| | Francia, Playa de Los Pocillos, 35500, Spain
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Overall Community Rating: |   8.9 (based on 2 user reviews) |
 Club Hotel Riu Paraiso: Cracking Good Hotel by Alan |
| Posted 03 February 2010 about a visit in January 2010 | Overall rating: 9.0 |
We had stayed at Riu hotels before, the latest being the excellent Riu Vistamar on Gran Canaria, so we had high expectations of the “Gold Medal” Paraiso, and we were not disappointed.
The hotel has previously been two, separate hotels, (the second being the former Riu Palace) so there are two main buildings, connected by a 200 metre-long, covered boardwalk, or paths through the gardens. Each main building is horseshoe-shaped and of four storeys, with about 250 rooms in each. There are a further 100 two-storey apartments in the large, well-maintained grounds. Reception, restaurants, entertainment theatre and main bar are in one building, with a well-equipped Gym, Wellness Centre, hairdresser and shop in the other. Each has one heated plus one un-heated pool and childrens’ pool, ie. six in all. Generally, the Palace pool area was quieter, with no competition for sunbeds. It had its own attendant for towels/matelas and a Pool Bar.
Our room was on the fourth floor of the Riu Palace building, and was of modest size, but freshly-refurbished, with lots of drawer/hanging space, easy chair, occasional table and a lovely new bathroom. We had paid a small supplement for a balcony (standard is ground floor/terrace), but not the dearer extra of a pool view. However, we had a pool view anyway, and full sea view beyond that, so our situation was perfect. Other guests had also got a free upgrade, probably because the hotel was only about half-full.
The room had Sky TV, air-con, fridge, free safe and hair dryer. Everything was spotlessly clean and the linen changed frequently.
The main restaurant is buffet service, with free seating, inside or out. At lunchtimes, a separate snack bar has pizza/burger/toastie-type food, (pizzas are freshly-cooked continually, on the spot, and are superb) but you can also get your food from the much wider selection inside and bring it out to eat, if you wish. Wine, beer, water and soft drinks are all on-tap for DIY or available from the bar, plus spirits, if you wish. The choice of food at dinner was not as wide as we had experienced before, but this was more than compensated by unlimited visits to the two speciality restaurants, subject only to pre-booking. One was Asian and the other Mexican (which also does Canarian Saturday night only) Although not normally fans of either Asian or Mexican, we found both excellent, with wider choices than the main restaurant, and re-visited both several times. Both do 6.30 and 8.30 sittings. It really felt more like going out for a meal than the main dining room. Although still buffet for the food, drinks are served to your table.
All drinks, throughout are included up to midnight from the main bar and there's no measuring! For anyone who’s not had enough by then, there is a nightclub open until 2 am, but drinks are payable. Unlimited bottled water from Reception, anytime.
Evening entertainment is in the purpose-built theatre and included a resident duo, visiting UK acts and shows by the 8-strong resident animations team, sometimes followed by dancing. Most was of a good standard. The only thing that galled us a bit was the 10 minute self-adulation at the end in four different languages, but it would have seemed churlish to walk out when they had worked so hard. There was childrens’ entertainment early every evening.
A full daytime activities programme included aerobics, gymnastics, shooting, darts, French boules, shuffleboard, table tennis, volleyball, five-a-side and water basketball/polo. I found these a great way to meet fellow guests and all nationalities were well-represented.
The animation team are great fun and relate to all age groups. Childrens’ Clubs operate for younger kids and early teens.
If you do want to tear yourself away from all these attractions, a guest-only gate gives access to the promenade and a short walk one way into Poccillos / Matagorda, with a few shops/restaurants & bars or the other way to the “Golden Mile” (actually more like 3 miles) of Blackpool-type hype leading to the old town of Puerto Del Carmen and the port. Buses run along this road every 20 minutes between capital Arrecife and Costa Teguise, and taxis are cheap.
The very large beach of Los Poccillos is immediately opposite the hotel, but it’s dark sand and doesn’t look attractive. The receding tide leaves huge pools (ie “Poccillos”) which gradually drain away until the next tide fills them again. I am told the bathing is safe and the water warm, but didn’t try it.
The weather was very unsettled, with the 5-day forecast (posted in Reception) changing every day, and the actual being different again. However, it was always warm (21 - 25C) and we only had two half-days of showers in our two weeks. Most days varied between 70/30 and 30/70 sun/cloud. Only 3 days wall-to-wall sunshine. Good enough for sunbeds/swimming at least part of every day, and all of most days, and to gain a good tan.
One small niggle was our departure arrangements. We weren't being picked-up until 4.30 pm, so had tried from first arrival to keep our room until about 4.00pm. They said they wouldn't know until the evening before, and then told us they needed the room, so we had to vacate at 11.00am. With the hotel far below capacity, we didn't see the need for this. If it had been available, it would have been free to 1.00pm, or 50 euros beyond that, which we were prepared to pay. However, they did make a Courtesy Room available, so, a minor point.
Overall, we couldn’t fault this hotel and would recommend it to anybody.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
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 Club Hotel Riu Paraiso Reservations |
| Club Hotel Riu Paraiso: Excellent by Tony Mcfarlane |
| Posted 17 January 2006 about a visit in December 2005 | Overall rating: 8.7 |
Spent a week in the canarian sun just before Christmas and this place is superb. The surrounding areas isn't that good but you don't really need to leave the hotel grounds. The place boasts about 3000+ rooms and is spread over a good piece of land, but not that widespread that you can't walk round it easily. There are 3 big pools, one with a 'swim up' bar in it and a selection of restaurants. The food is excellent and the restuarants are spotless. In addition to the main restaurant, there are 2 further 'themed', Asian and grill restaurants, which are pre-booked (at no extra cost) at the hotel reception.
The entertainments team work tirelessly throughout the day, and sometimes at night depending upon the show that is on, to make sure that those who want to be active during their stay are catered for with a range of 'competitive' games as well as aerobics and other less active pursuits, like bingo.
Not a hotel that I would recommend for young families with children, but for couples, of all ages, it is excellent.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 27 of 27 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Club Hotel Riu Paraiso Reservations |
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Club Hotel Riu Paraiso Questions | Have you got a question about Club Hotel Riu Paraiso that you want answered before you book online? If our reviews do not contain the information that you need, ask a question and let other visitors tell you the real story!
 Club Hotel Riu Paraiso: Gluten Free |
| 06 Sep 2008 by Ian Bates |
Hi we are looking to stay with you easter next year could you tell me if you cater for Gluten Free Many Thanks
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| Club Hotel Riu Paraiso: What are the spa facilities like? Including cost. |
| 09 May 2008 by Christine Sullivan |
I would like to know what the hotel spa facilities are like, and whether they are expensive.
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