R2 Rio Calma Hotel & Spa & Conference

“Nice hotel. Some small negatives”

Good hotel, nice pool. Could do with some music in evening in outside bar area to give some atmosphere Good selection of food but breakfast selection, sausages, scrambled eggs, bacon, beans, everything absolutely stone cold every morning. Not ideal Still had a good time.

“Wont be back”

The Hotel has a lovely pool and beautiful grounds, but most of the sun loungers are broken and uncomfortable to lie on, At breakfast you can never find a spoon to have your cereal and when you ask a member of staff there not interested in helping you. At dinner you wait at least 30 mins for the s… more

The Hotel has a lovely pool and beautiful grounds, but most of the sun loungers are broken and uncomfortable to lie on, At breakfast you can never find a spoon to have your cereal and when you ask a member of staff there not interested in helping you. At dinner you wait at least 30 mins for the staff to serve you a drink The bar staff are very pleasant but can’t say the same about the staff that work in the restaurant

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“Mixed / beautiful hotel”

The hotel Itself looks beautiful. Couldn’t fault the appearance with beautiful lobby and windows. My first experience with customer care was also excellent. A guy named Santiago who is Canarian but lived in the same area of London that I’m from made for an interesting first conversation and natura… more

The hotel Itself looks beautiful. Couldn’t fault the appearance with beautiful lobby and windows. My first experience with customer care was also excellent. A guy named Santiago who is Canarian but lived in the same area of London that I’m from made for an interesting first conversation and natural helpfulness in directing me to where I needed to go on the island. Was patient in helping me to a fault. Perfect. Restaurant Other things about the hotel were not so good. And polarised the experience. And that is expressly the way the restaurant staff behaved consistently. I was ‘relieved’ on the last day to see another female guest being bullied and almost bossed around and away (politely told to do one) for asking for a fork. Literally the bane of my life. A guy is overheard the previous day chatting with another guest as also talking about his experiences with the same. I chimed in and said I agreed it was ‘hurtful,’ because that’s essentially what it is when you pay for a holiday and you’re made to feel as if you’re very presence is a burden they want to do away with. Quite literally the closest to a fawlty towers restaurant experience iv had. Staff had adopted an attitude of thinking it’s ok and normal to chastise and disrespect guests and whilst I certainly don’t expect / want red carpet treatment (it’s not relaxed) I don’t expect to be told off for forgetting my wrist band when my face is known by staff. Equally iv never in my life been in a restaurant where obtaining cuttlery should be an endeavour with emotional implications. Slamming cutlery down is a standard cue to tell you it’s time to leave. So meal times whilst could have been great were always subject to a slightly threatening atmosphere. Conversed with one other guest about this and observed another guest being told to go away when asking for a fork. Same happened to me and was left to sit. Another guest actually went and got cutlery for me off another table. However another staff member was helpful in getting me salami from the kitchen one night when it wasn’t put out on display but this caused scandalized looks amongst the other staff as if a rebellion was about to break out in their ranks. Pool. To be honest intuition told me not to bother with the pool and upon reading other reviews realized why : it’s chaos. Upon passing by it was very crowded and the music wasn’t very good. Ie. Ambience could have been cafe Del Mar and been pleasant but instead it was a tin can sounding kind of techno. That might have been to do with the aqua aerobics class however. Generally a competitive environment rather than a relaxing one. There is a pool bar selling burgers. And a shop. In addition to the mini supermarket in the lobby that sells crisps and drinks and other holiday essentials. The pool looks nice but wouldn’t swim in it as it’s so crowded by the pool side and wouldn’t have been relaxing Spa. Website at time of booking doesnt expressway state that a spa visits is permitted for an hour / two hours at a time and for 20 euros extra. Looks good like a standard spa with jacuzzi pool with jets sauna and steam room. But no ice plunge pool which is always a disappointment. Room. Beautiful and relaxing rooms with lovely bathtubs. Lovely hotel brand specific shower gel. Other experiences. I needed to change rooms one night as one of the guests above me was suddenly very noisy. This was dealt with professionally by two members of staff who kindly moved me for my last night. The guy who helped me with this was the example of what curtesy and five star hotel service is about. General. I booked on half board and realised I needed to have lunch as well. This was 18 euros extra a day and then drinks were extra. So the hotel makes its money from the restaurant but offers terrible service there. The food was good and I liked it. But the curtesy was lacking. The outdoor courtyard is however beautiful with trees and the fountain nearby creates a lovely atmosphere. There was an amazing violinist playing live. Five star additional service. Overall I hope the hotel rewards the employees who care about the guests comfort and happiness and hope that training and support is given to those who need improvement in this area (restaurant staff) as it could have been a wonderful experience as the hotel itself is stunning. Beach. The beach was a long way away and not accessible if have additional mobility needs. Did go to the beaches in the area but did so independently. I think you can get a bus to a near by village for a day out for a few euros or take a taxi. Generally the beaches in the south are spectacular and it’s worth being in the hotel with all its ups and downs to get to be close to the more beautiful landscapes that are just so mum more beautiful than the ones in the north imho.

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