Hotel Riu Palace Palmeras

Luis Ferreira

We recently stayed at the RIU Palace Palmeras (Gran Canaria), and while there’s a lot to love about this hotel, there are also a few significant issues that really detract from the experience. First, let’s start with the positives. The hotel itself is stunning, and the employees are absolutely amazing. Everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly, helpful, and went above and beyond to ensure we felt welcome and taken care of. The food is simply outstanding—fresh, delicious, and with an impressive variety to choose from. The service in every department is flawless, making you feel like you’re staying in a top-tier resort. However, there are two major drawbacks that unfortunately overshadow these positives. The first is the noise. Across the street from the hotel, there’s a karaoke bar, and at 1:45 am, when all you want is a peaceful night’s sleep, the loud music and singing are unbearable. It’s extremely frustrating that such a great hotel is ruined by this external factor. Sleep is one of the most important aspects of a hotel stay, and when you can’t get it, it completely undermines the relaxing vacation experience you’re hoping for. The second issue is the pool situation. Despite the hotel clearly stating that reserving sunbeds is not allowed, guests are out there at 6 in the morning staking their claim to the best spots. It’s insane! By the time “normal” guests come down at a reasonable hour, all the good places by the pool are taken, and you’re left scrambling for leftovers. What’s most frustrating is that the hotel does nothing to stop this behavior. If the rules exist, why aren’t they enforced? This creates an unfair and stressful situation that could easily be avoided if the hotel took action. It’s so disappointing because RIU Palace Palmeras has so much potential to be a fantastic place to stay. The staff, the food, the service—it’s all incredible. But the noise at night and the chaos at the pool during the day make it hard to recommend this hotel, especially for guests who are looking for peace, relaxation, and fairness. Until these issues are addressed, I would hesitate to stay here again or recommend it to others.

Ciara Crosby

I had a really lovely stay here with the wonderful staff and the gorgeous pool area being the best parts of the experience! The food was good by hotel buffet standards but vegan options were limited at breakfast and lunch and labelling was often incorrect (paella marked as vegetarian with a lactose label didn’t in fact contain any dairy products but had fish stock or a salad marked as vegan having mayonnaise though all staff were knowledgeable about the ingredients and very willing to check and double check any items, just the labels were wrong). Either way, I had a fabulous stay and would love to return!

Dave Galloway

The problem with the hotel is the non-enforcement of their own sunbed/towel policies. The hotel policy states that any towels left out will be removed. The hotel do not enforce their own policy, and this means that a lot of sunbeds are taken. A simple solution to this would be for the pool attendant to remove the towels when he is cleaning the pool and pool area when he is out doing his duties before 6am. He could move the towels as he cleans the area. If the hotel is not going to enforce its own policies, then they need to remove the statement from their hotel booklets, guest information, and website. The staff are fantastic at the hotel. The service is fantastic. Remedy the sunbed problems, and this would be an excellent hotel. The staff definitely make this hotel a great place. The hotel is spotlessly clean. A lovely hotel. Great management. Good food. We would not return until the sunbed problem is rectified. If it was not for the sunbed problems, I would give five stars. UPDATE! Further to RIU response! No towels or items are removed at night, throughout the night, or in the early hours of the morning. I will post the RIU response where RIU state that the contract is with TUI and not them regarding sunbeds.

ceta

Amazing staff, amazing food, great rooms! Only there is no kids pool, everything is too deep, and the baby pool is too small and hidden from the rest at the street side. The playground is old and also at the street side with the baby pool. There is no kids club building... Kids animation is very small. It's not really a good place for families with small kids 🤷🏼‍♀️ The customers here are mostly 60+.

O Dickinson

A small Riu Palace conviently placed near a shopping centre and about a 10 minutes walk to the sea wall where you go down steps or slope to the beach which is probably about 20 minutes away. The hotel is spotless, every staff member greets you hello and on the whole they are friendly and welcoming There are two pools, not very big, and a very small kids pool. There is a pool bar and snacks bar near the pool and the the restaurant is not far. There is a more formal lounge which is open 24 hours and is run with topmost efficiently so you are rarely waiting too long for a drink. The rooms are quite small with an unproportionatly large sized shower room. Don't get me wrong it's a lovely bathroom, two sinks, hairdryer and hand wash, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner and the shower is powerful and can be scalding hot. There are 4 drawers and a wardrobe, that's it. Good luck trying to fit 2 weeks worth of clothes in them. The safe is free and the mini bar is stocked with soft drinks and Amstel beer. No here's where the bedroom starts to go wrong. There is an opaque glass screen between the bedroom and bathroom which lights up the bedroom if you turn the light on. If your bedroom is pitch dark and someone turns on the bathroom light, it will light up the bedroom brighter than Wembley stadium. Whoever thought this was a good idea needs a shake. Another negative is the food. We have stayed at both Riu Palace and Riu hotel and the food is not up to Palace standards. Now it is edible and there is mostly something you 'could' eat but if you have any dietary needs beware. They have lactose free milk in the morning but no gluten free bread on view. I did ask the waiter and they did get it for me and asked every morning if I wanted toast or bread but all Riu hotels I have stayed in previously had this in show with it's own toaster. The food was basic and it felt like a cafeteria rather than a fine dining restaurant. There is a 'al a carte' but the menu looked very niche and was half full most of the time. It just didn't live up to Palace standards The hotel was mostly Germans and french and some were definitely not friendly when they found out we were British! It's an ok hotel, spotlessly clean, great staff but not the best Riu we have stayed in or the best hotel in Gran Canaria