I've benn in the Hotell of Malaga Playa in july and really liked it. stayed with my family for 10 days. the most iliked is SPA and girls there are just great!!! One spanish and the other girl is not. so I and my wife spend in the lovely SPA a lot of time. Thanks !!!

After reading reviews I booked with some caution. However, the hotel is excellent, the staff do speak English, the food was very very good and the drinks list on the all inclusive was excellent. The location however may not be to everyone's taste particularly I suspect if choosing half board or room and breakfast. The beach in this area is dark sand and stone and the area is starting to look a bit tired, though the restaurants/ cafes / bars on the promenade look fine though the self catering appartment blocks are looking dated. I think I would stay in Nerja a 4 mile bus trip away. But on ther all uinclusive - marvelous and a good base from which to explore, that is, between meals and drinkies.

I have stayed at this hotel at least twice a year for the last 7 years, how disappointing to see that the Riu Standards had gone down since being takenover by Iberostar. The food was nice typical buffet sytle but ok, however if you chose not to have all inclusive you were left with no eating options during the day. The lovely pool side restaurant where we always dined during recent visits was no longer available for food unless you had taken the all inclusive option and you were then directed to the dining room. Not good for a hotel that claims to be 4 star. I made my booking in april this year for a mid oct holiday, the room was dark and dingy and we never saw daylight not even when the sun was at its highest, i specifically requested a double and got a tiny twin and i booked a 2 bed apartment for my adult children (3 ) and got a one bedroom, when i asked to be moved on both counts I was told there was no room. The following day I was offered a room change to a room exactly the same only on the other side of the hotel? We noticed debris left around the pool for days which probably explained the huge amounts of flys. I was so disappointed after 7 happy years there, a lot of the staff that had been there over the years had gone which seemed odd. I have been to Nerja and found new acomodation for next year, sorry iberostar but it wasnt a Riu

The Malaga Playa Iberostar is about 65 km from the train station in Malaga. There is a shuttle from the City to the hotel for about 20 euros per person if you have 4 or more people. The Buffet Breakfast was excellent and had a huge selection. On our last morning we had to leave before breakfast was served, but accomodations were made because there were some other guests that had to eat early also. It is right on the beach and there is a long walkway with several shops, restaruants and bars along it. The pool is huge and the garden area is very well maintained.This should have been a 4 star hotel and would be with a little better service and housekeeping.