May 4, 2011
A family with three teenagers
Took the family of teens for a holiday over easter. Had been made aware that some motorized activities would be unavailable due to Holy Week but seemed to be limited to off site excursions. Didn't realize the tendency of folks to sunbathe topless and walk the beach that way as well. Otherwise the beach was amazing - great breeze, beautiful sand, pretty clean conditions. Lots of palm trees for shade and very close to the shore (unlike many resorts nearby we noticed) Be warned that although the beach is not too hot, you are getting ALOT of sun - be vigilant with the sunscreen. Very few hawkers - just the odd coconut salesman and extra hotel watersports options being promoted. Hotel Hobie catamarans and kyacks are free for an hour a day but reserve them immediately as they book up quickly. If you know how to sail definitely take them out. Take lots of sunscreen as we went through 5 bottles for a family of 5 for one week and the hotel charges almost $20 a bottle. Also, no hair conditioner provided so if you have a daughter with long thick hair coming along...you are in trouble. Again $20 a bottle on site. Beds are pretty hard. Also, we had a strange set up of two beds pushed together that were not quite 3/4 size but bigger than twin - made to look like a king. Room mini bar is stocked with 4 beer, 2 tonic water, 2 large water bottles, and 4 or 5 pop. Also it had 4 dispensers with vodka, rum, brandy and something else. The teenagers blew through the pop and even though a sign said the bar would be refilled every 2 days, we had to persistently call. Think there should be an option for an alcohol free room.
You get one key per room - an actual key - so needless to say, my kids locked themselves out constantly.
Staff were very friendly.
Be cautious making long distance calls - follow the procedures written by the phone or you will be charged - alot!
As this was our first all-inclusive experience, I didn't know what to expect with the food, but it was fine. Breakfasts were the best by far. Had specialty restaurants that required reservations made by 8am the day of at the latest. They were OK. Noticed nothing is broiled or bbqed - always fried on large grills. The pizzas are good. Always a few selections of fish and then chicken, pork and/or beef. Lots of selection of pastas, vegetables etc.. The '24 hour snacks' really was just a fridge in the sports bar with precooked hotdogs, hamburgers and fruit salad. (A bit of a disappointment for the teens). We noticed people brought along a thermal mug to take drinks to the beach and for walks. Probably not really necessary. As we are not really drinkers, perhaps we were paying for what we didn't use, but the kids enjoyed eating whatever, whenever. Lots of activities/competitions that we could have participated in (horse shoes, archery, volleyball, darts, waterpolo, etc., etc.), but you try motivating three teens to step out of their comfort zone! By the end of the week they were more keen, but the holiday was almost over. Most of the shows at night were very good (various musical and dance acts) with the exception of the 'You are the show' night where they involved the audience in completely inappropriate games for anything other than adults - yet audience filled with kids anyways. Simulated stripping, etc. - thank goodness my 16 year old daughter turned down their entreaty to join in before knowing what was involved.
Last item - we didn't really realize that we could have used the facilities at the other Riu resorts next door so might have taken advantage if we had known. The gym is actually next door which my son did go to.
17 of 17 found this helpful
Details
