Very nice indeed!
My wife and I stayed at the Rio Real for a week of relaxation during September 2011. Neither my wife or I play golf, however this did not spoil our break in any way, in fact it was nice to sit and watch the golfers teeing off (or whatever it is they do) while eating breakfast. The rooftop pool was mostly deserted so was nice to sit up there and enjoy the sun (watch out for badly hit golf ball though). We dined in the restaurant a couple of times and on each occassion the food was very well prepared and was splendid.
The hotel is a bit out of the way and I would recommend you hire a car (unless you're a serios golfer who doesn't get out much).

Myself and 3 friends took a short break lastvweek tobthe Rio Real golf hotel in Marbella.
It wasn't our first visit and I won't be our last.
The hotel (5km from Marbella) is sited on the Golf Course and is a small boutique style with about 30 designer rooms. Although not a good when opened 10 years ago, the rooms are splendid ( overlooking the course) and the staff very friendly & helpful.
The Clubhouse is also excellent and just a few paces from the Hotel. It too isn't as impressive as it once was but nonetheless still retains it's appeal.
The Course is maintained to a high standard with many very challenging holes.
I would recommend it highly not least because of it's close proximity to down town Marbella.

Nice and spacious rooms (incl. spacious bathroom) right on the golf course - it is tugged away in a home community not too far away from the highway yet due to its location (in between some lower hills), it is quiet and has views of the golf course. The service quality/speed in the bar/restaurant depends on the waiter - some are good, some are just slow and forgot your order.

We stayed at this hotel for 4 nights in September as required somewhere near Marbella for a wedding. You definatly need a car to get to this place, as the hotel is the opposite side of the golf course to the A-7 Motorway. However it is easy to get on the Motorway and then either into Marbella, around the bypass towards Puerto Banus or back towards Malaga. The hotel itself is great. We had a standard room (I think) which had larger than king size double bed, sofa, balcony, Bathroom with shower room, wc room (inc. bidet) and bath. Plus Molton Brown shampoos and gels. The restuarant has an a la carte breakfast option which was very nice and then pool (although small, as I guess most people come here for golf) was perfectly fine on a nice sun terrace. So if you want a nice quite hotel close enough to get to Marbella then I would recommend it.