Utterly fantastic. I couldn't fault this hotel and if you're thinking of going, go, that's all…read more
If you're hesitating, here's why it rules:
Location: If you are staying in Maspalomas, I think this hotel has the best location in the whole area. It is in first line to the beach, and right next to the mesmerizing sand dunes of Maspalomas. So you waste no time getting to the beach and back, and you can either get a beautiful spot right under the dunes, or even just rest in the stunning hotel palm gardens and then quickly run from them to the sea and back. The promenade with more nightlife is a short walk away.
All inclusive: The level of the cuisine was consistently very high for every meal during the day. The breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets were fantastically rich, so you could always try something new without them getting repetitive. Most importantly, the food was always prepared to a high standard. The cuisine is a good mixture of Western and Mediterranean style cuisine, with plenty of good cuts of meat, seafood and vegetarian options available. Twice a week there is a theme night for dinner - we particularly enjoyed the one focusing solely on Canarian cuisine. Aside from the main meal times (which stretch for quite long, so you're not harshly restricted by them: breakfast 8-10.30, lunch 10-15.30, dinner either at 18:30 or 20:3024/7), there is always a variety of snacks/fruit etc available, so you could eat 24/7 if you wanted to. All inclusive includes both soft and hard alcohol and cocktails, and unlike some places, they are not skimpy on basic needs like water either, so you can just stock your room fridge with big bottles to take to the beach.
Stunning premises: Riu Oasis - the hotel lives up to its name. It's a massive oasis of palm trees and beautifully sculpted palm gardens which give your entire holiday a very relaxing feel. You never have to be squeezed among a mass of tourists stuck together like sardines. The sunbeds and parasols and pleasantly scattered all around the gardens, so you simply find a tree you like to rest under, and enjoy your privacy and the feeling of intimacy.
Rooms: are nice and comfy, with an included fridge, safety locker, and massive wardrobe space. It's especially nice to have a room facing the garden on the ground floor - there you have a front porch your own parasol and sunbeds right in front of your door to lounge on.
Amenities: There is a small outdoor gym (a few cardio machines, couple of benches, lat pulldown machine, basic set of dumbbells up to 10 kg), an outdoor Jacuzzi, an indoor Jacuzzi and a sauna. Massages and hairdressing are available for extra charge. The pool is very nice for actual lap swimming - it doesn't have too much of an odd shape as it's popular these days, so you can keep track. You can get beach towels every day, and on the day when you check out, you will get spare towels and a spare room for half an hour if you need a later shower. There are two bars in the gardens, a playground for children, and many indoors entertainment areas. All staff is always very polite and helpful, and there's always someone speaking excellent English at least at the reception.
Entertainment: the evening program was quite nice - nothing too tacky, usually just some pleasant singers. Definitely bearable for some starter drinks if you then want to head out ofr more fun into town. There seemed to be quite a lot of daily entertainment for children (but tucked away in a different part of gardens, so if that's what you worry about - you can easily spend a holiday here without running into many).
Cons: there are not many, but two minor points - wifi in room is for extra charge, the free one in the lobby is quite slow. And on some evenings, you can book an a la carte dinner at the separate smaller international fusion restaurant instead of the buffet. While it's advertised as very high dining, I'd say that it wasn't of much higher quality than the buffet meals (which are nonetheless great) - it was just more beautifully arranged. So I'd just go there if I wanted the more intimate atmosphere, but otherwise preferred the main area.