Where to start? Pros and cons? Two sides to every story?
The hotel itself is fine, copious amounts of food or drink available 24/7. All manner of breakfasts are catered for and I defy anyone not to get something they like.
The same applies to lunch and dinner in the evening.
There are four pools, the main one is near the main road and looks out toward the beach and sea beyond. (There is a gated entrance which you can use to access the road and beach). Inland and behind this pool, is a bar, stage and restaurants. Next there is a small walk to the reception/check-in building and main entrance. Beyond that, is pool #2, and a bar. Behind this is the 3rd pool, and tiny baby pool #4. This is also where you will find Pepe’s food, and a towel station (you can only change your towels between 4-6pm). Leading from this area is to another bar at the end of the resort and the gym/spa is off to the left.
Despite what you might get told, there is no quiet pool. Each pool is very busy (and noisy). Sun-seekers regularly get up between 7-8am to bag the best loungers. We didn’t normally get down until about 9am, but usually found a lounger available.
However, the pools are open until 7pm, and after about 5pm, people tend to leave, and it is less busy.
Our room was in the block near the 2nd and 3rd pools, facing outside and to the east. It was adequate. Two wide single beds pushed together, made our bed. The mattress was firm, but that was alright by me. A TV hung on the wall, but we hardly used it. Coffee making facilities, but again, we hardly used them. Cupboard/drawers/wardrobe space (hangers) was all limited, and not quite enough for two people, for two weeks. However, we survived.
Horses would regularly trot up the narrow road early in the morning outside our room, which accompany the screeching of the Monk Parakeets nesting in trees opposite our room.
The bathroom, had a wide sink and walk-in shower, plus toilet and bidet. There was hand soap and shower gel, plus a hairdryer.
The staff and entertainment team are brilliant and amazing….working from morning until late at night.
But there are two sides, as I said, to each story.
And this is where all the ‘buts’ start..because there are a lot of things that need repairing or issues….A LOT.
Our Room ‘buts’:
* Door handle to balcony is loose.
* Cupboard door that hides the the fridge needs adjusting.
* New bracket on vertical shower rail (shower head keeps slipping down).
* Shower gel was never topped up, and we ran out before our two weeks were up.
* We left our wet towels hanging up to dry, which were folded up, so never dried properly, and smelled mouldy by the time we returned to our room.
Restaurant ‘buts’:
* Sitting outside either at the Sardina or main buffet restaurant you run a gauntlet against birds who mug you for your food, if you so much as turn your back.
* Be wary of flies on food or around the self-service drinks (wine).
* The breakfast muesli is anything BUT. It’s a mixture of oats, fruit, cornflakes and other children’s cereals.
* There are two types of bacon, but both are either chewy and crispy, or just chewy.
* The food labelling is hit and miss, sometimes it’s like a child has run wild and mixed them all up on purpose.
* The food serving implements are often mixed up, so food is often transferred from one food to another. If you have any food intolerances, take care.
* In the main buffet restaurant, the chairs scrape noisily on the floor, and rubber feet would be a good idea, because the noise is INCESSANT, and this makes it nigh on impossible to chat if you have hearing loss.
In and around the Pools ‘buts’:
* There are a lot of broken parasols. A LOT.
* At the far end of the resort, between the baby pool and bar/gym, there are some very outdated and tired loungers. They need replacing.
* The sign say no diving…people ignored this.
* The sign says no ball games…people ignored this.
* The sign says no inflatables….guess what…this too was ignored.
General ‘buts’:
* This is supposedly a non-smoking resort. The reality is that people smoke and vape wherever they please. On balconies, on loungers, anywhere they want.
* Not all staff are happy-smiley…etc. Some are glum, abrupt, rude…and you feel like you are always in their way.
* Some loungers are VERY close together in places, which makes it difficult to rotate your lounger to follow the sun.
We’ve been to five different RIU resorts now, this for me, unfortunately, would rank at the bottom.
If you like, fun, lively, kids everywhere, smoke, birds eating your food, seagulls attacking other smaller birds, or you (for your food), noise…constant noise…did I say noise?…then you will likely be okay here.
But, for me, too much is in need of repair and the owners are too focused on turnover of customers, to improve the quality of the resort.
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