Iberostar Waves Málaga Playa

“Good value hotel”

We went on holiday to Iberostar Malaga Playa last summer, July 2024 and overall our experience with this hotel were great. We had the sea view room, quite tiny for 3 people however we were only sleeping there. The room was clean, the bedding changed on demand as well as towels. The food at the hote… more

We went on holiday to Iberostar Malaga Playa last summer, July 2024 and overall our experience with this hotel were great. We had the sea view room, quite tiny for 3 people however we were only sleeping there. The room was clean, the bedding changed on demand as well as towels. The food at the hotel is AMAZING, every day different cuisine incl sea food and even oysters, but bear in mind this is a huge hotel so there was a queue to the restaurant at the dinner time. At worst we were waiting about 15min to be seated. The only issue, if you have little kid please be very careful when eating a rabbit dishes as this is cut through the bones and some pieces could be found in the sauce, which could stuck in the throat. Also, you need to be aware that there is no water available in the evening with half board. We were told at the check in that we had to take the carafe from the roof and fill with the water from the drinking pit to bring with us for a dinner, however the is no communication between the reception and the restaurant manager, who advised he doesn't want to see any of room carafes on the table, and when I refused to pay for tap water, which you have for free everywhere in the hotel but no restaurant, he advised we will be served it along all our stay at the dinner time for no charge. So just please double check, as this is nonsense to pay for the tap water. Drinks at the pool bar are not different (means diluted) between all incl and pay for, and choices are poor, so don't bother to drink at the bar and just go few minutes by promenade - you have plenty of local bars with huge amount of drinks to choose from. Again only all incl have free tap water (and ice cubes) at the pool bar so please be vigilant. Staff are extremely friendly, plenty of entertainment which you be heard from the sea view room (balconies), which we loved. Even my teenage daughter felt ok with entertainment but of course, there are more facility for smaller kids, incl slide. The pool is huge but deep in the middle so if you less than 1.7m tall you need to swim not stand there ;) Few little shops in front of the hotel, however extremely pricy. There are little shopping centre, just few minutes walk, from the hotel to the right and bigger supermercado on the left from the front of the hotel. Bus could be easily taken from the town centre to Malaga - please choose the longer way which is on the cliff so you can enjoy the sea view. The big communal beach is in the front of the hotel where you can visit anytime (the sand in Torox Costa is black) with plenty of loungers and parasol available. You need to have the card to open the gate if you want to leave the hotel premises but during the day there is always someone from the hotel staff who sits there and open the gate for the guests. And big bow to Paulina, TUI rep, who was checking on us all the time and very helpful with all the info we needed. I would defo recommend this hotel and defo be back there, when in Spain again.

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“4 Stars for a 4* ”

We stayed here 5 nights in October, with our 6 years son, on an all inclusive plan, and here is a detail of services and what to expect. Reception and check in, was the most disappointing part of our stay, a pity considering it is where you expect any hotel to outperform itself. Welcomed by Anna,… more

We stayed here 5 nights in October, with our 6 years son, on an all inclusive plan, and here is a detail of services and what to expect. Reception and check in, was the most disappointing part of our stay, a pity considering it is where you expect any hotel to outperform itself. Welcomed by Anna, that didn't smile for a second during the 10mns we spent with her, we were told that the room we reserved via their pre assignment system has been given to other customers. So considering we booked with Iberostar because we could choose our room and have a surprise less stay, and we spent some time looking for the room that would make us happy during our stay, I am truly disappointed that this hotel did not keep it's commitment toward us, and use the 'operational reasons' as an excuse when the truth was that they simply handed the room to other guests.. So here, instead of staying in a room closest to the sea and kids club (286), with an exposition to the sun till sundown, they set us in the main building overseeing the terraces and overlooking the pools, and 0 sundown. Thanks for the start... For the rest the service is truly outstanding Food : the highlight is definitely the diner, the choice is wide and food is of rather high quality, albeit fish choices is limited, they often serve King prawns, prawns and Sirloins grilled for you, in addition of the wide salad bar, cheeses, paella pizza or pasta, at diner you ll never be left hungry. On the table you will find a code to scan to open their wine list, all in can access a large list of free wines, by the bottle or the glass as you like, don't hesitate to ask for advice, some of the waiters can help. Breakfast are great too, choice is super wide and of high quality too, juices are fresh and coffee bean based in automated machines, but not very good though. Service is outstanding in the dining hall, always smiling and helpful and professional, they take your plate away in a breeze, and will bring you whatever you might miss or need. Sure they expect a tip, but they are totally worth tipping and nicely, considering their level of competence and friendliness. Thru the day you can access the snack and bars, and ice cream fridges, nothing exciting here, coffee slightly better, food is either fried or industrial sausages, as for the drinks, cocktails are pre made, coming our of cubi bags, not good, but you can get as part of the all in, some good alcohols, Branded gins, Rhums, or whiskeys. The pool are is wide, and there is enough loungers even when the venue is full, like when we visited. As in many all inclusive, people tend to rush to the pool but after the b/fast time (9ish) to put towels around, anyway there is enough room. The pool itself is large enough to do laps and not be to bothered by the kids jumping around where water is more shallow. The indoor pool is heated and small, perhaps 10 M long by 5 wide, enough for kids to play in the water, not for adults to swim in when outside weather is poor. Access is free of charge. The kids club is well organised, it has a nice water park, that operates at the same times as the kids club, form 10h30 to 17h00, our son loved the events organised there several times a day, albeit a few were canceled because the pool was a bit fresher than they expected (wasn't bothering the kids though). Parking is pretty easy, there is a huge lot right by the hotel, free of charge, for 100s cars. Only limitation are Mondays, market day on that lot. So no need to pay for the hotel garage if you can find a spot outside. The room itself, 501, was a tat bigger than others, well designed with a small corridor and a door leading to the sleeping area, insuring all corridor noises to be isolated from the sleeping side of the room. Plenty of large closets in the hall and a very large bathroom with a tub and and a bidet too. If you want to have your sheets changed, you will need to put the card on the bed. Strangely once they changed only 1 bed linings out of the 3.. A minor fail, but still. Interestingly, they only offer twin beds, no queen or king beds in any of their rooms. The Iberostar app works good, clearly needed to keep track of the venue events. All in all an excellent 4* all inclusive, well served. Just that the bar drinks are weak, and reception too. Diners are their food highlight, so perhaps half pension makes as much sense as all inclusive if you plan to visit the surroundings (but not Torrox, an ugly beach holiday village).

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“Highly Recommend.. Just book it !”

Absolutely amazing stay We were a group of 7 in 5 rooms,I was in 265 which was a lovely garden room ..16th October to 23rd October We went for the 70th birthday of one of our group, they helped us organise a surprise cake ,decorated the table and all the staff came over and sang Happy Birthday, c… more

Absolutely amazing stay We were a group of 7 in 5 rooms,I was in 265 which was a lovely garden room ..16th October to 23rd October We went for the 70th birthday of one of our group, they helped us organise a surprise cake ,decorated the table and all the staff came over and sang Happy Birthday, could not have been more helpful The whole hotel is spotless and rooms lovely , beds very comfortable Entertainment outstanding and drinks always served quickly, they remembered our drinks and how we like them ! Pool cold but October, we swam every day Food was excellent with lots of choice ( we have fussy eaters ), constantly filled up I would highly recommend this hotel Thank you so much to all the amazing staff and for giving us such a wonderful holiday We will have special memories

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“OK but would not return.”

Nice room and very comfy bed. The maid Julia was very good and she left chocolates after cleaning. TV had only 2 channels in English both news reports. Had balcony overlooking pool but very noisy. It was Octoberfest and a fun fair was erected next door which added to the noise. The evening me… more

Nice room and very comfy bed. The maid Julia was very good and she left chocolates after cleaning. TV had only 2 channels in English both news reports. Had balcony overlooking pool but very noisy. It was Octoberfest and a fun fair was erected next door which added to the noise. The evening meal was good but the dining room could do with some noise abatement, perhaps a separate room for people without children. Nice promenade with lots of places to stop for lunch. Out the front of hotel across the road there is a bazaar which sells everything you could think of and lots of things you didn't know you wanted.

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