As a first time solo traveller, I might be able to share a slightly different viewpoint on everything here at the RIU. This was my first experience of the RIU brand. I arrived back from the hotel yesterday after spending a week here. I'll break things down. ARRIVAL: A warm and welcoming arrival from Alessandro on Reception. I had emailed before hand about wanting to upgrade to a garden view room which he did without any problem. He also suggested that if I wanted a floor a little less noisy, to go on the top floor (7th). I would really recommend this as it does (like a previous reviewer said) give amazing views of the pool and you do get some sunshine on your terrace too. I was in 740 (more on the rooms later). I was first through the doors to the hotel (being a solo traveller does have its perks!) so I could not comment on length of wait etc. BUT - I had a real issue with my keys for the first few days of the holiday. I always ask for an extra key because I don't trust them to work in hotels on the whole. On the first evening, both keys wouldn't work, go back to reception (not exactly next door to the hotel room) and get them exchanged. Again, both didn't work. This resulted in Alessandro having to come up with me and try it. He spent 10 minutes trying, eventually it worked. But for the next few days, keys wouldn't work again (they weren't next to any other devices) and it actually became frustrating for me. Shouldn't happen. ROOM: Really impressive. Spacious enough with even a sofa to relax on. As someone has said, cleaned every day should you require it, bathroom of a good size, especially the shower and it was really well looked after. The housekeeping team do a great job. I also used the ironing service at the hotel. It says a 48 hour turn around but they were back the next day which was fantastic. I have never used an ironing service before but thought I would give it a go, I'm glad I did. FOOD: Let's start with the main restaurant. Food was always hot and plentiful. I like to eat alot later than other guests, and even going down towards the end of service for your meal, you still feel all the options are there, nothing being removed. I particuarly enjoyed that they had pre sliced burger and hot dog buns so you could create your own, also supplying takeaway cartons to put them in! If there is one thing I would like to see improved, it would be the options of pizzas. Pizza's are available every day but seem uninspiring. Margarita/Margarita with mushrooms/Vegetable/Ham and Cheese. There is just so much more you can do with pizza so I hope they would be more adventurous. OLE: (Spanish restuarant) I found this disappointing. The main meal was lovely (have included picture) but the cold/warm tapas were a letdown. The hot tapas didn't look apetizing and I think I was in and out of the restaurant within 45 minutes. You don't get the option of a choice of dessert so if it isn't to your taste, bad luck. It also didn't help that there was a family with a young child who had their iPad on with volume. But that's a societal issue. AZU: (Asian restuarant) This was the highlight of all my meals. Oh it was so lovely. After the experience of OLE I didn't expect much but it was superb. So many excellent choices (pics included) and I lovely experience. In fact, I didn't have the main dish option because it wasn't to my liking but that's on me. There was so much more options and variety. QUICK NOTE: When I have visited all inclusives before and you have the speciality dinners included in your package, it has always felt like you have 'gone out for a meal' if that makes sense; assigned waiter to you, come to take your order, different drink options, just a different experience to the usual. It's not like that here, it doesn't feel different to the main restaurant (OLE definitely didn't) so don't expect that the speciality places are majorly changed for these one off meals. MAIN POOL: Plenty of sunbeds for everyone and the clientele in this hotel caters for couples/groups/families with children. It has a nice atmosphere. You can do aqua aerobics throughout the day, play games etc. lots of options. DRINKS: I love the options of going and getting your own soft drinks/juices from the machines. An invaluable option. Coca-Cola,Sprite,Fanta etc. (and without sugar options) ENTERTAINMENT: I didn't really watch much of it but it seemed to be the place to go to during the evening. Like I said, as a solo traveller it was a different experience for me. YUMBO CENTER: If you want to visit the Yumbo Center for shops/bars/restuarants for a change of scenary, it is only a 15 minute walk from the hotel. If like me you want to watch some shows and drink until the early hours, this is definitely the place to go. Gets busy around midnight onwards. TIPS: Take a big water bottle with you, prefarably stainless steel. I used it everyday to top up from the soft drink maches so I had a really cold drink lasting me for however long it lasted and it's bigger than the plastic glasses they provide. There aren't any TV screens around any areas apart from your bedroom so if you're wanting to watch a football match (like I was) but not in your bedroom, you'll have to venture outside the hotel for that. Conclusion RIU made a very good impression on me for a first time visitor. Staff were extremely friendly, diligent and plentiful. There were never any major queues at the bars. I would perhaps like the option to upgrade my package to include premium spirits such as Jack Daniels but maybe that's just me! I do think that they should make the two restaurants more bespoke, i.e. have some Spanish music playing in the background of OLE, or perhaps have some live music on in there (a guitarist wouldn't hurt). Just something which makes the guest go, 'Yes that was a different experience'. Would I go again? Sure I would. I think that my waistband has expanded by about 6" but isn't that what an all inclusive is about?! Thanks for reading and please hit 'like' if you found any of this helpful.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.