Hotel Riu Chiclana 4*

Absolutely so much better now, the food is spot on, we leave tomorrow, sad tbh, cannot believe how much the whole hotel, atmosphere, food has changed, if this is down to the change of management, then well done Riu 😍😍

Came here for a 2 week stay with our little one and we were really pleased with the cleanliness of the hotel and grounds (except our room ceiling it was disgusting 2101 lord knows what people have been doing but it was horrific) - there is a significant ant issue on the premises as we had to deal with a lot of ants in our room in the evening which we had to sort before bed every night as we didn’t want them in our little ones travel cot (provided on request). There were tea and coffee making facilities in our room the only down side being they don’t replace what you use of the tea and coffee. check in was quick and really smooth we were greeted with a smile and wave for our little one. All the staff were really friendly always a hello everyday and a wave again. There was a gentleman who we think was a manner wore a white shirt wore glasses and was mostly on meet and greet in the restaurants he came and said goodbye to us when we left and waved and high fived our little one which we thought was lovely 💕 The food was plentiful and a good choice albeit repetitive however it is all inclusive we were prepared for that - however, the food was high in salt so we struggled to get our little one to eat and there was one evening when I was woken with the most horrific stomach pain and nausea I had to crawl back to bed which reduced my appetite for 2 days and left me rendered to bed for the best part of a day. There was one dinner time in La Gaditana restaurant at the end of our stay where I chose cucumber but then when I went to bite into it it tasted of chemicals and I spat it back out again and had to wash my mouth out. The baby pool had lovely items there nice and clean lifeguards everywhere however, the pirate ship adults are not allowed to go on to guide and assist your young children to utilise the slides which we found completely stupid as our 2 year old can’t simply go on there and independently use the slides without support and guidance - if there is a parent helping at the top and a parent at the bottom of the slide and the lifeguard is on the pirate ship - why can’t adults go on and help their children use the equipment that is in a baby pool? I tried to get my little one down for 10 minutes before my husband ignored the lifeguard and went on to retrieve her while the lifeguard sat watching the entire thing. The other English parents we spoke to felt the same. The soft play we felt was restrictive - again adults weren’t allowed to accompany the children there were tables and chairs around the soft play area to ‘supervise’ it is restricted to age categories and is only 30 mins per play which we felt was a bit daft. The Riu club was for 3 years and up with nothing for those who are 2 and wanting some more independence and to play - which is why we chose this hotel actually to be disappointed by it so our little one didn’t use the soft play it’s a good thing that we brought plenty to play and draw etc with us. Plenty of sunbeds which was great across all pools and there were constantly staff cleaning around the pool sides. Loads of wasps around the drinks stations but mostly don’t bother you as they just want the sweet drinks and syrups from the fizzy drinks machines. The kids mini disco starts at 20:00, The entertainment was ok some not to our taste which was ok, it was catered toward the higher percentage of Spanish guests rather than English or any other nationality, it would have been nice to have had some consideration for the English guests a bit more. The Spanish guests were loud and rude and would leave shoes directly by the pool which is a trip and slip hazard and they will stand chatting despite trying to get past with a push chair and not step aside or acknowledge you are there which was frustrating. Children about 3-6 years old girls and boys were running around naked which I thought was inappropriate. A mum had a little boy helping him to wee up a tree outside Riu land despite the toilets with a dedicated disabled/baby changing toilet block behind them - we had to shield our little one from seeing it. We arrived on a Friday and for the Riu White Party but were so wiped out from travelling we went to bed so couldn’t experience that however, Neon Riu Friday Night was amazing and we made some happy memories as a family on our first Riu party night. The baby changing was good and always clean and the staff will give you warm or hot milk if you take a bottle to the bar and ask for it to be filled we only found this out toward the end of our stay after already going to be supermarket 20mins down the road to get milk and nappies. The on site shop was a god send for drinks and for snacks for our little one and we bought her some swimming armbands and swimming ring but the shop has all sorts from creams to drinks to alcohol to clothes to gifts to swimming bits it was great! 😊 There are about 6-8 resident cats on the grounds who are mostly all friendly especially the black cats. Lots of steps to the beach but again lovely and clean. The four star is simply because of the minor niggles. We had a lovely two weeks here. We wouldn’t rush back though.