SUR agree that more and more people are choosing to bid farewell to the year in their establishments and this is evident in the speed with which they tend to get fully booked the minute the bookings are advertised, despite the fact that prices have risen by between 10% and 15% compared to last year due to the increase in production costs.

As far as the dinners are concerned, in the case of the AC Hotel Málaga Palacio, 250 people will be seated in its dining rooms to sample the menu with which they will see out 2024. "On 2 November we put the tickets for this particular dinner on sale and in less than two weeks it was already sold out; by the middle of that month there was no more room", said the hotel's director, Jorge González.

As is traditional at this iconic hotel in the capital of the Costa del Sol, the New Year's Eve dinner will be themed and this year it will be dedicated to Asia and the main country will be China. It will be attended by guests whose profile is that of Malaga residents who have been enjoying New Year's Eve at AC Hotel Málaga Palacio for years - the 'regulars' - as well as diners from other Andalusian and Spanish provinces and, to a lesser extent, some international clientele. "These are families, groups of friends or couples," said González, who added that in his case one of the differentiating elements is that they require a black tie to attend as it is a 'cotillón' dinner dance event.

Also in the city, Only You Málaga's two restaurants offer different menus at the hotel. In the Carmen it will be 260 euros for up to 70 diners to enjoy, while in the Lola, at 350 euros per person, 110 people will be eating. According to the director of this five-star hotel, Pedro Echevarría, these are mainly hotel guests taking dinner as part of their stay - both nationals and foreigners - and a "relevant" percentage of Malaga residents who are regular customers and want to say goodbye to the year in a special way. Dinner is again followed by live music to fill the dance floor.

This year of 2024 has been a special year for the Marbella Club Hotel, located in one of the main tourist resorts in the province, as it celebrates its 70th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations will come to an end with a New Year's Eve dinner priced at 1,250 euros with a menu prepared by its executive chef, Santiago Guerrero, and with wine pairings selected by its sommelier Ángel González.

Guests at the Marbella Club Hotel will enjoy a dinner offering such delicacies as Ossetra caviar and king crab, blinis, sour cream and citrus, Escoffier consommé with 1866 brandy, glazed lobster with beurre blanc and amontillado sauce and beef tenderloin with Périgueux sauce and vegetables. For afters there is a creamy, two-chocolate dessert with cherry, mango and vanilla pearls, all washed down with Dom Pérignon champagne. After dinner and the New Year toasts there will be live music and a DJ.

In Fuengirola the El Higuerón hotel resort also dresses up in its finery to bid farewell to 2024. Its director, Mónica López, explained that around 400 guests will fill the hotel's 1,600 square metre hall to enjoy an evening that will begin with a cocktail reception at 8.30pm and end in the early hours of the morning.

The dinner, priced at 365 euros per person - the package with room costs 830 euros - will consist of a Michelin star style menu prepared by Diego Gallegos, the chef from the Sollo restaurant, and where the wines from the hotel's bodega will play a special role. López commented that this year there are numerous groups of friends from different parts of Andalucía who have chosen this resort to bid farewell to the year.

Guests will enjoy a welcome mix of nibbles to include monchi cheese (made with sheep's milk) with local Axarquia mango chutney, matured beef temaki with Riofrio caviar and red prawn ravioli with plankton emulsion, all washed down with Moët et Chandon Brut Imperial Rosé. Dinner will be served with wild tuna ceviche with tiger's milk (the citrusy marinade of the seafood mix, a Peruvian staple) and caviar, chilled cream of lobster soup, smoked eel, shellfish and pickles, turbot in spicy green sauce and trout roe, beef tournedos steak, purée of root veg, perigord sauce and truffle, dark chocolate, olive oil emulsion and hazelnut crunch and typical Christmas sweet treats accompanied by Ossian white wine (from Segovia), PSI Dominio de Pingus red wine (Ribera del Duero) and Moët et Chandon Vintage 2016.

Aehcos, the trade association for hoteliers along the Costa del Sol reported that 53.30% of the establishments open will organise parties to welcome in the new year. Hotels in this second part of the Christmas festivities have an occupancy rate of 80%, a similar figure to last year at the same time.