Hotel Riu Papayas - All Inclusive

This is our first time at this hotel we have stayed at many riu hotels before this one wasn’t the best. Most of the staff were very nice especially the bar staff and the cleaners especially Angelica. The restaurant staff were ok but some of them were not particularly friendly and often forgot to ask us if we wanted water with our meal. The dinners at night were barely warm and most of the veg was almost cold. The room was great we had a two bedroom room it gave us plenty of space and the cleanliness was superb. We didn’t rate the entertainment but a lot of guests did we found it quite amateurish.
The area outside of the hotel wasn’t great no cafes or bars nearby it was near a bus stop and the hotel had a free bus to the beach daily. I don’t think we will return that’s just our personal choice.

This is a great hotel in a good location in playa del inglis ,the food was absolutely superb for an all inclusive hotel ,lots to choose from and very well cooked every day ,the pool is big enough with the only very slight issue is the shades that can be drawn back by staff ,we found it easier just to get beds with the smaller shades as there was some issues with people requiring shades open or closed which was entertainment in itself .older beds need replaced though but this has already started ,the staff were exceptional ,we had an incident with my daughter being unwell and they were on the scene immediately making sure everything was ok ,from lifeguards to management which was very reassuring ,the shuttle bus is a must and gets you to the beach and back easily ,the surrounding area has bars and restaurants nearby also .i would definitely recommend this hotel for a holiday

Exceptional stay!

We can only give this RIU hotel the highest rating. Everything was perfect from start to finish: the facilities were beautiful, well maintained, and spotlessly clean at all times. Our room was spacious, comfortable, and equipped with everything we needed for a truly relaxing stay.

A special mention goes to the food, which was excellent throughout our stay. The variety and quality were outstanding, with plenty of options to suit every taste. The staff were equally impressive—friendly, professional, attentive, and always ready to help with a smile.

A heartfelt thank you to Ada at the reception desk, whose kindness, professionalism, and genuine care made our experience even more enjoyable. She is a real asset to the hotel.

We highly recommend this RIU hotel and look forward to returning in the future. Five stars all the way! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

El todo incluido

Todo muy bien

Check in and reception were very good and knowledgeable and efficient
Room was good sized but could do with a few changes, for example bath towels are very small, toilet paper is very low quality, no plug sockets near a mirror and it could have done with another work surface/desk area.
Food was average, some days better than others. Some items were of very low quality, for example the burgers were very gristly. Some days would be heavily loaded to one particular meat so if you didn’t like that particular meat, choices became limited
General service of the hotel could be improved. Compared to other Rius I have stayed in I felt this one lacked the personal touch. It’s more of a ‘do it yourself’ attitude rather than people wanting to help you. For example, you don’t get offered a drink at dinner, it’s self service and there aren’t people around the pool wanting to help you with sunbeds or parasols. These are minor issues and not a huge problem. But when on holiday I feel like they are nice to have.
Overall for the price paid we think it was good value but just a few tweaks would make this hotel even better and make us more likely to want to return. Currently we are glad we went and would return to Gran Canaria but not to this hotel

Overall good for food and drinks. Cocktails were machine made which was poor. the evening entertainment was very poor.

We have had a great time at this hotel.

Plenty of sunloungers but yes the best areas are took very very very early.

The food has been fantastic! Really impressed!

Everything has been great except really the area wasn’t really for us as not much to do.

We visited the lighthouse area which was nice and also the Palmitos park which was the highlight of the trip.

Checked in (around 21:30) easy and quick.
Shown to lovely large room on 7th (top) floor.
Went to restaurant at 22:00pm they had saved a soup/salad for us (thanks, much appreciated).

Rooms
Black out curtains really good, noise level very good, could hear the main road but wasn't an issue. Air con and fan keeps room cool. Plenty of hangers and space for clothes and tea/coffee/fridge.

Pool Area
The Pool was absolutely lovely. The warmest one I think I've had. Heated salt water. Sun beds are all crammed in, so you can hear the person next to you, and struggle to get on the damb thing, as there is no room to move them. This is the only thing we didn't really like. Sunbeds around pool are reserved at 6am... another thing we don't like. Wasn't really a problem for us, as we always found somewhere and sometimes didn't go to pool until around 11am. Aquafit everyday at 12 is good fun.

Food
Really good, as you would expect, can be quite repetitive, but as a fish/chicken salad lover, I was happy.

Drinks
Cocktails not too bad, not the best but better than some hotels. Red wine in the restaurant was drinkable. Spirits were ok (only tried Vodka and rum though). Help yourself to wine, beer and soft drinks all day long. Water bottles available from bar to help yourself.

Restaurants
Usual main buffet and then 2 A-la Carte (bookable), One Asian and one Spanish. There are 2 sittings either 18:30 or 20:30. We had no trouble booking and went to the 20:30 sitting at both restaurants. Asian was horrible, the meat was all dry and hard. Spanish was nice.

Gym
Used the gym once and it was ok.

Evening entertainment
Most of the time it was good from what we saw. The Riu party (white or Neon rotating), was brilliant.

Daytime activities
Usual darts, bingo, archery etc but I didn't partake in any of those.

Resort
Not related to the hotel, obviously, but still important. We did think the resort itself was a bit dirty, and grubby. When walking to the Dunes one day we saw human excrement on the pavement with toilet roll. On more than one occasion, what looked like vomit. It seems no one cleans the pavements, unlike some cleaner resorts, that I have been to. For this reason we would not go back to this resort.

As expected another great stay at a RIU hotel with great service from all the staff throughout the hotel

Het eten en drinken was perfect de kamer ook gewoon goed
Na uitchecken kon je nog heerlijk douchen

Everything about the hotel is good which is why we keep going back for another holiday. Cleanliness is faultless, Rooms are large and food very good. The animators and fitness staff put on lots og activities.

El servicio

This was our second stay at the Papayas, we weren’t disappointed, the staff are the hotels greatest asset, they are all very welcoming, polite and helpful. The food was really good , drinks were good especially the calypso coffee. Would say my only disappointment was the entertainment , some nights it was amazing with the acrobat teams other nights it was very repetitive, but wouldn’t stop me going back. Great holiday for couples and families.