Iberostar Waves Málaga Playa

“A great family homiday! We hope to return. ”

A really great holiday (all inclusive) for my husband & I and our 2 children. The hotel is clean and spacious, and the pool is beautiful. As others have said, there are quite strict rules re jumping and inflatables but personally this makes it feel very safe and allows people to use the pool prop... more

A really great holiday (all inclusive) for my husband & I and our 2 children. The hotel is clean and spacious, and the pool is beautiful. As others have said, there are quite strict rules re jumping and inflatables but personally this makes it feel very safe and allows people to use the pool properly for swimming and enjoying yourself. Entertainment staff are all BRILLIANT! Brilliant shows/entertainment every evening and great kids club in the day (set times) with a huge range of activities. All the staff work really hard and are very welcoming and very friendly. Food at the buffet is fresh and really delicious, plus there is a snack bar buffet so you will never be hungry. The beach is a short walk across the promenade. It has grey sand but otherwise really lovely. Lots of Spanish visit the beach! Overall a really great holiday!

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“Iberostar vs RIU”

This was a lovely hotel with plenty of lively goings on with a clean and well maintained site. The food is outstanding as the themed cuisines are extremely well put together. Our favourite was the sea food buffet with crabs, lobsters and plenty of prawns and muscles. We went half board and felt i... more

This was a lovely hotel with plenty of lively goings on with a clean and well maintained site. The food is outstanding as the themed cuisines are extremely well put together. Our favourite was the sea food buffet with crabs, lobsters and plenty of prawns and muscles. We went half board and felt it suited our needs. The entertainment team try very hard and Fran and Denise were the best for getting the atmosphere charged. I liked the location but the beach was not a free part of the resort. Generally we go to a RIU branded hotel and Iberostar is very much on a level footing but we were not happy having to pay extra for the use of the room safe and a deposit for towels was required - this is not how RIU operate. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the relaxing holiday - it is very family orientated and if you want more quiet then I would choose an adults only hotel. The pool is the hub and all the action takes place there throughout the day. Our holiday was centred around visiting the Alhambra in Grenada and this was a great resort for the rest of the time. Well worth a stay.

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“Lovely Hotel, comfortable, clean and friendly”

Lovely hotel for families with young children. Hotel was immaculately decorated and clean. Pool is huge but then it’s shared by everyone. Adults aswell as kids. Sun lounges are a massive issue when it comes to wanting to lay on one. We had to get up at the crack of dawn in order to guarantee sun ... more

Lovely hotel for families with young children. Hotel was immaculately decorated and clean. Pool is huge but then it’s shared by everyone. Adults aswell as kids. Sun lounges are a massive issue when it comes to wanting to lay on one. We had to get up at the crack of dawn in order to guarantee sun lounges for myself, partner and daughter. I do think that the hotel needs to look at this issue. Most days we had to leave the complex and venture elsewhere due to the fact of there being no outside seats. The rooms were very clean, spacious and extremely comfortable. Air conditioning was a godsend! Safe in room costing €3 per day. Mini fridge which comes in handy for water, soft drinks and alcohol was an added bonus. Balcony was okay. The view we had was of a different hotel and pool. I wish i had upgraded to sea view now. Food at hotel was probably one of the best experiences I’ve ever had when travelling abroad. We were half board. Breakfast was perfect, everything you could ask for and need. Highly recommend the freshly cooked omelets. Juices and coffees are included. Dinner was delicious too! With plenty of dish choices for all. Each night had different country dishes theme, so lots of choices available for everyone. Staff were very efficient, helpful and friendly. That goes for everybody working at Iberostar. Wasn’t to impressed with what was outside hotel. It was okay but we stayed in alot better. We found that several restaurants along seafront wasn’t that friendly. Almost felt like tourists wasn’t welcome. However we did find one nice restaurant just off promenade and food was delicious. The beach wasn’t great. Man made beach and just few stones to walk over to get into the sea. Cost for sun lounges on beach were €6 each. There’s bus station just up road from outside front of hotel to your right. Ask receptionist at hotel for QR code to look at timetables before going to bus station. There’s also taxis at this bus station too. Taxi to Nerja was around €13 and took around 10mins. Bus was alot cheaper. There’s supermarket just across the road which comes in really handy if you’re not all inclusive. The splash park at hotel is suitable for children ages 10 and under I would say. My daughter is 12 and she was too grown up for this. Plenty of activities around pool all day for everyone who wishes to take part. Also bare in mind if you want extra pillows for your room they cost €7 each. The app is worth downloading on arrival. The Wi-Fi around hotel was amazing! Tv in room didn’t have a lot of choice of channels. But we wasn’t bothered by this because the weather was too good to miss and was out in it every day. Overall if this hotel was moved to better location, then this holiday could have been far better for us. But in saying that we did have a great time! Sun lounges thieves need to be dealt with though. As this was really annoying daily and everyone was talking about this. Thieves including..

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“Good and bad points”

Immaculate hotel. Lovely staff, food good. Meal times where very chaotic, far too many people in dining room, young children putting food on plates, spilling some on floor, and not getting swept up often enough.. accident waiting to happen. Large groups of guests hanging about a small foyer outsi... more

Immaculate hotel. Lovely staff, food good. Meal times where very chaotic, far too many people in dining room, young children putting food on plates, spilling some on floor, and not getting swept up often enough.. accident waiting to happen. Large groups of guests hanging about a small foyer outside dining room waiting to get in, whilst people from the pool etc have to weave their way through them to get to their rooms, carrying inflatables etc. The prom outside of hotel was ok, but it’s just a row of eateries with plastic chairs and tables, not very enticing if you are looking to get a glass or two of wine. Basically the hotel is great if you have children, but if you don’t, then it is impossible to find a small area to have a quiet drink. The terrace doesn’t have a no smoking area, so if you want to sit outside after dinner with a coffee/drink and are a non smoker then best to avoid, unless you don’t mind the smoke. We ended up having to sit on our balcony every night. These points could easily be addressed and accommodate everyone. This hotel is not for us, but if you do go then I hope you have a great time. Oh and the beach is extremely busy with the locals so can’t escape there either lol

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