Riu Gran Canaria

Overall impression

What an amazing hotel! This was our second time in Gran Canaria, but our first time staying at this hotel and our first ever RIU hotel as well. I definitely understand why it gets so much hype.

Our holiday started off amazingly because we got a FREE UPGRADE! Overall, we had such a beautiful stay, made amazing memories and I would 100% recommend this hotel.

Room

We had booked a standard room but were upgraded to a suite with a private pool, very close to the infinity pool, which was such an amazing surprise.

The room itself was gorgeous and the beds were really comfortable. We needed a few extra pillows and this was no problem at all.

We were also very happy with the minibar and loved being able to order drinks through the app. There was just one occasion where the drinks we ordered didn’t arrive on time. We called reception twice about it, but unfortunately we still never ended up receiving them. This was only a one-time issue though and didn’t really affect our overall experience.

The only thing I personally would have preferred was a proper duvet between the covers. I completely understand that it’s a warm country, but I sleep much better with a proper duvet. We did get an extra fleece blanket though, which helped.

I’d give the room a 9/10 overall. The interior was beautiful and having the private pool was such a luxury. There were just a few very small things that could use some updating, like tiny marks or damage on some of the walls and floor, a few tiles in the shower and the door opening quite stiffly and scraping slightly against the floor. None of these things really bothered us though.

We also had no noise complaints at all from our room, which was great. The only disturbance we had was one false fire alarm in the morning, but other than that our room was very peaceful.

We did also have a few cockroaches in the room. I don’t really blame the hotel for this, as I understand they’re quite common in warm climates, especially when staying on the ground floor. Whenever we called reception, someone was sent to our room immediately, so it was handled very quickly.

Food

The food was a bit mixed for us, but the themed restaurants definitely made up for the areas we liked less.

The main dinner buffet disappointed me slightly and I’d probably rate it around a 6/10. The desserts weren’t really to my taste either and I found quite a few of them a little flavourless. We also only went to the main buffet for breakfast once and weren’t huge fans of that either.

That said, the themed restaurants were SO good.

We ate at the Italian restaurant four times and WOW. I still think about the tuna pizza — incredible. The Asian restaurant was really good too, and we also loved the steakhouse, especially the burger.

Pepe’s Food was great as well, so honestly we had no complaints about the food apart from the main buffet.

For lunch, I 100% recommend going to Atlantic every day. The food there is TOP NOTCH. We didn’t even bother going to the main buffet for lunch because Atlantic already has such a big selection. And the sea views while you’re eating are absolutely crazy.

I also really recommend the milkshakes at Moka Bar. We got them almost every day! The strawberry and chocolate milkshakes with whipped cream were our favourites and definitely became one of our little holiday treats.

Pools & bars

The infinity pool was one of the highlights of the hotel. The pool itself is beautiful and the views from there are incredible.

The cocktails were really good too, although they were quite strong, so we mostly ended up drinking mocktails. Our favourites were the caipirinha and piña colada mocktails.

The swim-up bar was also such a fun spot, especially in the afternoons. There was often a performer or live band there, which gave the whole area such a nice atmosphere. One band in particular, with a female and male singer, was incredible. Their energy was SO good and they were one of our favourite live acts of the holiday.

The sunbeds around the infinity pool do fill up very quickly, so that’s something to keep in mind.

The sundeck has plenty of beds available throughout the day, but there are no parasols there, so it can get very hot.

The main pools were also really nice and noticeably warmer than the infinity pool. Sometimes that was actually perfect because it can get quite windy around the infinity pool, so it was nice having both options.

Hotel grounds & atmosphere

The hotel grounds are absolutely insane. There are countless palm trees, everything is very clean and the whole resort just looks beautiful.

The lobby is gorgeous too, although the perfume or scent they use there was extremely intense and for some reason I really didn’t like the smell. That’s obviously very personal, but I’d definitely vote for a different fragrance.

The whole resort feels very well maintained, tropical and luxurious.

Entertainment

The entertainment was honestly incredible. I’ve never seen hotel entertainment on this kind of scale before.

The RIU Party was a 10/10 and we had SO much fun, but the nightly entertainment in general really impressed us too. The big evening shows felt very professional and much bigger than what I’m used to seeing at a hotel.

What I especially loved was that the night didn’t necessarily end after the main show. On most evenings there was still live music afterwards on a smaller stage in the same area, which made the atmosphere feel so much more lively and gave you something to enjoy for longer without having to go anywhere else.

Combined with the live music at the swim-up bar in the afternoons, there always seemed to be something going on, and the entertainment was definitely one of the strongest points of the hotel.

Service

The service was very good throughout our stay.

Whenever we needed anything, staff usually helped us quickly. Getting extra pillows was no problem at all, and when we called reception about the cockroaches, someone was sent to the room immediately.

The only service issue we had was with one minibar order through the app that never arrived, even after calling reception twice. Apart from that, everything was handled efficiently and conveniently.

Location

The location in Meloneras is perfect.

It’s a beautiful area and fits the overall feel of the hotel really well.

Final verdict

All in all, we had such a perfect holiday and made beautiful memories here.

There were a few small things that could be improved, mainly the main buffet, one minibar delivery issue and a few minor maintenance details in the room, but these really didn’t take away from the overall experience.

The beautiful grounds, infinity pool, themed restaurants, Atlantic lunch spot, Moka Bar milkshakes, entertainment, RIU Party, location and especially our amazing upgraded suite made this such a memorable stay.

We also felt that the hotel offered really good value for money. Considering the facilities, entertainment, food options, location and overall quality of the resort, it definitely felt worth it to us.

I can absolutely see why people love this hotel so much, and I would happily come back.

100% recommend!

A disappointing return – standards have dropped considerably

Having stayed at the Riu Gran Canaria before, I was really disappointed with this visit. We paid a lot of money for our holiday, but unfortunately the standard of the hotel no longer reflects the prices being charged.

Our room was tired and in need of refurbishment, with a cracked sink and shabby furniture. To make matters worse, we ended up looking directly onto the bins of the neighbouring hotel, which was extremely disappointing.

The all-inclusive drinks were another let-down. The cocktails were made by machine and were tasteless, with a very limited drinks menu. Even the Baileys was a local alternative rather than the genuine brand. At the main bar in the evenings, there was no fresh orange juice available, only Fanta or diluted juice. We were also surprised that Prosecco was available at breakfast but not with dinner.

Around the pool, many sunbeds were in a state of disrepair, and several parasols were broken. These are basic things that should be maintained in a hotel charging premium prices.

Having enjoyed this hotel on a previous visit, it was particularly disappointing to see such a decline in standards. At these prices, we expected much better in terms of the rooms, facilities and all-inclusive offering.

Sadly, we will not be returning until the hotel improves its standards to reflect the prices it charges. A real disappointment compared with our previous experience.

This was our 4th visit to this beautiful hotel and can’t wait to return. I found all the staff very helpful, friendly and efficient especially Amanda at the Sunset bar who even knew our orders every morning and greeted us with such a welcoming smile, making us feel very valued. Thank you! Our room had lovely views, and our request for same room as last year was honoured and very much appreciated! The housekeeping staff were top notch and room was kept spotlessly clean with fresh linen and towels provided. I do apologise as no tip was left for all the hard work, as on the last morning our safe jammed and left us panicked and rushing about and totally slipped our minds. On our return this won’t be forgotten. Can I just add after calling reception at 6.15 in the morning regarding the safe problem we were told someone would come up to the room just after 7.10 to sort for us as the guy didn’t start his work until then. Once again, as always we were met with efficiency and in fact the guy was in our room before 7 and sorted our problem without any need to panic over missing our bus pick up. We enjoyed once again trying out the different restaurants booked on our App but our favourite was the Atlantico for lunch with amazing views. Finally a big thank you to Tino for all your help again with our booking and our requests. Lovely to catch up with you again…. Until next time!