Hotel Riu Playa Blanca 5*

Really enjoyed our time here. Despite coming about a week or so after the earthquake, everything was fine. Service and rooms were good. There was construction and repairs going on due to the earthquake but it did not affect. The food was good. Nice activities for kids and throughout the day. The kids really loved the kiddie pool with all yhe watersides. Would definitely try to come again. I found the value was really great for all that we enjoyed. My wife celebrated her birthday and they surprised her with a nice birthday cake at the restaurant and a special note amd fruit platter in her room from Management. We got some excellent family pics from the photo booth professionals.

This is quite possibly the worse resort experience in my lifetime. There are so many negatives I don’t even know where to start. We don’t do resorts for this reason, but it was a friends wedding. One star is generous. The decor of this place is just ugly. The AC is so loud you can’t sleep. They did not hold our reservation and instead tried to tell us it was on an availability basis. Tried to place us in a room with twin beds. Had to argue just to get our room. Had to inform them of an empty room with a king bed, they didn’t even know it. Check in was not 3:00 it was 6:00 pm. Zero apology. Some 20 something year old kid talking over me when I tried to get resolve. The garden view was a dirt lot. Pillows on a king bed, just 2, were 20” long made of chunked foam. CHUNKED FOAM. The bar staff acts like they are doing you a favor when you ask for a drink. The closed down most bar services in the swim up at 4:30. There is ONE ELEVATOR in the entire resort. Say that gain ONE ELEVATOR. You have to walk forever just to get anywhere, OR use 6 flights of stairs, more walking. That isn’t what a vacation is about… walking. There are 4 pools, all just rectangle, all ugly, all spread out. More walking. Not nearly enough shaded areas around the pool to get out of the hot sun. 4 longe chars to ONE umbrella. Tons of open, unused space. Green but completely unused. More walking. If you are not willing to arrive early and stand in line, the Restaurants fill up and you won’t get in. No real signage or direction to let you know where things are. No one asks you if you require assistance. The snack bar food looks like it was left there for a few days. The sports bar had one TV. The all inclusive room bar is only all inclusive every other day. No one on staff is pleasant, no one smiles. No one is helpful unless you force the issue. The WiFi, didn’t work on either on my devices. All inclusive is only inclusive if you push the issue. Nothing to stir your coffee with at all. Use your finger ???. The location, I don’t know why the hotel row is so remote. But there are dozens of them, hotel row is Not pretty at all. The beach is black sand and dirty. Their reply to my review… that didn’t work either.