Hotel Riu Papayas

“Hotel Riu Papayas”

This was our 7th visit to a Riu hotel and the Papayas did not disappoint us. It deserves its 4 Star rating, its location, the overall feel and cleanliness, the professionalism of the staff, the spacious rooms, to the quality of the food and drinks. Thank you to everyone at the Papayas!

“2 weeks end Novemeber to December”

Good flights on time. Stanstead airport is excellent BUT Gran Canaria airport has very little seating at the boarding gate leaving many elderly people standing for some time before boarding began. TUI should challenge the airport about this. Transfer took over one hour (longer than advertised) Hot… more

Good flights on time. Stanstead airport is excellent BUT Gran Canaria airport has very little seating at the boarding gate leaving many elderly people standing for some time before boarding began. TUI should challenge the airport about this. Transfer took over one hour (longer than advertised) Hotel reception staff and Tui reps were very good and all friendly as were all the staff throughout the hotel. Room is comfortable with plenty of storage and space, balcony was a bit small but had nice view of gardens. Food was of a very good standard and both speciality restaurants made a nice change from the main restaurant. Day time entertainment team work hard and there are good stretching class in the morning and aquarobics 2 times a day. Evening entertainment is of generally a poor quality and after a couple of attempts we went to the quiet bar at the other end of the hotel and service and quality of drinks there is good in particular the gin and tonics are very good. The RIU party nights ( we went to the white and neon parties) were excellent with a real party atmosphere and constant music/entertainment we are in our mid sixties however there was a huge age range there and everyone seemed to loved dancing to the music mix with tunes from the 70s up to recent releases. The professional dancers were excellent at keeping the atmosphere up tempo throughout the night . The free bus to and from the parties worked well and we had a lovely time. The Gym has 3 weight machines 2 tread mills 2 static bikes, there should be a set of Dumb bell weights so people can have a proper workout. We hired a car for the day and went into the mountains well worth doing for the spectacular scenery. We loved walking along the coast to San Augustine which has a really nice beach simply walk out of hotel turn left 5 min walk to prom then turn left along the coast its a long walk but worth it. One final point is the hotel appeared very well set up for wheel chair access with everything on one level.

less

“Lovely Hotel great location”

We had a lovely stay at this hotel, all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Sunbathing is restricted by too many palm trees. The breakfast omelettes were poor

“Small Riu Hotel”

This hotel is smaller than other Riu hotels we have been to. There is only one pool there, but always found somewhere to put our towels and relax. We weren't impressed by the surrounding area, and because we both have mobility issues couldn't walk too far from the hotel. There is a bus stop not f… more

This hotel is smaller than other Riu hotels we have been to. There is only one pool there, but always found somewhere to put our towels and relax. We weren't impressed by the surrounding area, and because we both have mobility issues couldn't walk too far from the hotel. There is a bus stop not far from the hotel, and we caught a bus from there to Puerto De Mogan, much cheaper than the organised trips. The hotel itself was very clean, some of the staff were very welcoming and couldn't do enough for us, however some would ignore us and go and talk to German and Dutch couples. The food in the main restaurant was excellent, as usual for any Riu Hotel. The Asian restaurant was very good, plenty of choices. The Spanish Restaurant was fantastic - you select your starters from a buffet servery, for the main course there is a choice of 3 dishes - Sirloin Steak, Sea Bass or Pigs Cheeks and are served at the table. We went there 3 times during our stay (you have to book the speciality restaurants). I tried all 3 mains, the Pigs Cheeks I tried at our last visit, and I have to say that If I had ordered them on my first visit to the restaurant I wouldn't have tried the other options because they were absolutely delicious. The other 2 mains were very good too. Desert is also served at the table, and it is a medley of cakes and tarts. We liked the layout at the hotel, and because it is so much smaller than others we have been to, it seemed quite 'cosy'. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, but probably won't return because of it's location.

less