- Lanzarote Holidays
- Playa Blanca
- HL Rio Playa Blanca

This bungalow complex lies in the outskirts of Playa Blanca fishing town. The town centre with numerous shopping and entertainment venues is only 1.6 km away. Playa Flamingo sandy beach and the beach promenade are only 300 metres away. This establishment offers 196 bungalows and a one storey main building in a large garden of 80,000 sqm. Guests will find a reception, a bar and an air-conditioned buffet restaurant with a non-smoking area, a terrace and highchairs for children at this hotel. The tasteful bungalows include an integrated living room and bedroom with a kitchenette and a dining area with chairs and a table. There is a swimming pool in the garden with a separate children's pool, a sun terrace with sun loungers and parasols as well as a snack bar. A breakfast buffet is available to guests every morning.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
We as a family of 8 are just coming to the end of our holiday here in the Rio Playa Blanca. Leading up to our holiday we read so many negative reviews about the hotel that we were apprehensive about our stay. I am sure that many may have valid reasons for their reviews but I would like to share our personal view. We stayed in Villa 1004 with our 16 year old granddaughter. It was spotlessly clean, had loads of wardrobe and cupboard space, separate bedroom areas and 2 bathrooms so all had some privacy. Staff were really friendly and helpful with any requests we had. Plenty going on around the pool, breakfast good, lunch ok and evening meal generally varied and something to suit everyone. There is a little rooftop terrace for drinks after food and plenty for the kids to do to keep busy throughout the day and evening. 2 large pools and a football pitch that all the boys could drop in and out whenever they wanted. Great family holiday for us.
Just arrived home from 10 nights here and we had a ball. The hotel is spacious with good facilities which are laid out really well - toddler pool and 2 main pools are at the centre of the main complex, with the splash park and quiet pools towards the back of the complex. The theatre where all the shows/mini disco etc are held is separated and has massive capacity and its own bar area. Our 12 year old was made up with the football pitch (but said it would be a good idea to have the floodlights switched on once it goes dark)
The food was delicious - not as huge a choice as you have in some places but that meant that we ate something different most nights (and there are some themed nights such as Chinese/Japanese food and Italian) Everything was cooked really well (the entrecôte in the middle of the week was pink in the middle and gorgeous)
The cocktails included on the all inclusive is not a huge choice, and I was surprised that classics such as mojitos and daiquiris weren’t included, but with so many other options such as cava, generic spirits and mixers we weren’t too bothered and always had plenty to drink (the beer being Amstel was well received!)
We really loved the upstairs bar area and drank up there most nights - chill vibes and a beautiful view of the sunset (but super windy if you want to play cards, haha!)
The bungalows are decently sized and we really enjoyed feeling like we had our own little apartment. We were towards the back but were never more than 5 walk from anywhere in the complex. There is a well stocked supermarket selling food/drinks/basic necessities/pool accessories and souvenirs.
The staff in general were all super friendly ajd worked really hard. The complex is kept clean throughout the day and the restaurant staff were efficient to ensure empty plates were removed, and tables were cleaned and set up quickly. It is only quite small, so at busy times we sometimes needed to ask for a table to be cleaned/set up which it always was immediately.
The animation team in particular deserve a highlight here, they work really hard to keep engagement high without it ever feeling intrusive (the Legends show was amazing in particular, fab choreography!) They were all friendly and really approachable, particularly for tue kids which was lovely.
We had a really good time here and would definitely recommend it to friends/family!
Ok.. so after reading all the reviews before our holiday, we were left with a slight worry!
To start with the positives check in was ok, I think staff could of been slightly more friendly on reception, Our room was fine, we unfortunately had a few visitors of cockroaches ( one which was extremely huge!) But we told reception and they came and sprayed the room!
Having slightly older children we decided the main pool wasn’t for us, and we used the other pool, be aware my husband was getting up at 6am to reserve the sun beds else you wouldn’t have a chance in hell of getting one! ( not our idea of a holiday)
The entertainment we really enjoyed and had some good shows!
Now slightly negative the re usable plastic cup situation not our idea of a holiday at all, constantly checking we had our cups on us and then having to pay 1euro if you lost one! We would recommend the top bar up by reception you get a more relaxed chilled vibe!
Now the food! The restaurant itself is absolutely boiling how people can sit in there and eat I will never know!
We found breakfast the best meal, everything else just didn’t look appetising at all, my husband who isn’t fussy at all really struggled! Having said that the pizzas are lovely!
Just found it very repetitive and unappealing
Overall we had a lovely stay and loved the hotel it was mainly the food and plastic cup situation that lets it down !
We just returned from a lovely holiday at Playa Blanca. The room was modern and clean and the beds were comfortable. The room came with a free safe and wifi which was really handy. The food was varied and delicious, especially on the themed nights. However, the restaurant could get very hot in the evenings which made it uncomfortable to be sat for too long if you were at the back. We ate at the A La Carte restaurant on one of the Tex Mex evenings and enjoyed our meal, the steak was beautiful. However my in laws weren't impressed by the food on the Italian night. There are two main pools, one being quieter but further from the bar and entertainment. The kids loved using their inflatables and the entertainment team kept it lively with aqua gym and water polo. The entertainment team themselves were a highlight of the holiday. They had so much time for the kids and were fun and enthusiastic at all times. The shows in the evening were brilliant. It seems like this hotel is on the up, while we were there they fitted a number of new consoles in the games room and were refurbishing the outside of the building. Don't worry about the negative reviews because this is a great hotel
We stayed for 12 nights. Food was good, entertainment team were brilliant. Funny, talented, entertaining and worked so hard! The accommodation was very clean and most of the staff were lovely (although some of the reception team left something to be desired in terms of customer service!). I’d love to give it a 4 out of 5 but the resort is a bit tired looking, with flaking, faded tiles round the pool and dirty walls in some places. Some of the furniture in the rooms could have done with an update as well. The worst thing about it for me was the awful smell of sewerage some nights as we walked back. It was really over-powering and nasty. I think it needs to be closed for a period of time and updated, then it would be a 4 or 5. Honestly for anyone going on the whole it’s brilliant!!!
