The answer: drop your pin at a fixed landmark, not at the hotel name. In Malaga walk to Plaza de la Constitucion or the end of Calle Larios, then count the turns rather than trusting the blue dot - GPS drifts 20-40 metres inside the pedestrian grid and will happily point you into the wrong white alley. Save a photo route before you arrive: one photo of each corner from the landmark to your door, and you will not need to ask anyone.
Malaga's old town is almost entirely pedestrian, the street names are painted on walls instead of posts, and half the buildings share the same white facade and orange awning. If you have ever walked past your own hotel three times without seeing it, this guide is for you.
The Centro Historico is closed to most traffic between Calle Larios, the Alcazaba hill and the port. Buildings are three or four storeys, whitewashed, with near-identical balconies, and the street name plaques are mounted high on the wall, often hidden by awnings. Add narrow canyons between tall buildings and your phone's GPS loses accuracy: it places you 20-40 metres away, usually one block off, and it does not know which of two parallel alleys you are standing in.
Never start a walk from 'the hotel is 300 metres away'. Start from something unmistakable: the fountain in Plaza de la Constitucion, the north end of Calle Larios, the Plaza de la Merced obelisk, or the taxi drop-off on Alameda Principal. From a fixed landmark you can count: second left, straight past the pharmacy, third right. Counting works in Malaga; distance estimates do not.
Hotel signage in the old town is deliberately small - many boutique hotels are inside listed buildings and are not allowed big signs. Look for (1) a bronze plate beside the door, (2) the blue and white tourist accommodation sign, and (3) the street number painted at eye height next to the entrance, not above it. If you see the number run past 20, you are usually walking the odd side of the street backwards: Malaga numbers odd and even on opposite sides, and the direction of numbering is not always the way you approached.
Taxis can drop you on the edge of the pedestrian zone only, typically on Alameda Principal, Calle Molina Lario or near the Plaza de la Merced. Decide your drop-off point before you book, and check the walking leg from that exact point - that is usually 200-500 metres, which is exactly the part that goes wrong at 23:00 with luggage. This is the last stretch imhere is built for: photo-by-photo walking directions for Malaga show one real photo per turn, so you compare the picture with what is in front of you instead of watching a drifting dot.
1) Save the landmark you will start from. 2) Save a photo route from that landmark to the door. 3) Screenshot the route so it works with data off. 4) Note the hotel's street number, not just the name - two hotels on adjacent alleys can share a name pattern. 5) Tell your host your arrival time so the door is unlocked, since many old-town buildings have no reception after 20:00.