Riu Palace Meloneras

We’ve just returned from yet another visit to this fabulous hotel. Every single member of staff from cleaners, gardeners, receptionists, restaurant staff are an absolute asset to the hotel and the cleanliness for such a huge complex is exceptional. The food, yet again, was of an extremely high quality with a huge choice of dishes. Entertainment was excellent too. My only complaints, and I can’t understand why they’re not being addressed by management, given the fact I see they’ve been mentioned in other reviews are:

1. the saving of sun-beds by the infinity pool as early as 6am in the morning! And the same people occupying them for the whole duration - some favours being done by the pool attendants perhaps for a reward?
2. Smokers should be allocated a specific area around the pools. If you’re a non smoker like myself it’s very annoying to have smoke blowing in your face when you’re trying to relax.

I believe these two things could easily be sorted by management. I do intend to return but hope items 1 and 2 can be addressed by management in the meantime.

We've just got back from a week's half-board stay at RIU Palace Meloneras, and came away with pretty mixed feelings, so I'll try to give a balanced picture.

Starting with the good: the pools here are excellent — beautifully maintained, with good depth and a genuinely pleasant temperature. The poolside area was kept spotless throughout and the staff looking after it were consistently attentive. There were also a few pool activities on offer, including some water sports, which was a nice extra. The spa was clean and, most of the time, pleasantly quiet, though I never really got the appeal of a cold jacuzzi — personally I'd have much preferred that space to be an indoor swimming pool instead.

The hotel itself is clearly very well looked after. Rooms were high quality, but for a 5-star hotel, the amenities were surprisingly lacking—they don't even provide basics like a toothbrush or toothpaste. Still, the hair salon was excellent, and prices overall represented good value. Every member of staff we came across was genuinely nice. The food was good quality, but the selection felt a bit tight. If a particular day's dishes weren't to your taste, you were pretty much stuck with the standard fallback options (lasagne being a regular one) rather than having much else to choose from. Getting a table at busier times could also be tricky, as the restaurant genuinely fills up fast. That said, it was kept clean throughout and staff were quick to clear plates. However, one frustrating observation was a sense of favoritism in the dining room—some Spanish guests frequently seemed able to bypass the queue for tables and had chefs cooking them fresh omelettes that weren't offered to the rest of the guests.

Where it gets more mixed is the atmosphere. It felt quite old-fashioned — almost care-home-like at times — with very few younger guests around; the average age looked to be firmly in the 50-60+ bracket. Honestly, I'd say that makes this a poor choice if you're after a family-friendly hotel.

A couple of things really let it down for us, though:

First, a number of (presumably German) guests would sunbathe naked or get changed at the main poolside, in full view of children, which isn't appropriate for a general pool area. The hotel does have adults-only pools further up which would be the right place for that — it shouldn't be happening around the family pools.

Second, the hotel is genuinely dead in the evenings. There's little to no music in the bars or around the pool, the evening shows lean heavily towards an older audience (think Tina Turner-style tribute musicals), and the place essentially shuts down after 10pm — we even found bars advertised as open until midnight closing as early as 11pm. Most evenings we ended up heading to the nearby Lopesan or local restaurants instead, and the entertainment there was noticeably better.

Overall: the facilities, cleanliness, and staff are genuinely strong, and it's good value for what you get. But if you're hoping for any real evening buzz, a younger crowd, or a proper family atmosphere, this isn't the hotel for you.

Very friendly and a beautiful hotel cleanliness was a must ,food was amazing and plenty of choice to choose from ,cocktails was always made from fresh and not from a carton,rooms were spotless and plenty of cupboard space with a big comfy bed,clean fresh towels changed twice a day by a very friendly maid ,the hotel was very busy with guest so it meant you had to get up early to get a sun bed by certain pools like the infinity pool but not a problem because all pools were beautiful with plenty of sun beds but some people put towels down and don’t go on the bed till late afternoon,staff can’t do enough for you and always ready to take your orders with a smile ,we will definitely be returning to this hotel .