Hotel Riu Papayas 4*

This was named as a TUI platinum 4 star hotel so had understandably high expectations. While in the main the hotel was good, there were some areas that let it down. Firstly the good, the staff were all very good all over the hotel from room cleaning to bar, the buffer and reception, all extremely helpful. There were plenty of sun beds but it did depend if you were up early enough to get the best spots, I would say probably around d 6-30am or get the early sun. The 2 litre bottles of water freely available to put in the room in your fridge were very handy. There was a very wide choice of food available so no matter how picky and fussy you are there should be something available for you. The daytime entertainment was plenty although pretty much the same thing most days like aqua aerobics and bingo with some variations on some things. The areas that could be improved on are that the cocktails either came from an automated machine or from a readymade mix so difficult to tell if there was any alcohol in them. They were also served in very small plastic glasses. The labelling of the food needs to be much better as my wife has special dietary requirements so couldn’t work out what some of the food was and while she could have asked did not want to have to do this all the time. There is a lot of pork, veal and fish dishes so maybe some more variety could be seen here.The evening entertainment was very limited with a kids disco and then a main show starting around 9pm for about 45 minutes and that was pit apart from a couple of karaoke nights which unless you want to take part or listen to songs in a variety of languages wasn’t great. With no quizzes or game shows the entertainment could be finished before 10pm. A couple of final points, book the Riu free Friday night party (free but off site) as soon as you check in, we were told by reception staff we could book the following day but when we tried to all the spaces had gone couldn’t go. Also I wouldn’t call the speciality restaurants special ! The Asian one had good food but was still all buffet and the Spanish was a buffet started then served from a choice of mains then a set desert. These do need booking in advance. Overall an enjoyable stay and while I’d happily go to another Riu hotel, it wouldn’t be this one having also explored the local area.

Great stay here was our first time wont be our last on recommendation by friends it didn’t disappoint Cant fault the hotel or staff Fairly central for beach and other places to visit usually 10-15 walk Great bus service just outside hotel As well as local shops and bars 5 min walk