Riu Hotel Luca Costa Lago

Just returned (August 2011), the hotel is good, easy access to beach, very good food and plenty of it ( if you go all inclusive!). The hotel is very clean and the reception staff very helpful. It was busy as we went at peak season with our children, not always enough sunbeds. But for the money we can't complain. It not to far from Malaga airport. The Thompson rep was lovely and really helpful.

1 reader found this review helpful

Went with my husband and 2 kids ages 11 & 10, we all had a great time, lots of food and drink infact we all got fed up of eating in the end. Entertainment was abit rubbish but we spend the evening playing cards on the terrace, pool and ping pong entertained the kids on an evening. Rooms were cleaned everyday and maid were friendly as were most of the staff. Christina the rep was very friendly and went out of her way to help you.We got family tickets off her for the Aqua Park and crocodile park which turned out cheaper. Lots of sun beds even if you turned up late always managed to get one. Pool wasnt as big as it seemed in the brochure but still good.Beautiful walks along the sea front in Torremolinos, we found crazy golf and rides. An English pub which showed the rugby, much to my husbands delight. My only down side was the air con was pants it only worked in certain rooms
so take hand fans haha

14 readers found this review helpful

Booked as a short winter break with my partner. Excellent value for money, we only paid £220 for both of us for 3 nights all inclusive and had our monies worth easily. The hotel was very clean, staff helpful and friendly (look out for Domingo in the bar - excellent service with a smile),good rooms, good food, even the weather was better than expected for december. Resort and hotel would probably be too busy for my liking in summer but in winter it was a delight.

5 readers found this review helpful

Paid £1600 for 2 people for 10 nights all inclusive...totally overpriced. The food was very much hit and miss. One night the food would be ok, fried chicken or roast pork, and the next it would be inedible, reformed meat with big chunks of bone in it that would make economy food look positively luxurious. We ended up eating out most nights and spent a fortune. The 'snacks' consisted of a bowl of apples or a basket of tasteless croissants from breakfast. The drinks tasted watered down but the measures on the liqures were generous.
Didn't have children with us so cannot comment on the activities although there seemed to be a good selection. The evening entertainment was good...flemenco dancing, bird show, reptile show etc.
Hotel in a good area, close to the train station where you can visit Malaga, Fuengirola, Benalmedina, Puerto Banus etc. There is a travel agents on the street where you can hire a car or book a day trip. I would recommend the trip to Ronda. Nerja also has some great caves.
The air conditioning was broken and the room was unbearably hot. We told reception on the Friday who told us they would send maintenance to look at it. On Monday morning at 3am I could not sleep at all due to the heat so I rang reception and was assured that maintenance would come the next day. The next day there was no sign of maintenance....turned out nobody had written the complaint on the maintenance sheet. Eventually they sent someone to change the filter, which worked for a couple of days but broke again and started pumping hot air again.
The staff are friendly and speak English well.
All in all the hotel was average at best but it is definately only for a cheap and cheerful holiday...do not pay a lot of money as you will not feel it is worth it.

16 readers found this review helpful

We had read reports about the hotel, good and bad, but as it was a last minute one, and 4star, close to beach, airport etc. thought we would take a chance. Also very good price for All Inclusive.
Well, we cannot believe so many bad reports about it. Spotlessly clean, which many other guests mentioned. Five minutes walk from beach/promenade. Several mornings walked along the promenade to Benalmadena, so great to feel the sun on you - and the temperatures reached 20 some days.
Food - we found so much choice, something for everyone, it was hard not to go up several times. Freshly cooked chips for anyone who really could not find anything else to eat, but there was plenty of choice - fish most nights with a different type of sauce, which we loved, but also usually two different types of meat, pork or chicken freshly cooked. Some nights mussels and whole prawns. Fresh soup - 2 choices and a huge salad table. We decided not to each lunch time as well, too much choice!
Train station 10 minutes away, to catch efficient clean train to Benalmadena, Fuengirola or Malaga.
Does get busy with Spanish people at weekends, and then quiet again on the Monday! There is a lovely sun terrace with seating outside the bar and places for sunbeds on two different levels.
We found all the staff to be friendly and helpful. Safe boxes free, with 10 euro deposit, which was returned at end of holiday.
Entertainment probably a bit basic for 4-star but rather nice to sit in bar with just the music and able to chat to other guests. The modern flamenco show was well worth watching.
All in all a great holiday, and would definitely visit that hotel again. We did not want to be in the middle of everything, and like walking, and yet to be close to transport if required.

*Good*
- Well. when we got to the hotel which was about a 5 minute drive from the local airport the staff couldn't do enough to help us!
- The rooms were nicely done up and there were only 4 floors so it wasn't a trek getting up or down.
- The pool was all at one level. Nice and deep. Not really suitable for children but there was a small pool for the children to play in which had floats to play with.
- It was very close to the beach and if you wanted to go to the town it was about a 5 minute walk.
- The staff at the hotel were very nice and always wanted to help you.
*Bad*
- The food in the hotel was TERRIBLE all that was served each night was Fish. We went for 10 days and all that was on offer for lunch and tea each night was fish.
- Even though we were all inclusive we couldn't get ice cream free. We had to Pay. And it wasn't cheap. About 2 Euros per ice cream
- At night you couldn't get much sleep. There were 2 reasons for this:
1. The beds were very uncomfortable
2. There was lots of noise on the corridor and out near the pool
- At the weekend the Spanish people checked in. There were about 30 Spanish people who checked in. They took over the pool, they were noisy and wouldn't do what the staff told them to.
- In the day there was NO entertainment for the children which meant the adults had to occupy them. At night there was limited entertainment such as a parrot show.
- When we were looking at the hotel it said there would be a Gym. When I went to look around for this gym nothing was there.
Rooms - 9/10
Food - 3/10
Entertainment - 2/10
Pool - 8/10
Staff - 9/10
Hotel Overall - 5/10

This was I and my girlfriend's first holiday away together (also away from parents) and there was a number of highlights and lowlights.
We found that the short transfer from the airport was great, although this could be said about any hotel in Torremolinos!
We were promptly given a safety deposit box for 10EUROS which was refunded to us upon departure.
Like many of the other reviews below we found that the entertainment was poor - a bit phoenix nightish and definitely not aimed to our age group!
We also found that the food was a bit repetitive; we found that we were having to have chips frequently to 'fill our plates.’ We found that the deserts were the worst from being repetitive - jelly / ice cream / mushy stuff.
The rice was frequently undercooked and crunchy - is this the Spanish way of cooking? The scrambled egg was vile. It was a bit hit and miss with the food some nights it would be great and other nights it would be dire.
We did not see a waiter service as mentioned in the other reviews other this could have been part of ignorance towards our age - a mature 19. One of the barman also needed persuasion to serve me beer and tried to make return to my room to get my passport, strange custom as you can serve yourself outside and most of Spain seems to start their 'bad habits' at a much younger age!
The maid service was faultless.
The beds were a bit too hard however and the cushions were too soft which at times meant you felt like you were sleeping on the floor.
We also went on an excursion with Thomas Cook to Puerto Banus which was a good experience though for 2 students with barely enough cash to go away in the first place, it was a pain however being the first to be picked up and having to wait for everyone to get on the coach and for all the late ones.

3 readers found this review helpful

Costa Lago is an excellent hotel.
Rooms were spotlessly clean, swimming pool and surrounds were also kept clean, pool was overseen by lifeguard, children’s pool and a deep enough pool for adults.
The snack bar and drinks were self service during the day for AI. I found the meals great, and getting a coffee pot at breakfast that holds six cups was handy it did not make you look a glutton going for the second cup.
Breakfast was the usual toast cheeses, ham, fruit, cereals, eggs (hard &fried) then you had bacon and sausage that was slightly different to our own, but very good. In May the restaurant was not crowded.
Staff were very helpful all of them spoke English and about six other languages. At the Hotel there was a mixture of Spanish, Germans, Dutch, French, A good crowd having fun and no idiots causing bother.
Outside the hotel is the bus stop that takes you into Torremolinos centre for one Euro ten centimes it is about a mile, to a mile and a half away.
If you want to go to anywhere along the Malaga -Fuengirola railway route there is a station La Colina about 10mins from the hotel out the door turn right up the hill for five mins turn right at the roundabout another 5mins and your there, the trains are every half hour and always on time.
But leave a few mins early, it’s a tickets machine and you can get people making a queue with not being used to working it.
Close to the hotel is the beach, restaurants, bars, Taxi rank Chemist. Thomas Cook Rep was pleasant and very helpful.
We had a wonderful holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

Booked to stop at the Costa Lago for ten nights during May 2007 for myself and my wife, a quick getaway. The hotel is classed as a four star but I would put it more at a three. On the whole, the stay was enjoyable but there were down points.
The hotel itself is located in fantastic surroundings which are well kept and clean. There are plenty of bars and restaurants nearby the hotel if you do want to have a wander out and about of a low key nature.
The hotel is in the quieter part of town and around a thirty minute walk from the town centre. If you are looking for the more upbeat bars, then Benalmadena is around a fifty minute walk along the sea front which is a very nice stroll.
Unfortunately the food and drink at this place certainly let the hotel down. It seemed that the chef only knew how to cook very tasteless fish, pork or chicken if you were lucky.
Food was served buffet style with everyday being the same old same old. After seven days of eating the dross served, I was ill and could not even handle the smell of the restaurant. This along with a foriegn body being found in scrambled egg one morning by my wife, resulted in us eating out after this.
Couldn't fault the waiters though, very friendly and helpful. Pity they could not do anything about the food.
If you book to go to this hotel half board then the standard of the drinks served is much higher than those for the all inclusive guest's and also has a waiter service. Cocktails for the half board guests would be served with all the trimmings and would be made in front of you.
Those for the all inclusive guests however were poured behind the scenes at the back of the bar and a Pina calado which was ordered by my wife can only be described as bile. Again very disappointing.
The bar area at the pool side along with the pool were very nice and clean The only thing that let it down were again, the facilities for the all inclusive guests. All Inclusive drinks are served from a separate self service bar area, with shorts being served from the main pool bar.
Unfortunately the only unclean area of the pool area was this all inclusive bar area with a very strong smell of what can be described as vomit coming from it, due to stale beer being left around the pumps etc which had not been cleaned properly. Snacks at the pool side bar were again in favour of half board guests.
The snack bar for those all inclusive consisted of cooked meats and cheese with bread rolls and a cake. However, after seeing the local sparrow population also pecking and helping themselves to it, this area along with the all inclusive pool bar was avoided by me.
Can't fault the staff at the hotel though who were very friendly. Reception staff were helpful and hard working. Rooms were very comfortable and clean and the maid service was second to none.
If this place got its act together on its food and drinks policy then it would be a very nice hotel. Unfortunately until this happens, I will not be visiting again.

1 reader found this review helpful

The hotel should not be a 4 star, as the rooms are fair size the fittings are old and in poor repair. The hot water runs out at peak times and the a/c is very noisy. The food and staff are average, there was little change in the menu, from day to day. Only the carvery choice altered.
On the plus side the grounds are lovely, and well maintained. Bar is ok but the loo is two flights of stairs and 100mtrs away. It was quicker to go back to our room than the public area loos. Entertainment poor and predictable overall we enjoyed our stay at the luca, but was disappointed with the 4 star rating.
Also we paid sixty pounds extra for a room upgrade but when we checked out the other rooms there was no difference we are not saying avoid this hotel as it has its good points just don’t expect it to be four star because its not.