RIU Hotels in Santa Maria

We had a fantastic holiday at the funana, service was great, really good food and drinks. Our room was spacious and very clean with comfy beds. Only negative was the sunbeds, they had seen better days, although I believe they are due to be changed soon. Suggestion for the management, it would be good if you could add a margarita and expresso martini to your cocktails list! We will be going back.

RIU Palace Hotel, Santa Maria Review: Arrival: After a delay due to the storm we arrived on Saturday 25 January 2025 (a day late) for what would now be a six night holiday. On arrival at the airport we found the transition through passport control and baggage collection smooth. Staff were very efficient. There was only ours and another flight that had arrived at this time. I can imagine if it was any more then there could be some delays. The bus transfer with TUI was straightforward. We were the sixth of seven drop offs however this meant only a 25 minute transfer in total so not too bad. Hotel: The reception was busy on our arrival although there were plenty of staff available. **TIP** download the RIU app before you travel. You can then check in online. This means at reception you take the left hand desk (much shorter queue). There is a room tax to pay which can be paid in euros or by card. Once checked in you have the option of having your cases delivered to your room or you can take it yourself. We did the latter as we thought it would be some time given all the luggage to deliver before ours arrived at the room. We were staying at room 6141 in block 6 with a sea view. This was about a five minute walk from reception however this is all on the flat and wasn’t too arduous. There are 6 blocks in total, three either side of the main walkway from reception to the beach. All blocks are on two levels with no lifts. Our room had a bit of a stale smell when we first entered however this dissipated quickly when the balcony door was opened. I think it might just have been due to a bit of dampness in the room which obviously cant be helped given the climate. We had a couple of the hanging moisture bags for the wardrobe and these worked well. Inexpensive from B and M’s. The room itself was very spacious with a well-stocked mini bar and optics. In all honesty we didn’t use much from the mini bar but it’s there if required. Safe in the room is free to use. Bathroom area was again roomy and had plenty of soaps, moisturising cream and shampoo. One big issue is that the linen is of very poor quality. The bath towels especially looked frayed and thin. There was no issue requesting more through the app but all were of the same poor quality. Definitely something that could be easily improved. Hotel Grounds: As stated the hotel grounds are extensive to say the least. One you have the geography of the place sorted it is all very easy to find your way around and all on the flat. The swim up bar pool was generally very busy throughout the day. Anytime I passed it was all very cordial with no issues. The other large pools either side of this were similarly busy but there seemed to be plenty of room. I did notice people out early securing sun beds however there were plenty and I never noticed a time when every bed was taken. Most of our time was spent at the beach. This was very pleasant and the beach itself was beautiful. Again there was more than enough sunbeds to g

First went to sister hotel in 2022 just before lock down. Then we Went to Carbo verde 2024. I honestly don’t know why people give one star. The treatment we got was wonderful, the staff were so friendly, helpful, considerate. Yes in some places it may need a bit of paint, but it was clean same as the staff, in fact I’ll go as far as saying there cleanliness put our hotels and staff to shame. I can’t for the life of me find fault with these hotels, in fact we are going back again this month.