Riu Monica Hotel Nerja

Just returned from a weeks Holiday to NERJA, near Malaga,Spain. Booked with Thomsons.Hotel was Great! The Rooms were Clean, spacious and comfortable. The Food was excellent, a Buffet Breakfast with both a variety of Hot and Cold items,served from 0800-1015 am. Dinner was also a Buffet, with an excellent "Salad Bar" and a variety of Hot Dishes available. The Staff were pleasant and helpful.The Location of the Hotel was superb,right on the Beach and only a 10 min walk to the popular area "THE BALCON DE EUROPA" where there are many Bars, Restaurants,Shops, Horse and Carriage rides! We enjoyed our Holiday very much and would recommend the trip to FRIGILIANA a small pretty, quaint village with white-washed walls and plant pots! It is only a 10 min ride away by Air-Conditioned coach and only 93 cents/ 60p each way. A delightful place and lovely local restaurants. The RUI MONICA HOTEL was a Fantastic place, ideally situated, the Beach was fine gravel and Sand and well maintained. Sadly, the only Negative aspect of our stay and that of many other guests was the "Race for a SUNBED"!! Each morning!! If you weren't down by the POOL area by 7am-8am you had NO CHANCE!!! Unfortunately, some very SELFISH people "RESERVED" SUNBEDS early in the morning, but did not use them most of the day and came back to them as late as 2pm or later!! This meant that Familys with Children or other Guests wishing to use the Pool area in the Morning were without a Sunbed or forced into the Shade!! The Hotel has tried everything it says, to try and STOP this!! BUT, has not managed to Solve this problem. Apart from the Daily Scramble for a Sunbed,we had a GREAT holiday and enjoyed the RUI MONICA HOTEL! We would very much Recommend it to anyone!

Second visit to this great Hotel (last time 2003). The Kids loved the Mini-Disco. Food great room big enough for three beds and cot. Full sea-view.

Have just got back from a wonderful hoilday at this hotel. The staff were really nice and helpful, the rooms very clean and the food great. Can't fault anything really. The evening entertainment was low key but ok. I would definitely go back. The hotel isn't far from the main town, about an 8 minute walk. The beaches near the main town are better than the one outside the hotel. Nerja is very nice and quite Spanish unlike a lot of the other resorts in the Costas.

Never before have I bothered to write a review of a hotel, but this place was so nice that I feel compelled to do so! There is nothing negative to say about this hotel, its staff or its location. We booked a family room, 2 adults plus 16 year old daughter, 3 full sized beds and plenty of room so that was a good start. Hotel has been refurbished in the last 18 months or so. Food freshly prepared with a great choice and plenty of options over our 2 weeks there (you need to choose your restaurant 'sittings' be warned 7pm or 8.45pm. Breakfast was again an endless choice - you can go anytime! Staff excellent, happy and helpful and management always 'around'. Location nice - 10 or 15 mins walk to the old town but plenty of (quiet) bars and restaurants in the immediate area. Recommended - simple as that. PS Set your alarm clock as you'll need to be up at around 8.30 am to book your spot by the pool!

Anyone who says they didnt have a great holiday at the Monica must have stayed at a different Monica to us! This place is fantastic. We have just spent 2 weeks here at the begining of July and they were the best 2 weeks I have ever spent on a holiday. We booked this hotel direct from the Riu website and flights independantly and saved a packet compared to a package holiday. From the word go the staff were excelent, friendly (especially Paco & Amailia) and very professional. Our room was great, on the 6th floor, with a fantastic view of the sea. I have been going to Nerja for holidays for 5 years now and I know where all the best bars and restaurants are, but after our first meal in the hotel restaurant, we didnt bother eating out in Nerja town. We still went out a few nights around Nerja and to the beach at Burriana a few times. It was my birthday while on holiday and I was suprised with a bottle of Champers with my evening meal! (Well Cava) I wish I could of stayed for a 3rd week. I WILL be going back to the Riu Hotel Monica. (Hopefully for Christmas) Nerja is a wonderfull place and so is this Hotel!

The only tip I would give anybody is to request a room other than an odd number on the first floor. We had room 139 and our view was of the roof of the restaurant complete with extractor funnels! As for a seaview, we could see the horizon and little else. As it is we tend to spend little time on balconies anyway, but it would have been nicer with a better view. Still enjoyed what is an nice hotel. Had no problems with food, staff, pool areas etc. The Monica is in a great position, on the beach not far from the resort centre, the Balcon de Europa. We found Nerja a quiet, pleasant place, as compared to other places on the Costa del Sol.

Just back after having a fab week at this hotel, the staff couldn't do enough to help. The rooms are big and very clean, the pool area is lovely and spotles. The dining area is lovely with a great choice of food to suit everyones taste. The area is just lovely with some lovely shops and restraunts. I would go back to this hotel in the morning.............

Stayed here late August Last year sorry its took so long to review, we had a great experience here the hotel was clean spacious and in a great location. the staff were very helpful and the food was good we chose the second sitting it was a bit less hectic than the first. there was lots of coice and most of it was cooked fresh,. Our room was on the 5th floor and quite a good size for a family of 3 the extra bed was a proper bed. had a great time Nerja is a fab place and the monica is a great place to stay.

The Riu Monica is an excellent hotel. The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, the rooms are huge, the food is great and it's right on the beach. However, I've been twice now and noticed a real difference depending on the time of year. If you go in high season it's full of families and kids but out of season most of the guests are quite elderly which gives it a very different feel. Nerja itself is a lovely town, not spoiled like most of the other Costa del Sol resorts, but again it's pretty quiet out of season.

We flew from Gatwick with BA about mid-day and had booked a taxi on line with Malagataxis to the hotel. The vehicle was large and comfortable and the driver efficient. He even turned up ten minutes early for the return trip. We paid £40+ each way. We can recommend this taxi firm. Although the scenery was fairly attractive this was only due to the mountains and valleys. The over-development of high-rise apartments and ugly architecture on the coast side of the road were not expected to be so profuse for miles. However, Nerja itself, although large, was not so bad and in fact has an old part of town where the back streets are traditional and attractive with wrought iron balconies, tiled walls etc. The Monica Hotel is very large but beautifully appointed. We were greeted with a smile and the offer of juice or champers. The room was on the 4th floor and there are three lifts. The room was large with a good balcony with views of the sea, the pool and the mountains. The guests were mostly British on a Thomson holiday package or German. The restaurant is well laid out. The manager escorts you to your table which you keep for the whole stay but we requested a table by the window with a seaview which we were given on day three. There is a very good choice of food both hot and cold. The only problem was that dinner is at 7pm or 9pm and because everyone arrives at those times, the queues are slightly annoying, especially from 7 - 7.30pm. The lift goes down to "-1" floor which leads to an exit door to lots of steps down to the pool and beach but there is another lift the other side of the floor where "-3" takes you straight out to the pool. Many guests were not aware of this other lift facility and complained about all the steps. Padded covers for the sunbeds,umbrellas and towels are provided from 9 am and it is a fact, as years ago, that people rush to claim their beds and then go to breakfast so you're compelled to join in or go without. I think that the hotel should not allow this habit. Unfortunately three days were very windy and the umbrellas had to be removed. The waves were too high for swimming so we watched the locals surfing. One has to pay for beds etc on the beach. Some evenings the entertainment was good. Overall this 4 star hotel is good value for money.