We stayed at the RIU at the end of November and this was our honeymoon. We wanteda relaxing break, and couldn't afford the luxuries af the Maldives (where it rained the same week) so we chose the 'safe' option of the Canaries.

Having never stayed at an all inclusive resort before, we had no real expectations, but I can honestly say we loved it. I had read all the other reviews on this site before we went, and we just decided to go with an open mind.

I am in my late 20's, my other half is in his early 30's and it wouldn't be the usual type of holiday we go on, but as it was our honeymoon, all we wanted to do was literally 'nothing'.

We stayed for 11 nights and were in an 'apartment' with a sea view at the front of the complex. Despite there being a road betweeen us and the beach, we experienced no disturbance at all from it. The room was clean, we didn't find any of the cocroaches as mentioned in other reviews and there was adequate room for clothes and hangers are provided. The room wasn't luxurious, but when all you're using it for is to sleep & shower, you don't really need any more than the basics, although there were no plug sockets even near a mirror to dry your hair which was a little frustrating!

The pool areas were clean and with pleanty of beds, mattresses are available and the towel service is a great idea. Our german 'friends' do have a tendancy to be up at 7am getting their beds, so be prepared to fight for the best sunbeds. There are lots of activities to take part in during the day - although we didn't try any, they seemed to be well attended, and you never felt pushed into joining in.

The food. Breakfast is fantastic with pleanty of choice. Lunch can become repetative if you eat dinner there too, so we would just eat at the snack bar where they had a choice of pizza, toasites, hot dogs, burgers, chips, fruit, salad etc. Although the hotel is 'split' in two, you can eat in either of the restaurants which we did for some variety of scenery, but the food is the same in both. It can be repetative, with lots of fish and pork on the menu, which I am not particulary a fan of, but because there is so much choice, you can have pasta instead, or salad, paella and soup. Even the fussiest of eaters can find something each evening.

The evening entertainment is not too bad. We don't usually watch the evening entertainment but in this hotel it was passable. The team clearly work very hard and enjoy what they do, and that shows through each night.

The hotel is a 15 minute walk from Puerto del Carmen but there are buses which stop outside the hotel and are very simple to use with drivers understanding English. We went to the market on Sunday which is well worth a visit, and we went to Casta Teguise on the bus whic htook about 40 mins, buta lso a nice trip out for a change of scenery. We hired bikes at a place on the beach and cycled in the opposite direction from Puerto del Carmen which took us to the end of the runway and we spent a fabulous hour watching the planes land from a very close range! Although the airport is close by, there is no noise from planes at all.

Just returned from a week at the Club RIU Paraiso in Lanzarote. We were all inclusive. The reps will tell you the hotel is only 5 minutes walk from Puerto Del Carmen, but really more like 10 to 15 mins, depending on your mobility. Having said that, buses right outside the hotel and only 1 euro. Taxis very reasonable, 4 euros from the harbour in Puerto Del Carmen, which is quite a distance from the hotel. The beach is literally across the road. Very large and clean, great if you have kids.
The hotel itself is very large, but split into 2 areas, both with their own sitting areas, pools and restaurants. The pool with the swim up bar is really the quieter of the 2 areas, the other is where all the activities take place, but in all honesty even that is not that noisy. Reviews i have read say that it was originally 2 hotels. To be honest it still looks like that in places. You can eat from morning til night, and a few people seemed to do just that. The food was good and you can always find something to your taste. The Asian restaurant is very good, but I would advise an early sitting when booking, the food appears to be reheated for the other sittings. Good idea to have the beer and wine as self service, saves constantly queuing at the bar.
Our room was a good size, plenty of drawers and hanging space (with hangers). Airconditioned and a ceiling fan. The maid folds the towel in the bathroom and leaves a fresh flower on it, nice touch.
The bathroom was a bit shabby to be honest, although spotlessly clean. Cracks in the tiles and just generally looking tired. Felt that about a few of the areas, the area not served by the reception which looks like the newer part of the hotel looks in much better condition.
The majority of the clientele are German, so everyone addresses you in German, but the staff all speak several lanquages. The TV channels are all geared for the Germans and only the BBC 24 hour news and sky news channel are available in English, gets a bit boring listening to the same piece of news over and over.
The staff are great, friendly and courteous at all times. Can't say a bad word about any of them that includes all the maintenance staff as well. The activity guys are nice and good fun, but don't pressure you to take part if you really don't want to. The evening entertainment was a bit dire to say the least.
You don't need to take beach towel, the hotel supply them for you on a daily basis, great idea saves so much space in your case.
All in all a really good hotel and the all inclusive is ideal if you are on a budget. The only age group I think who would not really like this type of hotel are the middle teens. But would suit couples, families and older people.

My partner and I are in our 20's and booked our holiday through First Choice with a view to spending 7 days relaxing in a 4 star resort.

Overall we had a nice time but this was mainly due to each other's company and not down to the hotel and other guests...

The hotel staff were friendly, hard-working and made us feel very welcome.

The other guests, however, did not. If you're planning on staying here and are British - prepare to be stared at like you're a diseased animal in a zoo.

The majority of tourists staying there were very rude and had a tendancy to push in at food queues and appeared to do the usual 7am sunbed steal. Might I just add that the majority of tourists were not only rude, they were also German. Put the two together if you like.

The hotel is split into two main parts (two hotels joined by a gangway). When we arrived in the half we were staying in we received a very nice welcome (complementary drink and concierge to take our cases to the room) and there was no fuss- which was great as we just wanted to get unpacked and settled. Just a bit of advice if you're looking for a calming and relaxing atmosphere to have a nice bottle of wine at night- one side of the hotel is like a zoo (the right hand side) and the other is probably more of what you'd expect of a 4 star setting.

As far as food goes-this is nice for the first few days but it tends to get a little repetitive, especially when you're dining in the same main restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The best feature was the fresh fruit which was continuously churned out.

The hotel does offer alternative restaurants to the main one (which does have a large school canteen feel to it!) but after booking into the Asian place, we realised that this was no different to the self-service style buffet which we had already been subjected to. By the fourth night of eating the same fodder we decided we could take no more and headed towards Puerto del Carmen. After a 15 minute walk along the promenade we came across a gorgeous Italian restaurant - recommended to anyone who enjoys real cuisine and not hamster food.

In all, we enjoyed the climate, our room was pleasant and I'd say that most of the staff were very helpful and cheery (the entertainment team must have been on happy pills for breakfast).

Oh and I can't really comment on the entertainment as it seemed to attract the over 60s and wasn't really our scene!

This was an all-inclusive, last-minute deal so we couldn't have expected the world but we definitely wouldn't class it as a 4 star hotel and wouldn't go all-inclusive again. It's not good if you enjoy doing your own thing and prefer a bit of privacy- you don't really get any as the hotel seems very busy (even in November when we stayed there).

We found it best to venture out of the hotel grounds at night as the disco was a small, dark room with a DJ and a few lights - with no atmosphere. If you're staying in at night within the grounds of the hotel, I'd definitely go for drinks on the left side of the hotel, rather than the right. We found it much more pleasant (and we actually appreciated hearing some English people for a change rather than Germans shouting!)

I'd stay in Lanzarote again but would probably go self-catering or half board so that we could get away from it all. I'd say this particular hotel and location is geared towards a more mature clientele and people on a budget.

We definitely aren't moaners, even though it may seem like it from this review, and we have given our honest thoughts and opinions about our stay.

We looked at other reviews on Trip Advisor before we booked and did think that some people were just being fussy, but I think people's gripes are justified.

Only stay here on an all-inclusive basis if you're sure you won't get bored eating and doing the same thing over and over again! Nice to sunbathe and is right across from the beach which is just a walk over the road but if the weather changes, you're stuffed!

We stayed at this hotel from the 1st to the 15th of october 06. Its took me this long for the review as i am trying to seperate the good points from the bad. Our past riu hotels, one in the Dom Rep and one in mexico, were much much better. Both were also 4 star rating and i feel the Paraiso should have matched up to that standard" it did not". Not the beach i agree, as caribbean beaches are in a class of there own. But i found the room we stayed in was very sad and needed decorating so did a lot of the exterior around the restaurants and pool areas. All in all i felt for a 4 star riu it was lacking in the t.l.c stakes. I was also, rightly or wrongly, horrified to find they had a problem with cockroaches. At breakfast one morning they were running round the breakfast room and the table next to us had one actually running across the table. This made me more aware of looking for the cockroaches for the remainder of my time than enjoying any of the food. I told one of the managers who was there at the time but my concerne was and still is no one seemed worried. Other guests found them in there rooms but fortunately i did not. But i must say the roaches put a sour note on it for me.

Lots of Germans there, not that i mind the Germans but i wish they would get out of the habit of bagging every available space on the sunbeds before the crack of dawn, so yes, you guessed it, if your not up by 7am there are towels every where which was sad seeming as the sun did not come up till 8am.

The food was good plenty to choose from no one complained ,just one who said it was too repetitive. We found plenty we liked and our very best restaurant was the Asian which is what we call chinese. If you go to this hotel you must go there to try it. The other speciality restaurants we found ok but we didnt go back.

The drinks were plentiful and the staff serving very helpful and friendly. We found all the staff we had contact with like this. The animation team were good and worked very hard and we found the shows above the normal average for a riu. Well worth watching most nights. Also my only comment on the room where the shows are held is "get it cleaned up" I know kids are in there but adults do not want to sit in dirty seats when you have taken the trouble to get ready for a night out, tables carpet and seats all need a good clean. Inexcuseable really when this room is only open 3 hours a day.

All in all its hard for me to recommend this hotel when i know ther are better cockroach free hotels out there. Even though we made the best of our holiday and came home with a good tan my opinion is even if its not a riu you could do much better and for a riu hotel this one is letting the riu chain down badly. If this had been my first experiance of the riu chain they would be on the bottom of the pile.

Hope this helps.