We have just returned from a lovely seven day break at the Monica. We found this a very friendly hotel, and the staff were very helpful. From the welcoming drinks as we waited to be checked in, to meeting the various managers at the Thomson welcome meeting, all the staff gave the impression of wanting to be of service. Hadn’t realised that Riu is part owned Tui before. The hotel is still listed in the Platinum range online, despite some claims it has lost that rating.
The rooms were very spacious with plenty of clothes space, and plenty of hangers. Although we are used to a Tempur type mattress at home, we didn’t find the bedding here as hard as some have suggested. We had requested a high room and were on the fifth floor with lovely views of the sunrise. Our balcony was a real sun trap until about midday when the “other side” of the hotel had the sun until sunset. We asked for an extra pillow and got this immediately, and a broken balcony towel rail was replaced as soon as we reported it. There were no problems changing rooms if required, but this may be more difficult in peak season.
We thought 25 euros a week for bedroom wifi a bit steep, so used the wifi in the reception area but this was a bit hit and miss, probably due to high demand. There was entertainment in the lounge bar most evenings but this was totally forgettable! This doesn’t seem to be a RIU strong point. We thought the charge for the safe reasonable at 15.75 for the week.
We found the food plentiful and varied and the waiter service excellent. We had requested to be on the first sitting but it was full on the first evening, but we were moved from the second evening.
Being the “off” season, most of the guests were quite elderly, and some stay here for a month or more. One group were in their twenty-fifth year.
There is a bus top nearby where Service 1 takes you up to town for 1 Euro, its then a short walk to the bus station. We can recommend a visit to the caves, just over a euro on the bus.
Nerja is a pleasant town with more character than many places on the Costa, much more to see than just the Balcon d’Europa. Trips to Ronda and Granada are available, but wrap up warm! Unfortunately our trip to Ronda was cancelled so we did the Blanket Trip to Malaga. We knew what to expect because we’ve been several times before, but it was free and we saw Malaga, which we wouldn’t have done otherwise. Worth sitting through the presentation for that, as it’s a nice city.
The January weather was quite pleasant, part sunny most days. There was quite a strong wind at times, quite chilly when it came down off the mountains which had snow on them.
Overall, this was a pleasant hotel. It deservedly comes out quite well on Trip Advisor, but it is after all a 4 star holiday hotel, clearly some reviewers expect a Platinum hotel to offer more! We usually try not to make hotel return visits, but we may return here , particularly if we get such a good price again We certainly recommend Nerja.
