Riu Paraiso Lanzarote

Positives Plenty of sun loungers Very clean Lovely friendly staff - cannot fault them at all! Issue with our room door not locking properly was fixed within 10 mins of being reported by maintenance team, excellent service. Great location opposite beach

Negatives No inflatables or balls allowed in the pool (depending on what lifeguard was working) a lot of disappointed children. We stayed at the ‘far’ end of the hotel, all entertainment etc focused on one pool, nothing at the pool near our room. Only 3 electrical outlets in the room, not ideal when you have 3 phones to charge, iPads to charge, hair straighteners to plug in etc FOOD - very repetitive! Pepes pool bar served the same food every day. We went out for dinner 4 nights out of our 7 night stay. The Chinese restaurant in the hotel however was very tasty. And the churros at breakfast were a hit with my son!

We Arrived for our 5th stay after a smooth flight from East Midlands. We were greeted with a warm welcome, our rooms had been upgraded to a sea view as it was our Silver wedding anniversary, this was unexpected but a nice touch. Our rooms were next to each other and in the main building as requested. Our rooms were perfect, clean, light and airy. We had two bottles of water in the fridge. Tea, coffee, sugar and kettle with cups provided which you can top up yourself from any self serve stations. No iron or ironing board but this can be requested from reception. Safe is free to use. Bathroom was spacious and clean with towels provided. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand soap all provided, this is organic and locally produced, it’s a lovely product and wish I could buy it to bring home. The rooms were cleaned daily, if you need clean towels leave them on the floor, there is a note you can leave on your bed to have your sheets changed. We were sadly only visiting for a week so did not feel we needed clean bedding. We had flowers, Prosecco, chocolates and a I love RIU bag left in our rooms due to our repeated stays, and for our silver wedding anniversary, again makes you feel welcome and valued 😊. The air con worked well and there is a ceiling fan which I love. The pools on both sides are clean and warm, there is a lifeguard to ensure safety. You are allowed balls in one half of the pool on the quiet side. In the main pools there are daily activities taking place, the entertainment team come across to the quiet pool to make you aware of what’s happening so that you can participate, everyone is included and invited to take part. Bingo at 4 is good fun! You are provided with pool towels on arrival you’ll be given tickets to collect them, there is a towel hut at each pool and you can change them daily if you wish. The huts are open between 10 and 12 each day. There is a pool bar at each pool, serving all spirits, cocktails, wine, beer, soft drinks and hot drinks. There is also Pepe’s food which is burgers, hotdogs, salads, chips, nachos, chicken nuggets, sometimes cheese balls ( my favourite). There are cakes and fresh fruit also. If you prefer you can eat lunch at the restaurant which gives a wider variety of choice. The food from pepe’s was super fresh, replenished regularly and hot. Main restaurant was wonderful, for breakfast there is pastries, hot full cooked breakfast. Meats and cheeses, pate, cereal, fruit, yogurt, smoothies, fresh juice, coffee and on Sunday there is Cava too !The beans were always cold but there is a microwave which I used and it was clean. Every variety of bread along with toasters, (toasters I think could do with being replaced it took nearly 10 minutes to fully toast my bread😬.) No English bacon or sausage, but everything was hot, fresh and tasty. For lunch there is Burgers and hotdogs, huge salad station with potato salad, pasta, fresh sandwiches and wraps, soups with fresh bread rolls, fish, meat dishes, pastas and pizza. All hot and fresh. For dinner there are multiple stations including, Italian pizza and pasta with the most amazing garlic bread and risotto and paella, fish with different variations, fresh carved meat, we had duck, chicken, beef and ribs, all was cooked perfect and hot. There is an extensive salad bar, cheese board selection and dessert selection including a chocolate fountain. There’s fresh soup every day, the tomato soup was delicious, fresh bread rolls, fresh hams and branded sauces. There is a huge range of food, I did not come across anything uncooked and everything super clean, you can completely indulge and be as healthy or unhealthy as you like. The drinks are ok, my husband drank the beer which is Amstel, I tried the white wine, rose and red which was perfectly acceptable. The cava was nice and the Gin and Tonic although I found the tonic to be flat. The cocktails were good, I did try them but I’m not really a cocktail drinker. The entertainment, some was great some not so great, the best act for interaction with their audience and for filling the dance floor has to be Ginger and Spice, they are brilliant 🤩. The duo were flat, and there was no interaction with the audience at all, there were two male acts on which were background music which were boring, maybe a saxophonist or piano player could change that up slightly and provide a better ambience for the evening.During this stay we did not watch any shows, but we have before and they were good. The football was being shown in the theatre and 24 hour bar, which was good for those who like to watch it. The staff were lovely, all friendly and there were several who remembered us and personally greeted us. General cleanliness of the hotel was above and beyond, I did go to the 24 hour bar for an early morning coffee most days, there would be so many staff cleaning everything, buffing, sweeping and mopping the hotel is so clean. There is a well being spa on site, we had a beautiful massage at a very good price. There is also a hair salon, a shop which is quite well stocked and a gym which is small but available, modern and has air con. We did eat out twice, only because we love to return to some local restaurants for an Indian and Chinese. The hotel is huge, with two hotels being linked by a bridge, however there are lifts and they do listen to requests so if you have mobility concerns then request the main building. The hotel is very disabled friendly and even has accessible pools and adapted rooms, There are lifts all around for ease too. This was our 5th stay and we loved it, we can’t wait to return again, thank you everyone at the Riu for another amazing stay!

Good points: close to airport, pubs/restaurants close by, sun beds always available, very clean hotel, right on beach, prosecco and pool towels a nice addition.

Bad points: food repetitive at all meals, no ice cream in snack areas, cocktails in small cups and mainly full of ice, no designated kids food section, kids disco is at 16.30, entertainment is shocking with staff miming, massive hotel but everyone is crammed into one side of it with other areas with massively wasted space. Smoking everywhere even at pool with no one telling people not to do it. Rooms that overlook the massive bridge essentially can't use their balcony as totally overlooked and people constantly walking past. The hotel could utilise their space so much better generally and although it's massive you feel a bit shoehorned into small spaces, The restaurant is also tiny for the size of the hotel. The 2 other restaurants are nice for a change but not wildly different or special.

Overall it's okay but we wouldn't return.