ClubHotel Riu Garopa - All Inclusive

What People are saying

Awful don't take your kids!!!!

Stacey Gon 20/11/2017 22:01

We stayed in the sister hotel 3 years ago, the palace, and loved it. So booked the funana for our first family holiday with our daughter. Turned out to be a total nightmare. We arrived on Sunday afternoon about 3.30pm and check in was very easy. Be aware of the additional tax that they charge you when you arrive.
We arrived at our room, to find 2 twin beds pushed together and no cot for our 16 month old to sleep in.......... Nightmare starts
Rang reception twice, hours apart to get this resolved, lots of promises, no actions. Very stressed with no where for baby to sleep, we went to reception where they finally took us seriously (now 7.30 pm)
Finally cot arrives.
Next few days were much better, settled, food Ok, seemed clean enough, although not much going on in the way of entertainment especially for baby.
Wednesday.............babys rash day. High temperature, restless and no sleep.
Thursday rash and blisters same at night. No sleep. Husband starts with ear infections.
Friday rash spreads and I start with blisters.
Saturday doctors trip. Confirmed to not be worst fear of chickenpox. But rarther an allergic reaction. Prescribed a cream. Promises a fit to fly note, again had to go to reception to chase this up and another trip to doctors to resolve this as what was promised was not delivered.
Equals 3 days of sitting in doors.
Flight home awful. Babys rash now horrendous, I'm covered in blisters n husband in agony with ears
At home doctor says we all have reacted to unclean, unhygienic pool water with a bacterial skin and ear Infection.
So painful. It's a salt water pool with a higher salt content than the sea and obviously not being cleaned adequately.
All now on antibiotics and off work In case contagious.
Not happy.
Don't go. Don't take your kids. Our poor little girl is in agony due to neglectfulness of this hotel.

Great Holiday , stress free

steve Bon 19/11/2017 19:52

Just returned from a two week stay at Funana, the hotel is not a 5 star when you compare what is offered at its sister hotel, it is though a worthy 4 star with ( 5 star staff ), friendly and helpful, always smiling and grafting there is great food and variety at all meal times, breakfast, lunch, and evening meals never had a problem finding a great meal, Then there is the sports bar 24 hrs, where you can get sandwiches and burgers if you get the munchies late at night. Drinks were very good, though sometimes to strong so we would put a pop in them, Cocktails were sometimes weak though the staff would happily put another shot in them if you wanted it, There are three specialty restaurants that require booking all offer something different the Asian restaurant we were fortunate enough to get into three times amazing tastes would of gone again if we could of, Pool area superb, great pools other reviews questioned the size of the pools they are big enough, plenty of sunbeds, no need for an early morning stroll to get a bed there are plenty available right up until midday, then after that others would up roost to spend the afternoon on the beach where again there were plenty of beds, The bars offer something for everyone, some quite others a bit more entertaining (karaoke ) Animation team try hard always full of energy, and looking to entertain and to talk and engage in conversation, enjoyed daily chats with Nehgro also known as Mr Black or Amazon,
Santa maria is a must 1 hr 10 walking along the superb beach, 20 - 25 minutes by road, 5 minutes in a taxi for 3 euro , 4 euro after dark, don't be put off by some reviews the locals they are not intimidating they are trying to make a living if they don't ask or pester they will not get a sale, a good firm " no thank you " if you don't want anything was enough. The island tour is a must booked it with Elvis tours situated on the short walk to the beach, even purchased the DVD of the day, saved having to take pictures, snorkeling with Scuba Caribe situated on the beach was good, also got to use there pedalos and kayaks for free as they are part of the hotel. Would I return definitely,

Great hotel, excellent food, staff, pool and locaton

Stephen Eon 18/11/2017 12:25

Hi,
This is my second visit to Hotel Riu Funana in CV.

Excellent throughout. Great food and plenty of variety even in the main restaurant... Sushi one night. The rooms, common areas, restaurant, and pool areas were all spotless.
There is really nothing to fault this hotel. If you want a relaxed holiday with good food, plentiful drink and a great swimming pool then look no further you won't be disappointed

Get out and about!!

Jel Hon 17/11/2017 23:04

Average looking room (7124), very clean and tidy.
Shower nice and powerful, large mirror, hair dryer and plenty of cleaning products.
1L sealed bottle of water supplied every day in nicely chilled fridge.
Very roomy wardrobe to hang clothes.
Digital safe.
Sofa bed, shoe rack, 2 sets of clothes draws, coffee table.
USB slots each side of bed a nice surprise and a decent Samsung wall hung TV with multi language channels.
Never could work out the air con but the large fan above the bed (switch beside bed) spun enough to chill the room without freezing us to death or needing to use the 2 blankets that were in the wardrobe.

The food in the buffet hall always looked and tasted great with variety for most Euro/World tastes, and masses of it with chefs always cooking fresh in front of you to top up anything that ran low. The hotel probably had 1100 people in it with enough food to feed at least double!
A la carte restaurants (3) need to be booked first thing in the morning, 3-4 days in advance, we only booked the Asian which again was nice enough. The Sports bar, open 24/7 where you can get a fresh sarnie/burger from the chiller and a coffee/beer.

Everywhere is clearly sign posted and relatively easy to find, a few hours mooching soon stops you getting lost. The red paths are very clean and the greenery everywhere looks great.
Where do i start with the staff. Mad, infectious, willing, able and above all extremely courteous. You smile, they smile, you still a bit pissed up in the morning and feeling sorry for yourself, they smile!! You ask, they do. Head and shoulders the best staff in any hotel i've been to in more than 25 countries.
Loads of stuff to do during the day, aqua aerobics run by a mad man, yoga in another area, board games, learn to scuba in the smaller pool, 250 sun loungers surrounding the wet area, bar, pool bar and day time snack restaurant,shaded areas, small umbrellas, all in about 400m2!!
The evening entertainment was ok, the guys try really hard so sometimes it's a bit hit and miss but just get on the Sangria and all seems great!! If you've still not had enough you can visit the kareoke section which is a complete scream most nights.

A 5 minute walk from the Funana was a lovely sandy beach, just 50m before that an area set aside for the preservation of turtles (5pm every day, a must).

Money tips. We took 320 Euros, gave the waitress 2 Euro at breakfast, 4/5 at dinner and every 2nd drink in the evening, 1 Euro.
The average worker on Sal Island earns 100-150 per month, probably what most UK visitors earn in a day, tips really help boost their wages.

When walking from the hotel to the beach you'll be approached by a few fellas trying to sell tours, quad biking etc, don't be afraid to go with them. We used Olah (Chinese hat)! He and his friends gave us a day we'll remember for a long time, on the back of his 4 x 4 (room for 6) or if you're health and safety conscious, enough room for 4 in the air con cab. Sitting on the back you do get dusty driving along the very windy roads at 30mph and through the dusty bush to reach various destinations but that all part of the adventure. It's like a throwback to the 1980's health and safety wise and an 1800's lifestyle that the local people live. We took fruit (from the hotel-sorry!!) for the children we met and upon the advice of our hotel reps, paracetamol and cleaning products to give the adults.
We stopped at a village just outside the salt mine and gave some cash to some of the villagers, their appreciation of 10 Euros was amazing and was a lovely end to the day. 3 Euros will feed a family of 4 a decent meal.

How can i describe the area where we stayed? Like the moon surface with beautiful beaches and beautiful people.

I rarely go back to the same country let alone the same hotel but i think we'll be back here within a year or 2. Felt very safe.

Craig and Jordana are a credit to Tui, they were great when we needed them and represent the company very well.

A great hotel in a lovely location

DavidnBridgeton 17/11/2017 21:08

The hotel is set on one of the best beaches on the island with turtles hatching at night!

None of the rooms overlook the sea, but as it has such lovely weather you will not want to spend anytime in your room