Rio Apartments

A nice little apartment with a pool, a decent kitchen, good air conditioning and WiFi. Your Fire Stick won’t connect, though, and the pool area needs some work.

I had serious problems with the WiFi, which didn’t work, and with the shower. The water heater is electric and has a tank of only 30 litres, which isn’t enough for two people to shower. Staff also came into the room after knocking a few times, without permission. The corridors are completely dark. The lights are activated by switches in awkward spots that look just like the room doorbells, so it’s easy to accidentally disturb other guests. There’s no socket by the bed for charging a phone, no hair dryer, and some rooms have no sofa. The shelves on some headboards make it impossible to sit up and watch TV, and you risk hitting your head when lying down. The kitchen has a microwave, fridge, stove, toaster, kettle and mixer, but no socket near the sink to use them safely. They don’t provide dishwashing basics, detergent or a sponge. You get just two rolls of toilet paper, and you have to bring your own drinking water. There’s no 24-hour reception. Staff are available only from 9:00 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 19:00, and outside those hours you have to pay extra for any assistance. There was construction outside, and I was woken at 6:30 or 7:00 by jackhammers and workers. At the restaurant, where the staff were very good, I saw cockroaches walking between the tables while I was eating. The pool is the only area that seems to have had any investment. This isn’t really a hotel, just accommodation that fails to provide even the basics. The place is only for someone who needs a bed to sleep in. Don’t expect comfort, hospitality or a good experience. Garvetur manages it and clearly could offer something much better, but seems to cut every cost possible to maximize profit, even if that ruins guests’ holidays.

The balcony was great for breakfast and dinner, and the roomy bathtub was a nice way to relax or rinse off after the beach or pool. The room was very comfortable, tidy, and had everything you need in an aparthotel. The pool is great too, so it suited a short stay well. I did miss having a washing machine, and the WiFi connection wasn’t good enough for remote work.

The beds were comfortable, including the sofa bed, and the air conditioning worked well without being noisy or making the room too cold. It was also very quiet during the week we stayed in August, when there weren’t many guests. Parking wasn’t a problem. The kitchen has a fridge with freezer, hob, kettle, microwave, mixer, pots, glasses, plates, cups, colander and cutting board. There’s also an iron and ironing board, plus a TV with TDT and an HDMI connection. These are simple, old apartments that need renovation and more amenities, though they’re still decent places to stay. The pool and restaurant are good. The bathroom light is very dim. There are only enough low pillows for one per person, no coffee maker, and only one bar of hand soap, with no shower gel or shampoo. You get just two rolls of toilet paper for the whole week. Only some rooms have a clothes rack, and outlets are scarce and hard to reach. Bring extension leads. You also need to bring a sponge, soap and dishcloth, because you’re expected to leave all the dishes clean or you’ll be charged, but they provide nothing for cleaning. The hotel staff are friendly but can only do so much, as there are few of them and their hours are limited. We had to wait outside for check-in even though they knew when we were arriving. They insist on knowing your arrival time.