We have stayed in many Riu hotels before but this is our first time at one of their adult only resorts. This will be our last too. It’s certainly tainted our image of the brand so we shan’t be returning. After we had checked in, we walked to our room with our luggage ourselves. We were not offered assistance. When we got to the room, neither of the key cards worked. My husband walked back to reception and they reprogrammed both keys. When he arrived back to me and the luggage they did not work again. I managed to get a cleaner to let us in. I phoned reception and they eventually sent an engineer who did something with the lock and then the keys worked. For a day. We went back to reception again to be told that the keys/locks aren’t great and are very temperamental. Great. We are seasoned travellers so know to keep room keys away from mobiles so we having taken precautions to reduce the amount of times we’ve needed to have the keys reset. The staff in general are lovely. They work extremely hard, working long hours but maintain a friendly demeanour. Some offer way better service than others though, as is usual. Stand out employees for great service - Edwin (breakfast buffet and Japanese restaurant), Denny (lunch buffet and Japanese), Juan Luis (breakfast buffet), Sorangel (breakfast buffet and beach steakhouse), Elizabeth (La Ola swim up bar), Peguero & Thomas (Macao bar). The gardening staff do a phenomenal job of keeping the grounds neat and tidy. The maids do a good job keeping the rooms clean. The pool attendants have a tough job but they do their best given the circumstances - those being that although the Riu app states that the pools should not be used beyond 7pm, this rule is flagrantly disregarded every day and the surrounding areas are left in a disgusting state by “adult guests”. You’d be forgiven for thinking the squalor left behind each day was a one off. We’ve been here for almost 3 weeks and every morning the same disgusting mess has been left for the pool attendants to contend with. It’s utterly disrespectful. If you, like us, tidy up after yourself (even simple things like putting empty bottles, rubbish in a bin) then you’ll be appalled at how people behave at this resort. It definitely has a vibe of party location for young Americans who are not yet legally allowed to drink in US so come here & do it in excess, along with smoking weed and goodness knows what else. The food is usually of a good standard. We’ve been to most of the specialty restaurants, but have been mostly underwhelmed. Previous stays in Riu hotels have seen a good level of service and a la carte menus. This time the Italian & Japanese restaurants are still 100% buffet self-service. The service on both our visits to the Italian left a lot to be desired. We had been sat down for over 10 minutes without even water being offered. They tend to gravitate to the bigger tables in the hope of a bigger tip no doubt. We found the best restaurant, certainly food wise, was Olé. The sirloin steak on offer there is better than the ribeye offering in the steakhouse. It should only loosely be named steakhouse as the ribeye is the only steak on offer. A very fatty cut too. This restaurant is completely table service though, although not explained very well. We thought there was a choice of 2 starters but they just bring both starters, just 10-15 minutes apart. The main course and desserts are ordered and brought to the table. It’s just a bit weird as it’s a restaurant that works on “sittings” so it just feels like a badly organised mass-catering event. We haven’t been back. The worst restaurant was The Taj Mahal. Again, no explanation that starters and desserts were buffet style. We figured it out though. We were waiting for someone to take our main meal order but it transpires they bring sampling dishes of chicken, lamb, fish and lentils with a bowl of rice. They’re served in traditional Indian serving dishes and placed atop of tea light heaters as is fairly common practice in Indian restaurants. Sadly, the food was tepid, at best, and the tea light heaters did not have tea lights in so were pointless. We left our cold food there and had a small bite in the buffet restaurant instead. The Riu app is touted as being really helpful…but don’t waste your time. I ordered 2 extra pillows after the first couple of days - I’m still waiting, despite giving feedback on the app that this had still not been fulfilled. We also ordered some 7 up for our minibar which is supposed to be restocked every two days anyway… I asked for 2 bottles. 2 days later 1 had been left. On two occasions (so far…we still have 4 nights left) I’ve had to contact reception for them to bring towels for showering. The room had been tidied but no clean towels left. I can’t get my head around how that happens! Moreover, I don’t understand why they have an eco policy about not replacing towels each day if you leave them on rails/hooks. We have not had to leave towels on the floor more than once, because even when we do leave them on rails, happy to use them again, they get changed anyway. The beach is beautiful, although the stretch along the Republica section looks more like a sun longer graveyard. So many of them squeezed next to each other, particularly towards the water sports section… but no one is using them so it just looks messy. The hotels either side of us have a much tidier beach area. So, if you want a peaceful holiday, where you’re assured of cleanliness, great service and to be surrounded by like-minded, respectful people in a picturesque location - choose somewhere else, this is not the place for you.…