Hotel Riu Papayas - All Inclusive

It's easy to explore the area from here, with two bus stops nearby. Booking through the RIU app also comes with a free transfer to and from the airport, which is a handy bonus. We would definitely return. RIU Papayas is a fantastic hotel, with kind, friendly and professional staff who are always happy to answer questions and explain things clearly. They made us feel welcome from the start. The food was delicious, varied and well prepared, with plenty of options each day. The animation team was top class, energetic, fun and professional, and kept the atmosphere lively throughout the day and evening. Highly recommended!

I spent six nights here. The location in the middle of Maspalomas is really good, and you can walk to plenty of places. There's also a bus to the beach five or six times a day. The two restaurants take reservations and serve more than enough good food with variety. Service staff were friendly and helpful. The TUI representative was arrogant and unhelpful, and seemed interested only in selling tours, but that's for a TUI review. The hotel was very boring for us, though we were happy enough. If you use it like a hostel, mostly for meals and sleep while going out and making your own fun, it could work. Otherwise, I'd spend 500 Euros more somewhere else. The price-performance felt very average. If you're young and not a "Deutscher Rentner über 60", I wouldn't recommend booking here. At times it felt like a retirement home, and people looked at us as if we were spoiling their fun. Other retirees, Dutch people for example, were much friendlier, but at 60-70 they had a different idea of fun. The animation was below par, with a very empty program for a four-star hotel. Still, reception and the animation staff were the best and tried hard, though money seems to be the deciding factor. The rooms are old, the drawers make noise, and we had to change our room keys four times. Cocktails come from a machine and are 90% ice. There's variety, though, and the Baileys and Sekt were exceptionally good.

The food labeling was poor in general. A risotto marked vegan had pork in it, and desserts, where nuts were common, had no allergen details and were just labeled “dessert assortment.” I photographed the first example on day one, thinking it was a one-off funny mistake, but it kept happening. When I booked a restaurant meal, I was told vegetarianism was a choice and therefore couldn't be accommodated. That was really disheartening. The rest of the hotel was excellent. The staff were generally friendly and great, and the rooms were clean. My family are considering staying again next year because the kids loved the activities so much.

We stayed at the beginning of January. The staff were very nice and the food was very good, but the rooms were noisy and the hotel itself felt quite boring. There isn't a proper play area for kids or a games room. We wouldn't return, mainly because Playa d'ingles feels very outdated. It still looks the same as 20 years ago, and that's not a good sign.