Hotel Riu Palace Boavista

Just home from a week at RIU Palace boa vista . I have been very nervous for this trip , considering all the news coverage about illness & travelling with two small boys , my main concern was that anyone would be ill & ruin our time together or even worse still end up in hospital. I had contacted the hotel before leaving (& TUI) & asked for an update on what they do to prevent illness & never did get a response . However upon arrival , the meeting on the morning made us all feel at ease as they explained everything food wise is cleaned in filtered water & all ice is made from bottled / filtered water . I started to relax a little ! On our first night at the buffet i was completely overwhelmed with choice & the fact that they so confidently served things like sushi & soo much raw & cooked fish, it all looked fantastic . But generally The things you know you should generally stay away from at a big buffett anywhere in the world incase of illness . Never the less we ate freely & had no worries at all. The main concerning thing for us was the ammount of Flies in the buffet, & actually in the food . I have travelled through 10 countries in Africa on a bus backpacking & whilst i fully appreciate it is Africa & The sheer volume of flies maybe couldn’t have been helped. I do believe that more could be done to protect the food in the buffet . It was soo off putting & just unbearable to sit outside with all of them around us. There was some hard core Riu boa vista returning fans who were very well prepared with fly deterrents with them & spinny fans on the table , i wish we had thought of this too! The main thing for me was going to put yoghurt in my bowl in the morning & finding dead flies all within the yoghurt , & at every meal time there was dead flies within food . i truly think something else could be done to help . The staff are just unbelievable & do everything & anything to help & are so friendly, genuinely can’t fault them . The pools & hotel were very busy when we were there, but we still managed to get a sunbed each day, even if it wasn’t exactly where we wanted we were pretty chilled & just moved wherever there was space . The party pool as we liked to call it was always soooo busy with people enjoying their holiday & using the pool bar kids around & all. We found the pool with the built in sunbeds the most family friendly one throughout the day. One thing i’d love to highlight as it was a huge highlight of our stay here in August was the baby sharks & turtles you can see first thing in the morning. Each morning on the beach we got up at 6am & went to see what we could see. Absolutely fascinated to learn that this beach & bay was a well known nursery for Hammerhead sharks , reef sharks & some others. We saw absolutely tons of baby reef sharks & 3 hammerheads , countless turtles in the water ! it really was a highlight . One day we walked down towards sal rei & came across some turtle markings on the beach where they had come out of the water we really found this exciting & the boys loved it too. The splash park & slides were a huge hit & surprisingly quiet during the day as you can’t drink around the pool & there is no bar , (perfect for us) but most didn’t bother . There is loads of sunbeds with shade so we set up camp there . Unfortunately , on Day 3 my husband got sick . I was so worries after reading reports of illness & instantly wondered what it could of been. We had been relentless at sanitising on the way into restaurants & on the way out & all around the hotel . Shortly after my son got really sick too. This was a huge sign for us that it maybe wasn’t anything to do with the food , they ate completely differently & thought maybe because of the sheer volume of people in the pools & hotel in general a typical sickness bug which unfortunately wiped out 2/3 days for us . My biggest tip for anyone going & feeling nervous would be , bring all the medical things you can to help yourself , rehydration sachets and anything you can for just incase . The reception had told us we could see a doctor for €100 but it was off sight & there was no way i could have got them there they were so ill. In the buffet, take your own fork to select your food & don’t use the tongs . There is masses & masses of people in there all using the tongs & possibly not as religious with cleanliness as you are . We did have a lovely stay & can’t fault the staff, the hotel , the facilities . The only let down for us has been illness & flies in the food .

I have to write a review to say the last review is not the experience we had in June 2025, must have gone to a completely different hotel, My partner and I had a great relaxing holiday, there are 3 pools, 2 swim up, I could easily do an hour swimming lengths in the morning in the swim up pool, both swim up pools have to be at least a length long, what more can you ask if you, like I, love to get in a couple of lengths in, total rubbish about the review about the pools, there is one very large pool, for families and adults, with lots of sunbeds available. The food at both buffet restaurants is absolutely lovely with lots of choices, I can't understand this person's negative review. I'm a bit annoyed about this as it is such a beautiful hotel, beautiful staff and lots and lots of friendly guests, all nationalities. Myself and partner are coming back on 14 June 2027, we do not normally go to the same hotel, but we adored it.