This was a truly amazin hotel and such a quality experience for myself and 16 yr old daughter and I loved my holiday in Gran Canaria in the Rui Vistamar. The hotel was quality and the staff (apart from being soooo good looking - so many in the one place) were the loveliest most friendliest people I met.
Yes of course I read the reviews and although I value the guidance of trip advisor, I had no worries on arrival and throughout my holiday. No-one who stays here should have any complaints. If you do, then get a life!!!!!!
Best Bits: towels/cushions for loungers, no issues getting a lounger whatever time of the day, parasols in abundance and the best availability i have ever experienced, no queuing up, no early morning fighting for loungers and parasols. That makes for such a relaxing holiday - when I remember all the previous holidays when I had to get up so early to put my towel on a sunbed and next to an umbella because of limited availability.
Moans about the lifts, not that bad, you eat so much food the stairs are good exercise for you. Food being repetitive - so untrue -.it was amazing, One couple I met didnt know that there was lunch being served in the restaurant until day 5 of their holiday because there was so much variation of food available at the pool bar.
Entertainment - the staff worked so hard and yes its the usual stuf but so well organised and if you bored then the Barbacudia/karaoke bar, and another bar - i cant remember the name of at the Europa centre had great entertainment every night of the week starting at 11.30p.m. so you get the best of both worlds and if you are looking for more.
Bar staff, Ivan, jessica, and "Tom Cruise" aka Jose - cutie - were truly the most efficient people I know and so friendly I sat most nights at the bar just to chat to them and watch them in action. They all have their own specials - cocktails - so beware!!
Lots of games and activities at the pool during the day if thats your thing and great for the kids. Go to the uppper pool area if you want to get away from kids and activities, much quieter.
Rooms lovelys great maid service, cleans towels every day.
Dont walk, too high up and too hot!! Take a taxi they arrive within minues and so cheapI My review is already too long and in summary loved it would go back and how could you complain. Brill and def 4 star . I love you Rui V.

This was our first trip to a Riu hotel and although we had visited the island before, this was our first All Inclusive holiday there, so I guess we can offer some comparison based on other hotels in the area.

We'll start with the basics first- the hotel transfer time is about 45mins- 1hr from the airport, so make sure you make that dash to the loo before boarding the coach!!

On arrival (1am) we were greeted by the friendly man at reception, who explained everything in perfect English about our stay (free safe in the room, free beach towels, meal times, etc) and attached the all-important wrist band indicating your passport to much eating! To our surprise he then invited us to go downstairs as we must be hungry after our long trip- and sure enough a selection of salads and cold meats had been set out for us in the restaurant. How kind is that?!? He then provided us with a few litre bottles of mineral water (which you can collect an unlimited supply of at any time during your stay from reception) and off we went to our room.

The rooms are all below the reception entrance and can be accessed by lifts or stairs. Given that this is an all inclusive resort I suggest you take the stairs as often as possible in order to work off some of the calories that will accumulate during your stay. We had emailed (and I suggest you do this) the hotel a few days after booking in order to request a room on a higher floor (as they have the best view) and sure enough we were provided with an excellent view. The rooms are well maintained although possibly a little dated (Canarian hotels all look dated- even the new ones!) and come with air conditioning and fridges.

Please be aware that there is no off peak or peak season on these islands so maintenance work can happen any time of the year. The room next to us was being refurbished so we had a little noise during the day for two days of the holiday, but nothing worth complaining about. The reception area is currently being expanded to include new shops, but most of the major work has been completed.

I really do not understand people that can complain about the food! This hotel has to cater for many nations tastes, several times a day, for about 500 guests and they really do an excellent job. The food is fresh, well prepared, and well presented. Add to this the snack facilities during the day and the superb service and you really cannot fault it. You are provided with an allocated table for dinner (you can choose any table for breakfast and lunch, or even choose to have both up at the pool snack bar) and also a set dinner time (6:30pm or 8:30pm). This can be changed on your first day, but you must stick to it for the rest of your stay. This is to avoid the dining room becoming overcrowded. Yes the dining room is a little tight for space, but you can also book at no extra charge to eat in the Andaluzian restaurant on the top balcony which has fewer tables and a more relaxed feel.

The one thing we came away from this hotel raving about was the service- the staff genuinely enjoying working at the hotel and take an interest in their guests. Not once did we walk past a member of staff without them asking how we were or saying good day to us. Truly excellent! You will get an even better response if you choose to avoid the international language of ignorance and have an attempt at Spanish.

The hotel is spotless and maids are constantly mopping, dusting, and generally making sure your stay is a comfortable one. On the one day we slept in I hung the "Room needs cleaned" sign on the door of the room and within 5 minutes a maid had appeared, cleaned the room from top to bottom and arranged our towels into little swans.

The Animation Entertainment crew work their socks off at this place. This lot will be up before you, welcoming you to meals, encouraging you to take part in the vast array of free activities on offer, running the kids club, taking pictures of your stay, putting on an excellent show for you at night (even presenting certificates and prizes to the winners of the activities) and be in bed after you. The energy they have is incredible and they have the kids (some of whom were wholly intolerable with their parents) eating out of their hands.

Yes there is a steep hill to the hotel, but have a little look around and you will see that this is common to the island- if you want the stunning views there has to be a trade off. The taxis are cheap, but to be honest the entertainment is enough to keep you going.

One word of advice- the hotel also runs excursions and some may be cheaper than the ones offered by your Tour rep. There are yellow folders in reception- have a look at the prices...

If you have an evening flight you can turn up at reception that day and (if available) pay 50 Euros to keep the room all day and evening and also get meals/drinks all day for the occupants. That’s a bargain in my mind and we gladly took the offer. Do not wait until after breakfast- all of the rooms will be gone!

All in all an excellent holiday and we will be back!!

This has to be one of the best all inclusive hotels I have stayed in. T he food was excellent and there was plenty of it. You can have a late breakfast up in the pool area which means you can have a longer lie. There did not seem to be too much trouble getting a sunbed although it was starting to get busier when we left so that could change. There was a good mix of nationalities staying which I enjoy on my holidays. Not a hotel for people who have walking difficulties or for people who like a busy nightlife. The staff are friendly the hotel is immaculately clean the room was a good size with a big balcony. we had a great time and would recommend this hotel highly.

Where do i start? the rooms were very comfortable, complete with a fan AND air conditioning so it was always as cool as you want it to be. Theres also a mini fridge which we found useful as the reception give you free 1.5lt bottles of water, so we would ask for 2 or 3 at a time and keep them in the fridge. The staff were very friendly, from the receptionists to the waiters to the bar staff to the entertainment staff, they could all speak spanish, english, german and these were just the languages we heard them speak.

The food was very nice. Lots to choose from, and for the reviwers who claim it is repetitive, what do you expect? Ever night they served chicken or beef or pork, always grilled fish, lots of salad choice, lots of dessert choice, pizzas, pastas, and serve your own drink. The sauces with the meats always changed, so whats the problem? what else could you ask for? I puton so much weight during my holiday as i was always so spoilt for choice, every night was a 3 course meal, but why not make the most of it?

The entertainment was fantastic. Better than any other hotel ive been to. The effort they put into each show, the dancing and the drama and the comedy. We would get in early most nights to try and grab ourselves some good seats and we enjoyed every single night. There were lots of couples and a few families, but there was always something to do for everyone. The entertainment team do activities during the day such as aqua aerobics, volleyball and tennis, theres a kids club and kids entertainers.

Its a fantastic place for a couple, its peaceful yet entertaining. The area is quiet but there are a couple of bars down the road and a short taxi ride to porto rico if you want a livlier night. There is not one bad thing i can say about the hotel.

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.