Hotel Riu Madeira — Hotel in Santa Cruz

Riu Madeira (all inclusive) was fantastic. I was here for 5 days and they were almost as luxurious as hoped. The pools and sitting area were very nice, the 24 hour bar and self serve beer taps were fantastic, and the rooms (ours had a partial sea view) were very nice. Riu Madeira has two restaurants on site, one main buffet style that does breakfast lunch and dinner, and a more "exclusive" (just has less seats) a la carte (there is ostensibly a 3rd called Pepe's food but it is just reheated hot dogs and hamburgers by the pool, fine if you're getting peckish). We ate there one night and enjoyed it, and otherwise used the main restaurant. I saw reviews complaining that the food was bad, or underwhelming, or lacked variety, and I can't say that was my experience. Yes, it's a large buffet so the grilled fish maybe isn't cooked perfectly but I'm willing to bet it's far better than what most people are cooking up at home, frankly. I don't see any reason to leave the hotel for food, unless you wanted to do a night out in Funchal. Speaking of, the free shuttle the hotel runs to and from Funchal was great, and highly recommend taking advantage of it.

My only negative comment is on the spa. My wife and I went for a couples massage on our second day, and we were both excited. My wife had a good experience, me less so. In good faith, I think the masseuse was looking out for me, but she stopped in the middle of the massage to ask if I'd been in a car accident (no) and if I play sports, which she then continued to tell me I needed to because "it's my body and my health" and that I really needed to take it more seriously. I know that this stemmed from being very tense in my back and shoulders (why I was getting a massage!) but I did not appreciate the moralizing about my level of fitness, nor the insinuation of my poor health and body physique. She told me that I would benefit from a hot stone back massage, and I'm sure I would have, but the commentary left me so put off that I did not go back. Lastly, she and the other masseuse would occasionally whisper and giggle to each other. Again, the good faith interpretation here is that they were coordinating the timing, but in conjunction with the commentary about my fitness, it made me feel very self conscious if they were laughing at me or pulling one over on us. Beyond the interpersonal interactions too, the spa had a few... Limitations. There is no reception or waiting area so it can feel a bit less lux than the rest of the hotel, and there were other little things like the lights being left on during the massage, no towel for the eyes when I was on my back just cotton rounds, and no sheet on the table itself when we got in, so we had to wait in our underwear until they arrived with the top sheet. Overall, it made the whole experience feel less like a "all inclusive resort spa massage experience" and more like a side closet that someone would massage you in. They also couldn't just charge the massage to our room, we had to pay there (fine) but their card ready didn't connect to the wifi at first and made the whole thing feel again less... Connected to the resort itself.

Overall, I am sad to be leaving. The island is beautiful, the views and weather have been great, and the resort was great for what we needed. I'll echo others that the age average here tends towards the higher end, and while there were families and other younger couples, I do think children could become bored fast here, and it may be better to think of this as an "adults only" or at most a "lounge vacation" than a "activity focused" one unless you facilitate that yourself. But on the whole I would give this place 4.5/5 stars (rounding up) and will look at other Riu destinations when looking into vacations...

I truly would have given 5 stars, but:-|A. No water left in the room - Riu's policy is "Yes, a standard RIU policy is to provide bottled water in rooms, with the supply typically replenished daily by housekeeping. Guests can also request more water at the front desk or through the official RIU app, ensuring they have a consistent supply of drinking water throughout their stay".|I was informed rarely sharply by a receptionist (dark hair and glasses) when I asked why water was not left in the room "We are not a service Hotel", yet, here you are providing a AI package! The other gent receptionist stated very kindly that we can obtain at the bar, thats all she needed to say, no a problem I said.|B. We requested a late check out on the 3rd day of our holiday, as our flight was 9pm, we were willing to pay a extra day, again, no, no rooms are left, and even if there was, it will only be till 2pm! My husband had medical problems and I stated this!|C. On leaving, we requested where to leave the suitcases and where there was a shower to use, again, a old greyed haired female was not helpful at all, very direct with "they are round the corner" no looking at us, took our room keys, no towels given. It was the porter who saw this and guided us where the rooms were and that we would have to get towels from the pool side that was down the many steps! or a lift that was miles away to walk to get to the pool side.|D. Steps everywhere, and the lift to the ground pool side will take yu to 0, then you have to walk along many corridors - a wheelchairs paradise! Not.|E. Not enough direction of how the hotel works or where anything is - nor a may given equalling very poor reception management to their staff in a 'RIU' hotel!|F. Everyone bangs the doors |G. Cleaner knocked on the door at 3pm - we were sleeping, as soon as we could get up, and my husband was going to the door, she was already in, stating "sorry, sorry, I forgot", she then continues walking in, charges in by my bedside to dial 200, then went and said sorry again. Im there, in my bed!!! I informed the reception, and they said they would look into it - never got any apology or explanation as to why she did this.||Good Points.|1. A very clean hotel|2. Food was good but not excellent|3. Most staff were brilliant and helpful|4. Swimming pools warm|5. Access out is good|6. a shop up the corner|7. Cleaners were brilliant but came at 8am|8. Some reception staff are rude stating it is not a service hotel so why should we have water in the room (because we paid for a all inclusive!!!)|9. Bar staff were of a excellence|10. Lifts to the the pool to level 0 - go out, turn right, carry along the corridors to a fire exit door that you can use, takes you straight to the end of the pool and pool bar. There is no signs for this.|11. A free bus to Finchal if booked with reception|12. If you like Phoenix nights - Peter Kay - UK comedy - then you will enjoy the Bar/ working man club mentality acts! ||Would I stay here again? No, sorry! Not upto standard of a RIU hotel that we are members of and acustomed to detail and care to the paying customer who paid...

My fiancé and I have just come back from a 7 night all inclusive stay. Overall, the stay was enjoyable. The hotel is lovely and the staff are friendly and speak many languages. On first impressions, we were impressed. When we arrived, we were early so our room wasn’t available. The receptionist gave us our wristbands so we could go get lunch and drinks instead of sitting around. Once our room was ready, they emailed us which we found helpful. The room itself is lovely. However, we had two single beds rather than a double which we didn’t like personally. The room is cleaned every day with fresh towels and fresh bedding on request. However, we never received fresh water or tea or coffee. The food is lovely and does change daily. However, there are no veggie or vegan alternatives for breakfast (e.g. vegetarian bacon or sausages). Therefore, we survived off pancakes! Additionally, we were not able to book into the restaurant as it was fully booked. We asked multiple times a day for cancellations for three days before we were told there was a waiting list! Not very impressed at all and we never got in! The bar is nice with a very good selection of alcohol and hot drinks. A negative we struggled with was things to do. They have a game room at the hotel, however, it’s just full of seating! There is no games or pool tables to play which we found as a shock. All our past hotels have had those facilities. Another negative is that the pool side is covered in ants. This is an issue because when you put your shoes down, they go straight in! Furthermore, due to them being no tables for your drinks, you also get them crawling in there. Another pool complaint is that there is no help from the lifeguard at all. He sits on his phone with his headphones in whilst children jump into the pool over your head splashing you on the way down. This made us not want to swim whilst there was so many uncontrolled children. Main positives - Good selection of food and drinks Lovely staff Good rooms Good evening entertainment but gets repetitive Main negatives - Indoor pool is closed from early June - September which is very disappointing Couldn’t get into the restaurant as it was fully booked (we tried to book as soon as we got there!) Not much to do in the evening No hot food after 22:00 (was missing snacks later in the evening as there was just nuts available to which we were allergic) Overall, we would stay again, but...