I have just returned from the riu and felt that it was important to discuss some of my concerns.

The hotel is predominately German and massive, in excess of 4000 rooms. There are two sides to the hoel which is joined by a walkway.One side is quite Classy and newly refurbed and the other side is well worn.

The problem with the hotel is that you take your chance with the room that you have been allocated and the view, irrerspective of what side you find yourself on.t whether it is the Classy or well worn side.

The family side of the hotel is on the well worn side and to be fair is the more relaxed and has the larger of the pools.The activiities are also on the family side as is the mini and maxi clubs.

The beach is not part of the hotel and is across the quiet road.However, the sun beds are not free, 8 Euros for two beds and a parasol.The lanzarotte breeze on the beach can be a problem because it blows sand all over the place and if you have young children this could be a problem.The other problem is trecking back and too for meal and drinks from the beach to the hotel.You can buy drinks and ices on the beach but when you have already paid for an all inclusive, why should you!

When I was on the beach I saw no children playing and no one was in the water, because it was too choppy .Most families stayed poolside and enjoyed the kids pool and activities.

The animation team were excellent..Activities throughout the day were plentiful and the entertainment in the evening was fun.

I was lucky with my room, being in the Classy side, and its view,so I have no complaints, but the one visit for me is enough. I will try another location next time. as It has not put me off Riu but I have been in better 4 star hotels.

Firstly we are not complainers - we have stayed in about 10 european hotels in the past 6 years and never needed to complain once.. We paid about 1400GBP so we were expecting a nice relaxing pleasant stay - RIU has a rep for being really nice but this is a JOKE!

I have just arrived at the RIU PARAISO in Lanzarote after a 4hr flight and have been given a room right next to the discotech. Thomas Cook have given us no welcome pack so god knows when the welcome meeting is and there is no sign in the reps area to tell us either.
Its 1am and I cant sleep for the thudding of the disco. As other reviewers have said, this is more like a two star than anywhere near a four star. I am severely disapointed. I have no way of adding a pic because there is not a usb or card slot to upload- but I will be adding the pictures on here so you can see for yourself just how bad it is. To say severely disapointed is an understatement. The room is damp in the corners- there is a fausty smell, a bathroom that is dirty and bits of grouting and sealant hanging off, dirt on the floor, an old shoe left in the room. The girlfriend has now just found a flea in the bed which we will be taking down to reception first thing. The TV remote is the wrong one for the telly so you cant get channels above 10 and there is no scart or AV plugs to put in a DVD or Camcorder.
The room is on the floor not an upper floor as we requested and no sea view or pool view.

I will be hoping tomorrow to exchange rooms because frankly, this is totally unacceptable. IRight now I can honestly say I have had better 2 star bed and breakfast rooms in Bournemouth!

I came here for some relaxation and a nice level of comfort - but this is just noisy and very very low quality. If we get a better room I will be happy to update this and tell you hopefully how much better it is!

Let me introduce the family first. My wife and I are in our early 30's and we have two daughters 6 and 3.
We had stayed at the Riu Tequila in Mexico many years back and vowed that we would only stay in Riu hotels when we had kids as the service and hotel were fantastic.
So we booked via Riu with a very good deal to stay at the Riu Paraiso.

After reading some of the negative comments we contacted the reception about our concerns especially concerning the rooms.

When we arrived we were shown to our room which was a bungalow apartment in the beautiful gardens of the hotel.
Two bedrooms, a lounge and kitchenette and bathroom.
We then had a walk around the hotel which was fairly empty.

The hotel could do with its make over in Oct as the paint work was a little shabby in parts, but it was soon clear why we had vowed to stay with Riu again and again....Service with a smile!
The animation team, bar staff, cleaners, grounds men, everyone we met couldn't do enough for us.

We used the side of the hotel with the reception, as this is where the activities for adult s and children take place. It also has a wonderful restaurant and a bar where the children can dance at their Mini Disco and where the better shows are shown in the evening.

The hotel is spotlessly clean with attendants walking around all day keeping it that way.
The swimming pools were cold but after sunbathing for an hour you were very appreciative of the cool water.
Lots of fun for everyone, beach volley ball, aqua gym, water polo, bingo to name a few. The children had their own pool and playground as well as the mini club which was a hit with our eldest and she made many friends there.

After the make over in Oct the hotel will be shinning as new again, but do not worry if you have booked a stay before this time.
It was a clean, welcoming hotel, with something for everyone. We were very sad to leave and have already been back on the Internet to stay with Riu again!

My girlfriend and I stayed at the Riu Paraiso for a week late March. We booked through a Norwegian travelagent and where given the choise between a Standard and a "De luxe" room. We picked the Standard one, although I was a bit afraid that we might end up in the "old" part of the hotel.

ROOM:
Upon arrival (just a few minutes busride from the ariport) we were offered to have lunch before checking in. We were then given the keys to room 32. The extraordinary low number made me worry a bit, it turned out to be an apartement in one of the small houses in the garden of the hotel. As this was clearly wrong, I went to talk with reception staff and was promptly given a new room - 3307. I assume that it was an honest mistake. But if the standard of the "old" room we saw (32) is representative of all the two and three digit rooms I would advice to try to get a room in the other part of the hotel with the four digit rooms.

The new room was large, with a huge bathroom and good size balcony. The view wasnt very much and some noise from the street, but good. I must agree with earlier reviewes that overall the hotel is a bit worn, as were the room. A few stains on the walls, a tired wall-to-wall carpet and sunbleached paintings on the walls. The bathtub had some weird plastic coating with airbubbles in the floor - perhaps they just put some fresh plastic on an old bathtub? Airconditioning and room safe free of charge. In total the room wasn't amazing but absolutely adequate. It was also very clean, and the cleaning staff made a terrific job all week.

POOL AND OTHER AREAS:
As mentioned we stayed in the part of the hotel with four digit room numbers, it's the part connected to the main building (with reception) by a long bridge. We only used the pool, restaurants and other facilities in this part of the hotel.

The pool area consisted of three pools, one of them heated. There was also a pool bar open in daytime. The pool and surrounding areas was cleaned every morning. There are plenty of sunbeds, but if you want a place in the sun you better get up early in the morning.

There is plenty of chairs and tables in the shade to sit down and have a drink also.

FOOD AND DRINK:
I think all guests are staying all inclusive, and one is issued a wristband at arrival. We ate almost all meals at the hotel, and probably gained some weight during the week. All day, except for a few short hours, there are food available. Breakfast was excellent with something for everyone. Everything was fresh including eggs and pancakes cooked on spot. Lunch was pretty much the same everyday - but such a huge varity to choose from that it didn't matter. At dinner there was a new special every day. Among tohrt things a delicious beef on our last day. There is plenty of fresh fish, if you like that. Desserts are plenty, including ice, fresh fruit and lots of pastries.

The staff in the restaurant was very efficent and always smiling.

Beverages is available all day. Soft drinks and juices of different kinds, beer, whine and coffee. Stronger beverages is available in the bars that is also open all day. Upon arrival you are provided with water bottles and can pick up more in the reception at any time.

SURROUNDINGS/ACTIVITIES:
In the hotel we only stayed by the pool, but there are tennis courts, other games and of course a animation team.

It's a short walk to the beach (5 minutes) and not to far to town (15 min). The beach is good, although a bit windy and the water was a bit cold at the time of our stay.

Puerto del Carmen offers lots of shops, some good but mostly standard tourist things.

We also went to the "Texas Rancho" park a short walk from the Hotel. Actually quite fun with lot's of different animals. Absolutely something for families.

CONCLUSION:
Absolutely satisfied with our stay. And if the hotel is renovated later this year as mentioned in some other reviews it would be perfect. Will absolutely stay with RIU again.