EXCLUSIVE: Queue Costa Del! Frantic scramble for sunbeds at Spanish resorts as families queue for TWO HOURS at the crack of dawn to get a spot – sending their kids to the pool to beat older holidaymakers
The battle for sunbeds on the Costa del Sol is now so grueling that tired Britons are forced to lie on the floor as they queue for two hours or more from just after sunrise, MailOnline revealed today.
The tanning bed wars in southern Spain continue unabated during the summer holidays with some families even using their fitter and faster children to get to the pool ahead of older holidaymakers.
Exclusive photos show how some waited up to two hours for top spots at the four-star Estival Torrequebrada hotel, near Málaga, earlier this month.
A guest shared a photo of the line in front of the children’s pool, where a tired parent lay on the floor with his backpack for a pillow. Others were also seen on the ground with their inflatables.
A very British scene in the same hotel also depicted men and women long before the beach and pools opened to ensure they got the best spot – and most brought a chair and a good book to pass the time.
But one witness said that as soon as the gate opened each morning, “madness” ensued, with “people literally rushing in.” Some parents pushed their children forward to tear past older guests.
A TikTok user at another hotel in Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol laughed as he filmed the chaotic crowds on Saturday after the pool opened at 10am – with sunbathers swarming and pushing to grab sun loungers. He then turned right to reveal that the hotel’s rooftop terrace with “free bar” was completely deserted.
Another Twitter user showed the scene after ‘sunbed w***ers’, as he called them, sprinted to dump towels on sunbeds to reserve them before heading back to the restaurant en masse.
The two-hour queue for a children’s pool on the Costa del Sol with one man (bottom right) deciding to lie down
People queue for sun loungers at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada near Malaga – many brought chairs and a good book as they waited nearly two hours for the beach and pool to open
The sea of reserved sunbeds in southern Spain where everyone is having breakfast
The frenzied battle for sunbeds on the Costa del Sol
When the pool opened at 10 a.m., holidaymakers swarmed to their spot to grab a lounger, throw on a towel and head back to the hotel for breakfast
Amidst the chaos at the pool, Briton John Yates searched for the deserted rood screen
Charlotte Chartell told MailOnline that people lined up on chairs reading “because they’ve been there so long.” But she also concluded ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, after her initial shock that there were people queuing up every day to get a sun lounger.
Ms Chartell said: ‘There are two pools but only one for children so everyone wants to get as close to the slides as possible too. There are definitely not enough sun loungers for the number of guests in the hotel.
“But as soon as the lifeguard opens the gate, people literally run in, someone made their kids run ahead of the adults. It’s madness. I was there the week before the holiday started so god knows what it’s like now’.
Holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol have been spotted racing each other to get poolside loungers as soon as the campsites open.
Footage from the weekend shows a huge line of people in holiday clothes waiting in line to get the best beds.
It comes after tourists in Tenerife were labeled ‘sunbed warriors’ after being spotted in sun loungers at 6.30am – three and a half hours before the pool was due to open.
Footage from Benalmádena, Costa Del Sol shows hundreds of holidaymakers waiting outside the pool, then sprinting to the sunbeds as quickly as possible.
A tourist at the resort, Laury Mackie, told MailOnline, “The gates open at 10am and off they go.
“There is a clear strategy… look at the determination in the direction they are going. Watch the lifeguard and maintenance man clearly take the loot’.
Holidaymakers on the Costa Del Sol have been spotted racing each other to get poolside loungers as soon as the doors open
Footage in Benalmadena, Costa Del Sol, shows hundreds of holidaymakers waiting outside the pool, then sprinting for the sunbeds as soon as the doors open
Images show how a huge line of people in party clothes line up in the hope of getting the best beds
A man even seems to run and grab two lounge chairs from the corner of the area, put them on his back and carry them to his favorite spot.
“Then there’s the world’s strongest dad throwing two deckchairs over his shoulder,” Ms Mackie said.
“Funnily enough, most dads seem to be running in one direction… toward the self-serve beer.”
She added, “It’s hilarious to watch as we all calmly wait to stroll into the adult pool.
‘The kid’s pool reminded me of the parents’ race on a school sports day…absolutely hilarious! I’d say there were over 100 every morning, god knows when they set up camp.’
People at the front of the line seem more desperate to take their place and sprint ahead of the crowd, while those at the back seem more defeated.
Similarly, Spanish locals were sent out before dawn last week to lay out their towels at a prime spot on a Costa Blanca beach.
Even before the sun came up, the early risers in Torrevieja proudly planted their flags in the sand.
They started setting up at 5.30am, just after the cleaners had finished their night shift – while similar scenes also played out just over an hour away in the popular holiday destination of Benidorm.
A resident dug his parasol – the red and yellow of Spain’s national flag – into the sand and set up his lounger next to it before disappearing.
Another even planted a mini Spanish flag in the top of his parasol – and stood next to it with his arms folded as if defending his territory from foreign marauders.