This was a pretty hotel with a lovely pool area. The staff were very helpful and we had a large room with sea views. The food was plentiful and good.

As always with the RIU hotels there is not much one can say that hasnt already been said about them. I have stayed in quite a few and they are delightful.

In this one rooms are quite spacious and cleaned to a high standard, the food is excellent in taste, quality and quantity,the staff are happy and have a smile for you all the time, and nothing is too much trouble.

The grounds are superb as is the pool area with plenty on sunbeds available.

There is a bus stop close to the hotel which takes you to Nerja one way or Malaga the other way

We booked direct through the Riu website and took advantage of the special prices available, reserving a double room with sea views for one week. Flights were with Thomsonfly and car hire through Carjet.

We had visited the hotel to look it over in June 2006 and were impressed by what we saw, it certainly was as impressive as its appearance. The room was superb and was thoroughly cleaned daily, it had excellent views over the hotel grounds and the seafront.

The food was exceptional and provided even a fussy eater like myself with ample choice. This was the first hotel we have visited in Spain where all the staff smile as they go about their work, interact with the guests and actually care that everything is as you would want it.

The entertainment was the weakest area of the hotel, however I am sure the various acts would have benefited from a larger stage area. The acrobats they had one evening struggled to avoid the ceiling as they performed handstands on their apparatus. Fair play though they did entertain us most evenings and the table service provided was efficient and unobtrusive. Bar prices were reasonable and all in all good value all round.

We would visit again without hesitation for a short break as the hotel is a quality venue.

I took my mother who is in a wheelchair with other members of my family. We thought Riu Ferrara was excellently located, right on beach front.

The pool looked wonderful, but not for dipping in in December.

The staff were very helpful, giving us best directions to places and we were offered adjoining ground floor apartments which was perfect.

We have booked again for this June for half board and looking forward to it.

Spent a week in the Riu Ferrera in August 2006.

Hotel is excellent, very very clean and well maintained.

The rooms were in excellent condition and cleaned every day by very friendly staff who will do anything you ask to make your stay more comfortable.

Although we were self catering we did use the pool bar for snacks at lunch time which was very reasonably priced for a top quality hotel and the food was great.

The pool area was clean and well maintained. The only problem we found was that although the hotel says that sunbeds are not to be reserved by 9am all the sunbeds were taken up with towels and no-one using them. On one morning we managed to get up and reserve our sunbeds and the ones next to us although had been reserved were not put into use until well after midday.

While we were there it was mainly German and Spanish people staying at the hotel with only a few English.

I would certainly visit again. The hotel is very family orientated so if you are looking for a hotel with entertainment until the early hours give it a miss.

Have just returned from the Riu Ferrera and it is well worth it's 4T rating. The hotel itself is excellent; spacious, spotlessly clean and with the best food I've ever come across.

However the only problem is the entertainment (or lack of it!)- it is extremely poor and certainly not up to the standard of other 4 star hotels. We were there for 14 nights and only had 2 good nights - a fantastic magician and some Chinese acrobats. The rest of the time it was singers (well, that's what they were called - Simon Cowell would have had a field day!!) and dancers. One night the singer didn't turn up and we had extended Mini Disco! I know we were in Spain but flamenco 5 times in a fortnight is a bit much!! The daytime activities were a bit hit and miss too. The reps did announce some of them but I got the impression that they'd prefer it you didn't join in. It's a real shame that the entertainment was so poor otherwise I'd go back to this hotel tomorrow.

Stayed at this hotel for 10 nights from 17th Aug, The hotel is well maintained and very clean.

The food is of a good standard with plenty of choice,You are allocated the same table for evening meals and have to choose either 19.00hrs or 21.00hrs we chose 19.00 as we have 6 year old twins whose tummies start rumbling long before 19.00.

Although the restaurant is large and well laid out it does get packed very quickly and can at times become a bit like wacky races with lots of people trying to get their food at the same time.

We found breakfast a bit of a trial at first as you find a empty table if you can and then have wacky races,We ended up getting to breakfast at opening time and did not have a problem, this did not bother us to much as the children were up early each morning anyway.

Getting up early also solves the problem of getting a sunbed by the pool although the hotel says beds are not to be reserved nobody takes a blind bit of notice and if you are not down by 09.00 you will not get a sunbed so our towels were in place before breakfast if you cant beat them join them.

We booked late this year and could not get a family room so ended up having to book two rooms,we e-mailed the hotel and asked if we could have adjoining rooms.

We never did get a reply and on arrival were given 2
rooms, one overlooking the pool and the other over looking a side street the room with pool view was very nice and we used this room as our base and the other room just to sleep/shower,

The room next to the sidestreet was overlooking the extractor for the kitchens and was giving of nasty niffs most of the time so you could not sit out on the balcony or dry washing on the line provided, unless you do not mind smelling like a chip shop.

We asked to move but were told the hotel was full,If we had not had the other room we would have taken the matter further,if given room 366 beware.

The location is quiet and laid back,not much out of the front of the hotel, but a good supermarket if you turn right and its 200 mtrs on the opposite of the main road but that is about all.

There are gates at the rear of the hotel which you exit/enter with youre room keycard nothing much on the right but on the left are a few bars and restaurants and some shops. But nothing to write home about.
Hotel staff are friendly and will do their best to make you feel welcome.

The daytime entertainment unless I missed it seemed to consist of an afternoon waterpolo match and that was about it but the childrens club started at 15.00hrs
everyday and the children loved it the kids club staff are fantastic.

As for the evenings we did not stay for to long as the children were tired most nights so after the kids
disco we would have a drink in the bar a go back to our rooms put the children to bed and sit on the balcony with a drink or two.

If you want a break in a nice hotel with good food
but quiet surroundings you will not go far wrong with this hotel.

The hotel is beautifully appointed. All the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Transfer from the airport was by private taxi as, I had booked through Sovereign, I would recommend using them after hearing of others experiences with various travel companies. The rep, Tracey-Anne was brilliant, nothing too much trouble and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The food was excellent, with a huge choice to suit everybody.
Breakfast at the wrong time could be chaotic with the buffet style service, sometimes like crossing the M25 trying to get back to your table, best to go early when it was much more relaxing.
Evening meals were on 2 sittings, 7pm and 9pm, which you had to choose for the whole week. The 7pm was less busy but a bit early for most, strangely more children ate at 9pm. You are allocated a table for the week but I asked to be moved and it was no problem.
Lunches could be taken on the terrace, the food was again of a high standard in a nice environment.

The pool was very good, with allocated areas for children, ball games or just swimming, the lifeguards made sure these areas were respected, as a result I think everyone was able to enjoy the pool equally. Despite notices informing guests not to reserve sunbeds the practice carried on regardless.

Annoying when 6 sunbeds are reserved but empty until after lunch, I felt more should be done to stop this.
As I was travelling alone, I was surprised that the hotel was 90% families and predominantly German or Spanish, very few British or other nationalities.

The entertainment was very average, and seemed aimed at the children. There was no dancing or nightclub atmosphere later in the evening, bars shut at 1.00am and all the outside lights are turned off, not very Spanish. The hotel has a gym, but half of the equipment was broken.

All in all I had a very relaxing holiday, I wouldn't go back for the simple reason it was too family orientated for me. I would thouroughly recommend families to go there, but not singles or couples.

It's a very safe and pleasant place for children, the whole garden area has a fence around it covered in shrubs etc. and access is by key card only.

I would certainly visit another Riu Hotel if this is an example of their standards, and I will definitely book with Sovereign again, the express check in on the return at Malaga was worth it alone.

The Riu Ferrara is a super hotel.

We stayed in a studio as we like to eat out.The studio was lovely. It was just like a hotel room but with a separate kitchen. The apartments are at the front of the hotel, so our room overlooked the entrance courtyard which was attractive and peaceful.

All staff were excellent and helpful.

We had lunch at the pool bar a couple of times and it was fine.

The pool was great, although sometimes very busy even though its huge. I loved that I could get a clean pool towel as often as I liked. You pay a deposit at the start of your stay and can swap them for clean by the pool each morning or evening.

We didn't stay in during the evenings but had a quick drink on the terrace before going out sometimes. The entertainment looked very cheesy.

The hotel really was excellent though and the only reason I wouldn't return is that the resort wasn't really what we were looking for.

Just spent Easter at the Riu Ferrara. It is very very good, especially for families.

Booked a two bedroom apartment on a room only basis with medhotels.com. None of the apartments overlook the pool, these are all hotel rooms. The apartments are in the two blocks on either side of the entrance to the hotel. This was not a problem. We were allocated room 2404, which was on the 4th floor of block 2 (right hand block). The apartment was spotlessly clean, with excellent furnishings. Both bedrooms had large wardrobes, and plenty of storage space. The living area had a sofabed, dining area, TV with english news channels and more storage space. We had a HUGE terrace/balcony with a side sea view, with sunshine until sunset. Only negative is that there is a carpark on this side of the hotel, which isn't very attractive.

Evening Meal can be purchased for