Riu Waikiki Hotel Reviews

Good points.we found the staff to be very polite and helpful and the hotel very clean although dated, a good sized pool with plenty of sunbeds .Bad points the majority of guests are german and whilst there is supposedly good ond bad in every race they seem to have more than thier fair share of arragance and think nothing of pushing you out of the way to get thier food or drink. The dining room is too crowded and the food is very repetative for both lunch and dinner we saw very little variation, in two weeks we where there we had the same 4 or 5 meat dishes each day and the meat could be quite tough,one fish dish each meal wich always looked the same. The evening entertainment could be quite good [better if you understand german] but it started at 9-30pm and ended before 11-00pm, the all inclusive drinks are very low in alcohol and have little affect, you need to go out of the hotel to get a decent drink wich defeats the object of an all inclusive holiday .Rooms ok but beds very uncomfortable more like camp beds.

This is the best hotel we have ever stay in,it was very clean the staff were very friendly what ever problem you had they would sort it out best they could.there was a good choice of food but the same choices everyday,the allinclusve was very good vaule for money.The drinks were self service apart from cocktails and spirits if u wanted to drink the bar dry you could have and no one would have said a word ha,i would recommend this hotel to anyone.

This is the best hotel i have ever stayed in. We arrived in the middle of the night and were offered food straight away after putting our cases in our rooms. The food is to a very high standard and alot of it is cooked in front of you. Hotel is a 5-10 min walk to the yumbo center and kas bar. Rooms are basic but cleaned to a high standard every day but are very big for a hotel. You never have to queue to get a drink at the bar for more than five minutes I would reccommend this hotel to anyone and im very picky but it was great

Returned yesterday from week at the Riu Waikiki. From the time we arrived to the time we left nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Check in was extremely easy and our room whle being fairly basic was kept very clean for the whole of our stay. The food was of an excellent quality if sometimes a bit repeatative and the restaurant staff were always very helpful. Being all inclusive the temptation is to eat far too much but there is always the option of getting a snack from by the bar rather than a full meal from the restaurant. The one drawback to the hotel isa that is is a good 20 minute walk for the nearest beach although there is a courtsey bus running during the day. All in all we would not hesitate to stay at the Waikiki again

Having stayed at 4 Riu hotels this was the most disappointing. However the other hotels have been 4 star, compared to them this is a comfortable 3 star hotel. I would imagine during the peak summer months this hotel will be very crowded. There are plenty of sunbeds but they are close together which will restrict movement and privicy around the pool. The room was small and basic but was kept clean by the maid. The food was plentiful and varied but did become repetitive but there was a great choice for all tastes. The restaurant staff were very helpful and pleasant as were the animation team. Children were well catered for with entertainment and the animation team were very enthusiastic but night time entertainment would have been better if a disco was provided after the nightly shows (mainly animation team are the entertainers)

Stayed at the Riu Waikiki for a week from 5th to 12th January 09. This was an excellent choice for a relaxing winter break. The Hotel is made up of 5 towers which are open at the top (strange seeing the rain falling down the middle of the tower when you open your room door!) The staff are probably the most inviting, friendly people we've came across, always greet you with a smile and hello, including the maids. The restaurant is in tower C and is split into two halves. The restaurant staff allocate you a table for your evening meal and you must use this for your entire stay but you're allowed to sit anywhere you want for breakfast and lunch. The entertainment staff, led by a woman from Cuba called Betti are very hard working and really try to make your holiday fun. The rooms are a bit basic, slightly dated and could do with a spruce up but they're very clean. You don't need to hire a safe, they are included in the room. The pool area is large and there's plenty sunbeds (although they are a bit close together) but if you get down early enough, you can move them around to suit yourself. There's also a self-service poolside terrace where you can sit and relax and have coffee,tea,juice etc... and the snack bar is located round the side of the terrace. there's also a few pool tables and lots of other activities available should you have kids with you. Overall, if i go back to Playa del Ingles, i'd certainly use this Hotel again for sure, i thoroughly enjoyed my time here!

Lovely hotel - very unusual in that it consists of 5 towers - open in the centre - with rooms radiating around the outside - everywhere was spotlessly clean & the food was fantastic - however, the dining room was a nightmare - basically circular with a hole in the centre - table arrangement was difficult & it felt like you were entering a rugby scrum to get your food - couldn't fault the quality of the food & drink - the location was well away from the beach - but there were plenty of places to walk to.

A fantastic day out at Palmitos Park - you actually walk into a cage with the birds - becoming part of the exhibit - we spent over 5 hours there & it felt like 5 minutes - birds, reptiles, meerkats, emus, orang utan, butterfly house, aquarium & much much more.

Normally postcards are written a couple of days into the holiday - we didn't have time to write them until the day before we left!!!!!!!

We love Gran Canaria - the sun shines - the people are incredibly friendly & a good time was had by all

Although very basic, it is extremely good value for money and I would recommend anyone visiting the hotel. The staff were friendly, everything was clean and you always saw staff cleaning and busy and not just standing around. The downstairs facilities were good for guests as well.

Rooms were along the lines of a travel lodge. Each room had a free safety deposit box and tv which had loads of channels (we stayed in tower B) including Cartoon Network which was good for quiet times for my 6 year old. There is an extra large tv in the downstairs saloon which showed the football games (we only discovered this after going elsewhere to watch the Scotland game).

Pool was very very clean. Staff cleaned it daily, in fact staff we always cleaning everywhere, the hotel was spotless all round, never yet saw any beasties. Loads of sunbeds which again were cleaned daily although it is worth getting up about 8 to secure a spot for the day.

Food was plentiful. Loads of variety every night. Lunch was either a choice of burgers, hot dogs, pizza and toasties in the pool bar or yet more plentiful choice in the restaurant. Evening meal was in two sittings, 6.30 or 8.30. You are assigned a table at the start of your stay which is yours for dinner every night - again loads of selection every time. Only slight comment here would be no childrens menu.

Entertainment is excellent. My 6 year old loved the kids club and made loads of friends between about the ages of 6 and 9. Kids club runs from 10.30 till 1pm then 3.30 till 5pm daily. Dominique and Letti are amazing with the kids and my son did not want to leave today. Loads to do during the day for adults too and night entertainment is good too - Grease is a must see.

Drinks were in plentiful supply, 6 soft drinks, 3 wines, 2 lagers, at least a dozen different cocktails, a dozen different hot drinks, plenty of spirits too. Staff were always polite, but needless to say Germans have not mastered the good old "how to queue" routine which became frustrating at times.

Resort - didnt see much of this am afraid as we were kept too entertained in the hotel but we did make it to the beach which is super busy, we walked along to the sand dunes which are amazing and came across the nudist beach which is definately not for kids of a certain age !

Summary

We had a fantastic time, met some fantastic people (you know who you are) and would definately go back, but for more than one week next time.

my family of 6 adults stayed at this hotel in June and were very impressed with it. The food was very good especially the snack bar at lunch time serving toasties, hotdogs, burgers, chips, salad etc. You also served your own beer and soft drinks at this time. We always managed to get a sunbed at 9am when going down for breakfast. The hotel was spotlessly clean and as my daughter of sixteen had her birthday on holiday the hotel presented her with a basket of fruit which was a lovely touch. There wasnt many British people at the hotel but we didnt have any problems with the other nationalities. Entertainment team tried really hard and always tried their best to get people involved. Overall We thoroughly enjoyed this hotel and would recommend it.

L. Brown lanarkshire

stayed at rui hotel previously so knew what to expect. reception first class, friendly and helpful. room tidy as described . meals nice but repetative.
if you want a sun lounger put your towel down early is the best advise.the pool is small expect to be touching the next guests towel . get in early or expect to be in the shade.

the entertainment staff seem to only want to assist the german guests you are made to feel second if included at all.
the bar is as described but expect to be served only after he german guests.
the nightly entertainment is either very good or very poor . there are evenings where failure to speak german means don't bother.
your very close to the towns night life so do explore look for a giant sling shot (yumbo cenre)its the gay centre worth a wander.

the beach leads on to the dunes watch out for the nudists who flunt about the area.
the local bus service is 1st class so get about.its cheaer/ more entertaining to organise your day tris this way, speak with the reception staff who are only to happy to help.
the souix city trip is fridays only so get organised see reception staff not to be missed ( see where the holidays reps come to life)

all in all had an enjoyable time but would not bother with this hotel unless they alter there attitudes towards non germans guests

we travelled here for 1 week only and were very please with the hotel and staff who were very good from the off!we arrived at 4pm in the afternoon and the weather was fabulous, the bar was always manned and you rarely had to wait to be served, failing that you could use the self service for the lager and soft drinks, there was a huge variety of drinks and they even has alcoholic slushes. Th food was good sometimes a little repetative however still very good, we have visited lots of all incusives in the past and this is probably up there in the top 3. Maid service was fantastic they even left a complimentary fruit basket and towel swan for our friends little girl who was 5 whilst we were there. The entertainment for the kids wasnt the greatest but they did try.If you like to sunbathe around the pool you need to be up about 6.30 to get a decent bed as these are taken early by our european friends! The only problem we had was the actual resort itself there was very little for you to do of an evening if you did want to wander out.

I would not visit playa del ingles again but i will certainly use the riu chain again without a second thought if you do go out of an evening you must go to diamonds bar in the yumbo centre and meet paul the waiter from hartlepool he was fantastic and very entertaining. watch out if you go to the kasbah centre you get hounded by the locals selling electrical equipment and a lot of them are well dodgy enjoy!!!!!!!!!

booked into all inclusive rui. have previously stayed at rui so knew what to expext. hotel rooms spotless, reception very helpful. from here on it goes downhill. there are various nations staying here but expect everything to be directed towards the germans . the entertainment staff make you feel second best. the evening entertainment was either very good or very poor can't tell you about it as i don't speak german and no effort was made to bring us onboard. the bar staff also serve you after all the germans have been seen to first.

out side to hotel don't go home without visiting the souix village (friday evening) the kasbar (5 mins walk) has all the trendy bars lots of noise but perhaps for the younger generation. expect to be man handled here. the yumbo centre (10 mins) is the gay centre but do visit its a hoot. the local beach is excellent plus the dunes are a must! . remember there is a naturalist patch so you have been warned old aged men who really should know better.
get the bus to porta morgan (3.4 euros) its a hour coach trip and worth the money for the journey alone here you will see the yellow submarine/ boat /fishing/ whale watching trips plus some shopping.
another bus trip is porta morgan smaller but worth a trip out.

had a good stay but would i use this hotel again perhaps not.

let me say that we have stayed at the rui previously in mexico, yes it was 5* and this was 3*.
the reception is what you expect,knowledgable and very helpful. the meals are fine if a little predictable after the first few days. you will be made to sit with people who you dont know!
we had a dutch, german, scotish, welsh, and another german couple as meal guests.
NOTE two weeks and no paella!

the hotel has a large number of german guests and you feel that your second to what they want, the entertainment staff bend over backwards for the germans while we are largly ignored!
our airtours rep was a waste of space so if you get Laura take a photo as you will not see her again, she was late at arrival meeting with no appoligy and brought a time share rep with her.
organise a trip to souix city well worth it. the Kassba has all the bars cream, ministry of sound, china white, foam parties if your young and up for it have a go to us it was a bull ring.
the hotel entertainment one night was simply the best the next give it a miss.(try learning german)
in short weather stunning hotel a poor 3*
would we travel there again ..no

We really enyoyed our week here, the hotel and staff are lovely. There are pro's and cons and it's not for everyone.

On arrival, at 3.30AM we were shown into the restaurant to help ourselves to drinks and cold buffet. Till we found out you don't get fed from 3pm on your last day, not so good when you're there till 1am the following morning.

Nice clean rooms, basic, no hairdryer/iron/coffee maker etc. Only one socket in our room. Sky New's is the only English channel on the TV. Free safety deposit box though. Ceiling fan just an ornament.

Food
Breakfast - cooked breakfast 4little dull, scrambledandfriedandboiled egg, and spanish omelette, some days fried spam, some days fried hotdogs, some days no meat. Cereals left open 24/7 so we never tried them, plenty cooked meats for a continental breakfast, not the variety of fresh fruit you might expect.
Lunch 1-3pm and Dinner 6.30/8.30pm - well cooked, fresh, most meats cooked in front of you. VERY repetitive, pork and fish and pasta each night, guaranteed, occasionally a little chicken or liver thrown into the mix, steak once a week. Salad buffet, bread selection, and soups nice, fresh and varied.
Snack bar - open from 10 for continental breakfast, 12.30 - 3 for burgers and hot dogs, 4-6 for cake.
There's nothing substantial to eat between 3 and 8.30 if you're on the late dinner sitting which can be a bit frustrating.

Drinks - brilliant - everything but spirits self service, no queues, excellent range of hot and cold, soft and alcoholic, local drinks fine.

Daytime Entertainment - briliant if you're the type to get involved in sports games etc on your hols, plenty to do, competetion can get a bit heated between the nationalities. Not so great if you're there to chill out with a book or if you've got kids aged between 6-12 who aren't quite big enough to get involved but need entertaining - there's not much for them to do.

It was ok when we were there but be sure to put out your towels on your sun lounger at especially busy times - you have been warned.

Evening Entertainment - the one thing that lets this place down, at least for the British. Catered toward the German guests, very repetitive, 3 nights a week it's a piano player singing Tom Jones' songs in broken english, 2 nights it's the hotel staff, and the latest the entertainment goes on till is 11, even the dire background music stops then.

Zig Zag Jeep Safari - excellent day out
Aqualand Water Park - good laugh but take water shoes/jellies/flip flops to walk around in or you wont last long.

Playa del Ingles as a resort - not enough nice shops, bit grotty - reminded me of the Bigg Market on a saturday night, smelly with drains/rubbish/vomit/urine. Hasseled from the touts and shopkeepers wherever you go. Beach not the nicest on the island. Would recommend the hotel, and a visit to the island, but if you like exploring the locality for a bit of culture etc I would recommend another part of the island.