Hotel Riu Papayas 4*

Most things about the hotel were perfectly OK — nothing particularly memorable, good or bad. Unfortunately, the smoking situation in the entertainment area was very memorable. Despite there being designated smoking areas and presumably some fairly simple rules about where people can smoke, in practice the entire entertainment area seemed to operate as one giant smoking lounge. Cigarette smoke was absolutely everywhere, including around families and children, and quite a few guests appeared to treat the smoking-area rules as more of a loose suggestion than an actual rule. We complained to the hotel, only to be told that there wasn't much they could do about it. Which is a slightly baffling response when we're talking about your hotel and your rules. Apparently the smoking rules are more of a decorative feature. It's particularly frustrating because the entertainment area is otherwise where families are supposed to relax and enjoy the evening. So, if you're considering this hotel, especially with children, be prepared to partake in some second hand smoking. A shame, because aside from this, the hotel was generally fine. But when the choice is between breathing someone else's cigarette smoke during the evening entertainment or not enjoying the entertainmentat all, I'd rather not have to make that choice on holiday.

We had a really lovely stay overall and found the hotel to be clean, modern and welcoming. Check-in was very easy, and the lady who checked us in was lovely and explained everything clearly. The reception team throughout our stay were always friendly, approachable and happy to answer any questions we had. Room Our room was lovely, modern and very clean. The bed was comfortable, the shower had great water pressure and the temperature was consistently good. The air conditioning worked really well and kept the room nice and cool. We also had no issues sleeping and couldn’t hear any noise from outside, which was a big positive. Daytime Entertainment The entertainment around the pool was really good. The activities were fun to watch and easy to get involved in. I was initially worried that the pool would become overcrowded during AquaFit, but this wasn’t the case at all and there was still plenty of room to move around. The entertainment team were very upbeat, friendly and enthusiastic, which definitely added to the atmosphere around the pool. Evening Entertainment The evening entertainment was probably the biggest area of disappointment for us. We only really enjoyed two nights out of our week-long stay. We have stayed at RIU hotels previously and found the entertainment there to be incredible, so perhaps our expectations were quite high. The first two evenings were mainly live music. The singers were talented, but we found it quite boring and felt as though we had to entertain ourselves rather than the entertainment creating much of an atmosphere. Some of the shows were good, while others could definitely have been more engaging and entertaining. Another issue was the amount of smoking and vaping around the evening entertainment. When there was a popular show on, people were sitting very close together, meaning we often found ourselves breathing in smoke and vapour. We would strongly recommend having designated smoking/vaping areas, particularly as there are also children around. Staff Our room was cleaned every day, which was great. Some members of the housekeeping team were very friendly and polite, although a few didn’t acknowledge us when we passed them. Overall, though, the cleaning service was good. The bar staff were friendly and always happy to serve drinks. Our main issue was when asking for water. We were quite often given sparkling water despite asking for still water, or directed to the water machine, which was often dispensing warm water. This was a little disappointing, especially when wanting a cold glass of water. The cocktails and alcoholic drinks were nice, and the fizzy drinks were generally lovely and refreshing, although occasionally they were a little flat and had lost their fizz. Pool & Sunbeds The pool was really nice and refreshing. It could get quite busy, but there was still plenty of space to move around and enjoy it. We do personally prefer hotels with multiple pools, and this was something we missed during our stay, although it wasn’t as bad as we initially thought it might be. Before arriving, I was worried about not being able to get a sunbed after reading some reviews. However, we managed to get one each every single day by going down just before breakfast, and there were actually always some spare sunbeds that we could see. So, from our experience, this wasn’t an issue at all. Food The food was really nice overall and there was plenty of choice. However, after staying for a week, we did start to get a little bored as there didn’t seem to be much variation from day to day. A lot of the same dishes appeared regularly, so having a greater change in the selection every couple of days would have been nice. One small improvement would also be to label the desserts. There were lots of desserts that looked lovely, but we often had no idea what they actually were! Most hotels label their desserts, so this would have been a helpful addition. Overall, we had a lovely stay and would definitely say that the hotel has a lot of positives.